BHR and Kotyk Take Double Podium in F1600 Debut

Brad Hayes Racing (BHR) joined the FRP F1600 Championship Series for the first time at Pittsburgh International Race Complex June 19-21. After a move from the west coast to Indiana, the team plans to race the full F1600 season in 2020. The PittRace event was the team’s first chance to compete directly against the top F1600 teams in North America, and they quickly proved they are up to the task.

Driver Jonathan Kotyk turned his first laps in the team’s Piper DL7 during the Friday test sessions. The Piper DL7 base setup was a solid starting point. From there, Kotyk and team engineer Brian Vinson were able to develop a setup that would take care of the Hoosier tires, optimize performance over long runs, and provide the balance and feel to Kotyk’s liking.

After qualifying in P6, Kotyk went on to score finishes of 3rd, 7th, and 2nd in the weekend’s three races. Kotyk’s impressive drive in Race 3 gave the team a 2nd place finish. During the first half of the race, Kotyk battled in a solid pack of cars charging hard for second through eighth positions. In the latter part of the race, Kotyk was able to apply his talent and the Piper’s strengths to start moving forward in the pack. From lap 9 to 12, Kotyk was able to move up from 6th to 2nd position. And from there, he held off the rest of the pack over the final two laps to take 2nd place by 0.09 seconds.

After a successful debut weekend, the team now turns its focus to preparing for the upcoming Mid-Ohio round taking place over the July 4 holiday weekend. Based on results from PittRace, Jonathan Kotyk expects the team’s Piper DL7s to perform very well at the upcoming technical tracks on the schedule such as Mid Ohio and Barber. The team is looking to place another young driver in a second car alongside Kotyk at the Mid-Ohio race, and at future events on the FRP F1600 schedule.  Contact Brad Hayes (brad@bradhayesracing.com) to inquire about participating in upcoming events with the team.