It's Mandarino on Saturday, Andretti on Sunday
Lorenzo Mandarino in the dry on Saturday and MarcoAndretti in the wet on Sunday scored wins in the Skip Barber National double-header at RoadAmerica, the first time in Victory Circle for each of them in the championship. Andretti collected36 points over the weekend --20 for the Sunday win plus 16 for second place on Saturday -- ahaul of points big enough to boost him over erstwhile leader Benny Moon as the series heads torounds seven and eight in two weeks' time at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit.
Qualifying for Road America's first race (round five) was in the dry and Moon took the pole.Andretti qualified second, Victor Ramos third and Skip Barber Karting Scholarship driver MarkBurt fourth. At the start, Moon braked too early for One (he was in an unfamiliar car, havingswitched after the practice sessions) and all the frontrunners went by. Burt also got a bad start,falling back to eighth, but it was Mandarino who made the most of it; from his grid position ofseventh, Mandarino rocketed to third on the first lap, was into second by lap six (after two laps offull course yellow to extract John Pew and Andrew Alfonso from the gravel in Canada Corner),then took the lead from Marco Andretti on the back straight heading to turn five with two laps togo to take the win. It was extremely bold, close, nose-to-tail racing (with one observerremarking, "This is the most testosterone I've seen in one place at one time!"), and all but two ofthe 21 starters made it home on the lead lap, the last finisher less than half-a-lap behind theleaders. Finishing third behind Mandarino and Andretti was Gerardo Bonilla (starting fromsixth), with Ramos fourth (he also set fastest race-lap) and Chris Prey, winner at VIR in lateApril and second in points coming in, fifth. Robbie Pecorari, the Stars of Karting/Skip Barberscholarship winner, took sixth, with Moon just behind ("I just didn't drive well today…").Rounding out the top 10 were Burt, 13-year-old John Edwards and Jeff Relic.
The qualifying session for Sunday's round six was in the wet, and only two drivers broke into thethree-minute flats: Andretti (3:00.515) and Bonilla (3:00.824). Ramos in third with a 3:01.082was no surprise, but Robin Warner's 3:01.714 was. In only his second year of racing, he took fulladvantage of having raced at Road America in Skip Barber Regional four times in 2003 -- threeof which were in the rain -- and would start fourth, with Mandarino fifth.
It was dry for the start, but off-and-on rain over the entire week prompted series officials to starteverybody on the BFGoodrich wets. A good call, as before even lap one was in the books rainwas reported on the backside of Road America's expansive four miles. Bonilla slotted intosecond behind Andretti through One and Two but absolutely nailed Turn Three and was pastAndretti well before the big braking zone for Turn Five. But on the next lap, with the conditionsstill mixed, Andretti put the pass on Bonilla through the outside(!) of Five. From that point,Andretti ran away, but Ramos immediately attacked Bonilla and took second two laps later. Bynow it was a steady, solid rain, and toward the end it claimed its victims. Mandarino and Preywere fifth and sixth, respectively, with a lap to go, but fell off the road, and Edwards, Moon(coming from 15th), Relic and Sergio Perez took full advantage. Prey had trouble near the end,going from sixth to ninth on the last lap, but Harrison Brix got himself to 10th after going back to13th early on. Warner? He went from third on the first lap to sixth on the second, but got onespot back when Matt Varsha -- totally new to racing in the rain and doing quite well -- made amistake. Warner then impressively got around Mandarino on lap five to get back to fourth, wherehe would finish.
When the weekend's points were all accounted for, Andretti leapt from nine behind Moon toseven up. Ramos now sits third, just two back from Moon, with Prey fourth and Bonilla fifth.The chase for the $100,000 title bonus resumes with the Skip Barber National stand-alone eventat Hallett Motor Racing Circuit outside Tulsa, Okla., June 4-6.Race Results, Rounds Five & Six,Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by RACER,Road America, May 21-23
Round 5, May 22, 20049 laps of 4.0-mile circuit/36.0 milesMargin of Victory: 1.351 secondsLeaders: Andretti 1-7; Mandarino 8-9Fastest Qualifier: Moon, 2:36.114/92.240 mphFastest Race-lap: Ramos, 2:36.476/92.030mph, lap 7
Finishing order (starting position in parentheses)
1. (7) Lorenzo Mandarino, Vancouver, B.C., Canada2. (2) Marco Andretti, Nazareth, Pa.3. (6) Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, Fla.4. (3) Victor Ramos, Brasilia, Brazil5. (11) Chris Prey, Oshkosh, Wis.6. (5) Robbie Pecorari, Aston, Pa.7. (1) Benny Moon, Shingle Springs, Calif.8. (4) Mark Burt, Debary, Fla.9. (12) John Edwards, Little Rock, Ark.10. (9) Jeff Relic, Palm Coast, Fla.11. (14) Mark Patterson, Bronxville, N.Y.12. (21) Robin Warner, Ann Arbor, Mich.13. (10) Andy Rossetto, Grafton, Wis.14. (18) Matt Varsha, Atlanta, Ga.15. (13) Harrison Brix, Marina del Rey, Calif.16. (17) Blake Yager, Effingham, Ill.17. (16) Jonathan Eriksen, Northville, N.Y.18. (20) Nolan Waak, Lincoln, Neb.19. (15) Andrew Alfonso, Danville, Calif.20. (8) Sergio Perez, Zapopan, Mexico, 3 laps, mechanical DNF21. (19) John Pew, N. Palm Beach, Fla., 3 laps, accident
Round 6, May 23, 20048 laps of 4.0-mile circuit/32.0 milesMargin of Victory: 7.101 secondsLeaders: Bonilla 1; Andretti 2-8Fastest Qualifier: Andretti, 3:00.515/79.770mph (wet)Fastest Race-lap: Alfonso, 2:44.547 (wet)
1. (1) Andretti2. (3) Ramos3. (2) Bonilla4. (4) Warner5. (13) Edwards6. (15) Moon7. (11) Relic8. (14) Perez9. (9) Prey10. (7) Brix11. (10) Varsha12. (5) Mandarino13. (20) Waak14. (17) Burt15. (12) Patterson16. (6) Pecorari17. (18) Eriksen18. (19) Alfonso19. (8) Rossetto20. (16) Pew (did not start; withdrew)
Points standings after 6 of 14 rounds:1. Marco Andretti, 892. Benny Moon, 823. Victor Ramos, 804. Chris Prey, 735. Gerardo Bonilla, 646. Robbie Pecorari, 507. Lorenzo Mandarino, 418. Jeff Relic, 349. John Edwards, 3210. Jason Bowles, 23
