2002 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship

The 2002 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship is an open-wheel series for Formula 2000 race cars. The series receives generous support from the Ford Motor Company, Avon Tires, Sunoco Racing Fuels and Racing Electronics.

The championship consists of thirteen races contested on road courses and ovals. The season begins in March with a doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway. In May, the teams travel north of the border for a doubleheader at Mosport International Raceway. A week later, the series conducts its first oval event of the year at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Next on the calendar are rounds six and seven at the Milwaukee Mile, another oval. Then the series makes the first of two stops at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Six weeks later, teams return to Mid-Ohio for rounds nine and ten. The penultimate weekend of racing is conducted a Road Atlanta during the Petit Le Mans event. The season ends with a doubleheader at Virginia International Raceway.

The cars competing in the series are single-seat, rear-engine, open-wheel vehicles constructed with a tube frame chassis. Manufacturers producing series chassis include Carbir, Mygale, Tatuus and the most common choice, Van Diemen. The suspensions are independent – both front and rear. Shock absorbers and sway bars are adjustable. A four-speed, non-synchro gearbox is used. Sequential transmissions are not permitted. The cars compete on a spec tire from Avon and use a spec fuel provided by Sunoco.

There are two championships:

Zetec Championship – This category is for newer cars with the Ford Zetec engine. Competitors score points on road courses and ovals to secure the championship. The Zetec powerplant is a 2.0-liter fuel injected double-overhead-camshaft four-cylinder motor, producing approximately 160-horsepower at 6,800-rpm.
American Continental Championship – This category is for cars built from 1990 to 1999. This class was introduced to provide an economical means for drivers and teams to enter the series. These 1,190-lbs formula cars are powered by a 2.0-liter Ford NEA engine fitted with a single Weber DGV carburetor. At 6,200-rpm, the motors produce approximately 150-horsepower.

Titles are also on the line for Chassis Manufacturers, Engine Builders and Teams.

Round eight of the 2002 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship was the first of two visits to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Drivers compete on the thirteen turn 2.258-mile road course for twenty-two laps.

Last year, Tonis Kasemets claimed the first of his three victories at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In a repeat performance, Kasemets would once again collect his season’s first win at Mid-Ohio. He qualified third fastest driving the No. 9 MK Industries / FlexOvit / TMI Van Diemen RF01. On the opening lap, Kasemets out-braked the front row starters. From that point, he controlled the race and grabbed the victory.

It was an all Canadian front row for the start of round eight at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. On the pole was British Columbia’sSean McIntosh in the No. 24 Van Diemen RF012. McIntosh had lost the top spot to Tonis Kasemets heading into Mid-Ohio’s ‘Esses’ on the opening lap. He and Kasemets pulled away from the field. Unable to challenge Kasemets, McIntosh finished second by a margin of 2.365-seconds.

The points leader, Bryan Sellers, qualified an uncharacteristic tenth fastest in the No. 3 Yes Network / 3-D Services Van Diemen RF02. Before round eight, his worst qualifying result was a sixth at Milwaukee. By lap-8, Sellers had moved into fifth place. Nine circuits later, Sellers was in third and challenging for the second position. He tried a move on Sean McIntosh for second but settled for a third-place finish on the final lap.

The other half of the Canadian duo occupying the front row at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was Jonathan Urlin. Starting second in the No. 19 Mygale US-02 was his best qualifying result of the year. By lap-2, Urlin lost positions to Tonis Kasemets and Lawson Aschenbach and ran fourth. A hard-charging Bryan Sellers relegated him to fifth, but a late-race pass on Aschenbach gave him a fourth-place finish.

Lawson Aschenbach’s season got off to a slow start. Aschenbach collected a pair of twentieth-place finishes in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway. However, he swept rounds six and seven at Milwaukee. During the qualifying session at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, he would post the fifth-fastest time in the No. 32 Forsythe / King Automotive Van Diemen RF02 and finish in the same position.

There were just three American Continental Challenge (for older cars) category entries for round eight at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but this was the best turnout to date. The winner of the Mosport event, Kip Meeks, qualified twenty-first overall and second in class driving the No. 31 Meeks-Miller Motorsports Van Diemen RF97 and passed the division pole-sitter, Jeff Sakowicz, for the victory.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	3	F2A	Tonis Kasemets	MK Ind/Flexovit/TMITAC.com / Van Diemen RF01	22	-
2	1	F2A	Sean McIntosh	Kimnac Carstar/PPG / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
3	10	F2A	Bryan Sellers	3 Dimensional Services / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
4	2	F2A	J.W. Urlin	Budget Rent A Car / Mygale US-02	22	-
5	5	F2A	Lawson Aschenbach	King Automotive / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
6	7	F2A	Travis Irving	Great Central Transport / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
7	9	F2A	Ricardo Imery	Cavenas de Venezuela / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
8	6	F2A	Mike Andersen	Valvoline / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
9	13	F2A	Tom Dyer	CycleShack/Menards /Van Diemen RF02	22	-
10	12	F2A	Anthony Massari	JDC Motor Sports / Van Diemen RF01	22	-
11	15	F2A	Mark Wilkins	TrizecHahn/Multimatic / Van Diemen RF01	22	-
12	16	F2A	Scott Rubenzer	StorageBatSys/TrojanBatCo. / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
13	17	F2A	Luis Schiavo	Asfaltadora Maracay / Van Diemen RF01	22	-
14	18	F2A	James Gue	Roquin Motorsports / Van Diemen RF01	22	-
15	19	F2A	Matt Green	Infinity Aviation / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
16	8	F2A	Andy Brumbaugh	Van Diemen International / Van Diemen RF01	22	-
17	11	F2A	Matthew McDonough	TASC Technical Services / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
18	14	F2A	Edouard Aube	PATTISON / Van Diemen RF02	22	-
19	21	ACC	Kip Meeks	Meeks-Miller Motorsports / Van Diemen RF97	22	-
20	20	ACC	Jeff Sakowicz	Waveland/Nuttal Berman / Mygale US-99	22	-
21	22	ACC	Doug Smith	Butler / Van Diemen	21	-
22	4	F2A	Jeff Jones	Jones Chemical / Van Diemen RF02	15	Engine

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