Laguna Seca Preview
After six weeks off since the Thunderhill Major, things will heat back up again May 31 to June 3 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. BHR will bring both Piper DL7s. Brad Hayes will be behind the wheel of the #7 car. Courtney Crone will step in to the #4 car normally driven by Nicky Hays. Nicky will be back behind the wheel for the Sonoma Major at the end of June. While this will be Courtney's first taste of FF1600 racing, she comes with a bunch of experience in everything from sprint cars on dirt ovals to Formula Speed cars on the west coast road courses.
The entry list for this event is strong, with ten FFs on the pre-entry list. Regular front runners Chuck Horn and Denny Renfrow will likely be the guys to beat, and Steve Meyer is always a threat in his Porter prepared Swift DB6. Several local SFR drivers are getting up to speed with new equipment. Dave Jalen has been getting faster and faster in his Mygale. Mike Bernstein has jumped in to a Piper DF5 after suffering significant damage to his DB6 at Thunderhill. Manuel Leonardo will be in his new Piper DL7. And Piper DL7 designer Doug Learned Jr will be piloting his new DL7, while also helping support the BHR cars. Scott Waracka makes the trek from Hawaii to join the field in his Swift DB1. While most racers are focused on the SCCA Majors to qualify for the Runoffs at Sonoma, it is great to see such a strong bunch of FF racers also running in the SFR regional races.
The weekend will get an early start with a full test day scheduled for Thursday. Expect most of the FF drivers to take part in testing. Brad, Courtney, and Doug Jr will all be working together to get the most out of Thursday testing. Each will have slightly different goals for the initial day. Brad is looking to improve on his performance from the March regional races. Turns 5 and 9 will be focus points for Brad. Courtney will use the test day to get acclimated to the lack of downforce, and lower horsepower (compared to her normal Formula Speed car). Doug will start out by shaking down his newly built DL7. But even with the different goals for the first day, all three drivers will be leaning on each other to maximize performance in their Piper DL7s.
Friday will start with official practice in the morning, and the first qualifying session in the afternoon. The double races will take place on Saturday and Sunday. The weather should be fantastic with sunny skies and high temperatures in the 60's in the forecast. It is sure to be an excellent weekend of racing at one of America's greatest road courses!