Ford Clinches Pacific Formula F Title, Eastern Series To Be Decided at Finale

Connor Ford continued his nearly perfect season in the 2012 Corsa Car Care presents Pacific Formula F Super Series with another pair of race wins September 8-9 at Buttonwillow Raceway in California, scoring his seventh and eighth victories in 10 starts this season and clinching the championship with two races remaining.

Meanwhile, the Eastern US-based F1600 Formula F Championship will go down to the wire, as title contenders Brandon Newey and Matias Koykka traded victories – and some contact – August 25-26 at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia.

In the West Coast series, Ford and his PR1 Racing Honda Mygale were untouchable at Buttonwillow, qualifying on the pole for both races, and leading Ed Erlandson – his most consistent rival this season – to the checkers each day.

Ford’s first victory of the weekend was enough for the teenager to clinch his first Formula F title, and his win on Sunday pushed his championship points total to an insurmountable 318, to Erlandson’s 199.

Ford also won the Pacific Formula 2000 Championship in 2011, and is one of eight finalists in the 2012 Team USA Scholarship program.

Back east, the Summit Point race weekend opened with no fewer than four cars battling for the lead, with young Canadian Garrett Grist and Australian Shae Davies taking turns at the front along with Koykka and Newey, another 2012 Team USA finalist.

Last-lap drama resulted in contact between Newey – leading at the time – and the second-running Davies. Newey spun, but recovered to finish a disappointed third behind Koykka and Grist, while Davies was unable to continue.

For Sunday’s race, a brief but heavy rain shower prior to the start added even more drama. Newey took the early lead, but was one of many front-runners to spin at least once during the 30-minute event. Jeremy Grenier took over at the front in his Citation Honda, but also spun – as did Koykka, Davies, Steve Oseth and Roberto Lorena. All had a shot at victory in the race’s ever-changing conditions.

In the final laps, Newey returned to the lead to claim his third victory of the season, followed home by Grenier and Koykka. With the win, Newey reclaimed the points lead by a narrow 392-386 edge over Koykka, while Grenier (315 points) and Grist (295) also remain in mathematical contention for the title.

The F1600 Formula F Championship Series concludes next month with another double-header race weekend, October 12-14 at Watkins Glen International Raceway in upstate New York.

The Corsa Car Care presents Pacific Formula F Super Series wraps up a week earlier, with its October 5-7 season-finale doubleheader on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway road course.