ROOKIE DRIVERS ALEX KEYES AND ANDREW EVANS READY TO CHALLENGE FOR RACE WINS IN SECOND HALF OF 2013 PACIFIC FORMULA F1600 SERIES
With the 2013 Pacific Formula F1600 Series at the halfway point of the season, rookie drivers Alex Keyes and Andrew Evans have developed into consistent top-5 finishers, and took another step forward in Round 3 at the Auto Club Speedway June 8-9 when both led a race for the first time.
The duo is currently 3rd and 4th, respectively in the championship points battle, with three weekends and six races remaining in the season. Driving the #32 Lynx Racing Spectrum-Honda, Keyes has four podium finishes and seven top 5s, while Evans in the #19 Lynx Racing Spectrum-Honda has two podium finishes and eight top 5s. "We're very pleased with the progress that Alex and Andrew are making, and the Lynx Racing Academy itself, after a nine year absence from the grid, is developing right alongside our new generation of young champions," says team co-owner Peggy Haas. Adds co-owner Jackie Doty, "The educational philosophy that provides the foundation of the Lynx Racing Academy is proving to be just as relevant and powerful as it was back when we were winning Atlantic Championships and graduating drivers to IndyCar. It's exciting to see them lead a race for the first time, and to be part of helping them develop into champions."Taking a look at the season in chronological order -- with a podium finish, a front-row start and a pair of top-5's, Lynx Racing Academy drivers Alex Keyes and Andrew Evans showed extremely competitive form in their first-ever open-wheel race during the Formula Pacific F1600 season-opener at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California.The Pacific Formula F2000/F1600 Championship staged its first-ever tripleheader event May 18-19 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow California, and Evans and Keyes had one of those character building weekends where pretty much everything that could go wrong did, but several important things happened that may well resonate later in their careers. They finished on the podium several times, and in the top-5 when not on the podium, but also had contact with each other during the heated battle."It's something that young teammates always do to each other somewhere during the season, and we're happy they got it out of the way early," says Lynx Racing Academy principal and driver coach Steve Cameron. "It was a tough weekend, but they also got to work with Neil Alberico, who is one of the top drivers in the USF2000 championship and has raced in Europe. He spent some time in Alex's car and worked with both drivers their setups. They also got to spend time speaking with Jeremy Shaw who is a top motorsports journalist and heads the Team USA scholarship program that is a major opportunity for young drivers to compete in Europe. Developing those kinds of relationships is a big part of the educational aspect of the Lynx program."Round 3, June 8-9 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, was another three-race weekend, with Keyes and Evans battling literally wheel-to-wheel and nose-to tail. Both drivers stood on the podium and both led a race at some point (Keys led all three). It was also their first experience on a banked oval (though they spent half of each lap on the infield road course) and the fastest they've gone in the cars, approximately 140 mph. They also learned about high-speed drafting, passing for the lead and how to deal with the joy and disappointment of a photo finish.Keyes, an 11th grader at Vista Del Lago High School in Folsom, California, is 16 years old and a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He lived in Michigan for twelve years before his family moved to Northern California in 2012. He started karting at age 10 and during a trip to England at age 12, he participated in a driving school; he has been rising through the karting ranks ever since. Racing in the Red Line Oil Karting Championships at Sonoma Raceway, he won the Rotax Junior Championship, took second place in the TaG Junior class and was Junior Driver of the Year. Earlier this year, he won a California ProKart challenge race in his first race in the TaG Senior class. "The Fontana race really showed how far we've come, both as drivers and as a team," said Keyes. "It was the first time we were dicing for the lead in a race, and that's a big milestone in any driver's career. We need to find a little more time both in ourselves and in the cars, but Steve Cameronalong with his brother Rick, who engineers the carsis a huge asset there because he knows pretty much everything there is to know about data and setup, and he's also a top driver coach and driver. He spends time testing the cars right along with us, and that level of immediate feedback really accelerates our education. Racing these cars is totally different than karting. I was winning there, but my first time in a car, I was two seconds off the pace. That taught me that you need to take this very seriously, and get into a car as early as possible. But we've learned so much, so fast, that I think we'll be fighting for race wins in the second half of the season. We're almost there."Evans, also 15 years old, is a native of Sammamish, Washington where he is a 9th-grader at Skyline High School. He has been driving karts since age 8, with a successful history starting in the TaG Cadet class where he still holds multiple local track records. In 2012 he won the IKF Region 6 TaG Championship and placed 3rd in the S5 Junior Shifter category at SKUSA Supernationals XVI in Las Vegas. So far in 2013, Andrew has already captured the Vice-Champion title in the DD2 shifter category at the 6-race Rotax Challenge of the Americas series.
"This has been a perfect option for me to make a smooth transition from karting to cars," says Evans. "I believe this season in the F1600 will ultimately make me a better driver as I move up the motorsports ladder. Lynx and Cameron Racing have provided an awesome platform, with invaluable advice and knowledge on everything from the cars to the data. I will always be grateful that I have had this opportunity to work with Steve and Rick Cameron. They are not only helping me to develop as a driver, but are also helping me to better understand the car mechanically. The Spectrum cars are sensitive to changes and this is driving me to learn as much as possible about the mechanical aspects of these cars and race cars in general. The Pacific 1600 series is exciting and very professionally run, so a big thanks you to Les Phillips and his staff for providing an excellent platform for young drivers. I'm excited to see what the remainder of this season holds for the team and me!"The Lynx Racing Academy, with drivers Alex Keyes and Andrew Evans, begins the second half of the 2013 Pacific Formula F1600 season with a return to action in Round 4 at Buttonwillow Raceway on July 27-28. The series returns to Buttonwillow on Oct. 7-8, with the season finale taking place at Las Vegas International Speedway Oct. 4-6.The first episode of the new internet television program for American Formula F racing, produced by Mathisen Media and supported by F1600 FF engine manufacturer Honda Performance, can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAw8mM1XV5o. The program features 20 minutes of video from the Pacific Formula F1600 Series at Thunderhill. The four-episode schedule calls for a first-race-weekend recap show, followed by a mid-season show in late June and an episode in September. Finally, the year ends with a championships edition in October. Shows will include the latest race highlights, relevant interviews, track footage and moremainly utilizing onboard footage provided by competitors and teams. Available on YouTube, Series websites, through Honda and a variety of other platforms, the FF shows will deliver more exposure to an historic and rejuvenated motorsports class.About the Lynx Racing AcademyLynx Racing was formed in 1990 by Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty, the first women in racing history to own a championship-winning open-wheel racing team. Lynx was created in order to provide opportunities for young drivers to move up to Indy Cars and was both a racing team and driver development program. The team won multiple championships in the Formula Atlantic series, and graduates of the program include Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice, top Grand-Am racers Michael Valiante, Dane Cameron, Memo Gidley and Bryan Sellers as well as Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier. The Lynx Racing Academy will utilize the same training techniques and many of the same personnel as the Lynx Racing team and competes in Pacific Formula F1600, a series designed to provide a cost-effective stepping-stone from karting to open-wheel racing.
About the 2013 Pacific Formula F1600 SeriesFormula F1600 is the world's premier junior development category in motor sport. The Pacific Formula F1600 Series is a 6-weekend, 12-race series based on the U.S. West Coast and is designed to provide an affordable transition for drivers as young as 13 to move from karting to open-wheel racing. The 'spec' formula is designed to reduce costs to about the level of a season of karting, and cars are built with a light-weight tubular space frame designed to maintain the highest levels of driver safety. A number of manufacturers, both local and international, build the basic Formula F body and chassis; the most common being the Van Dieman, Mygale, Piper and Spectrum. The F1600cc engine is either the new Honda FIT powerplant or the Ford Kent engine that has been with the category for over 30 years.The key to the category's long-term success is the uniquely level playing field dictated by the performance parity rules, allowing the differing skills of the drivers to determine the victor. The relative equality between the vehicles also guarantees the category's reputation for some of the most exciting and close racing to be seen on any American or international circuit.No less than eight World Formula One champions have come from the F1600 open-wheel class, including Michael Schumacher, Mikka Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.
About Cameron RacingCameron Racing has long been the 'team behind teams', operating the highly successful racing programs of Lynx Racing, Finlay Motorsports, Dorricott Racing and Pope Racing. 2012 saw Cameron Racing operate the World Challenge program for G-Speed Motorsports with the Ferrari F430 GT2. Cameron Racing also ran selected races in the Grand-Am Continental Challenge with the Mustang Boss 302R. Other customer programs included Pro Mazdas in the Formula Car Challenge series. Included in Camerons operations are Cameron Karting and the Red Line Oil Karting Championship. Cameron Karting is a full service kart shop offering sales and service. The Redline Oil Karting Championship is a ten race series that includes one of the largest Rotax Max Challenge series in the USA.
