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The 1999 US F2000 National Championship, sanctioned by the United States Auto Club and the Sports Car Club of America – Pro Racing,
is an open-wheel series for Formula 2000 race cars. The series receives support from the Ford Motor Company, Yokohama Tires,
Sunoco Racing Fuels and Racing Electronics.
The championship consists of fourteen races and is contested on road courses and ovals. The season begins in March on the oval at Phoenix International Raceway and end with a double-header at Sebring International in October.
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, Vector and the most common choice, Van Diemen. 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. The suspensions are independent – both front and rear. Shock absorbers and sway bars are adjustable. The cars compete on a spec tire from Yokohama and use a spec fuel provided by Sunoco. Drivers compete in one of two classes:
Titles are also on the line for Chassis Manufacturers, Engine Builders and Prep Shops. The US F2000 National Championship visited Mosport International Raceway for a doubleheader event on the Victoria Day long weekend. Drivers would be competing in a two twenty-lap contest around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.
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The start of Saturday’s race for round four of the 1999 US F2000 National Championship. For the first time, Aaron Justus is on the pole this season in the No. 24 Torco Racing Lubricants Van Diemen RF99. Beside Justus is the second-fastest qualifier, Marc-Antoine Camirand, driving the No. 96 Van Diemen RF99 prepared by Key Motorsport. Row two is occupied by point’s leader, Dan Weldon and Mark Dismore. |
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Quebec’s Marc-Antoine Camirand opened the season a Phoenix with a flag-to-flag victory. However, the oval at Lowe’s Motor Speedway wasn’t as kind. Mosport, a track he is familiar with, would provide Camirand with an opportunity to redeem himself. Unfortunately, he damaged the car severely in the first practice session. Repairs were successful as Camirand captured first and second-place finishes and grabbed the points lead. |
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The championship leader entering the Victoria Day long weekend event was Britain’s, Dan Weldon. Weldon was campaigning the No. 5 Van Diemen. His record included a victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and two runner-up results. Weldon qualified third fastest for Saturday’s contest, but a late-race off-course excursion took him out of contention. The next day, he bounced back with a victory. |
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The No. 19 DSTP Motorsports Mygale US-99 was driven by Bobby Oergel. Oergel captured last year’s US F2000 Oval Crown Championship Rookie-of-the-Year award. He finished outside the top ten in the season’s first event but collected a pair of fourth-place results at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Oergel qualified seventh fastest for the first race of the weekend and finished third. On Sunday, he grabbed another third place. |
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A field of twenty-eight US F2000 competitors round Mosport International Raceway’s corner ten in anticipation of the Starter’s flag. On the pole, for the second time this weekend, is the No. 24 Torco Racing Lubricants Van Diemen RF99 driven by Aaron Justus. On the outside of Justus is the second-fastest qualifier, Dan Weldon, in the No. 5 Primus Racing prepared Van Diemen RF99. |
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The winner of Saturday’s American Continental Championship category, for cars built from 1990 to 1997, was George Forgeois. Round four at Mosport International Raceway was his first US F2000 series start of the season. Forgeois qualified twentieth overall and second in class before collecting the victory. The next day, the driver of the No. 22 Café Noir Van Diemen RF97 retired with a suspension issue. |
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Guy Cosmo, driving the No. 12 Demonspeed.com Van Diemen, failed to finish rounds two and three at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. At Mosport International Raceway, Cosmo was the fastest in the American Continental Championship category but was the first retirement in race one. On Sunday, he went from ‘zero to hero.’ Cosmo started on the class pole and led from start to finish for a result of ninth overall. |
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The winner of the previous race was Aaron Justus. Justus piloted the No. 24 Torco Racing Lubricants Van Diemen RF99. He succeeded in qualifying on the pole for Saturday and Sunday’s contests. In race one, Justus was in third until Dan Weldon fell out of contention and collected a runner-up result. The following day, he was leading but was assessed a penalty for passing under a yellow flag and finished in fourteen-place. |
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| FINISH | START | CLASS | DRIVER | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | F2A | Marc-Antoine Camirand | Key Motorsport/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 2 | 1 | F2A | Aaron Justus | Torco Racing Lubricants/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 3 | 7 | F2A | Bobby Oergel | Red Line Oil/Mygale US-99 | 20 | - |
| 4 | 4 | F2A | Mark E. Dismore | Monster.com/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 5 | 5 | F2A | Steve Rikert | Richard Morgan Racing/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 6 | 6 | F2A | Rolando Quintanilla | Tecate/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 7 | 12 | F2A | Ian Lacy | Red Line Oil/Mygale US-99 | 20 | - |
| 8 | 11 | F2A | Jonathan Bottoms | Roppe Corp./Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 9 | 14 | F2A | T.J. Bell | Bell Helmets/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 10 | 8 | F2A | Bryce Miller | Venture Marketing/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 11 | 9 | F2A | Daniel Muniz | Texaco-Havoline/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 12 | 13 | F2A | Harold Primat | Primland Resort/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 13 | 22 | F2A | Alejandro García | Dixie Numerics/Van Diemen RF98 | 20 | - |
| 14 | 10 | F2A | Jacek Mucha | Orion Packing/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 15 | 15 | F2A | Jeff Glenn | Red Line Oil/Carbir DS-3 | 20 | - |
| 16 | 18 | F2A | Galen Puccini | RESET/Carbir DS-3 | 20 | - |
| 17 | 19 | F2A | Larry Oberto | Oberto Beef Jerky/Van Diemen RF98 | 20 | - |
| 18 | 20 | ACC | Georges Forgeois | Café Noir/Van Diemen RF97 | 20 | - |
| 19 | 21 | ACC | Mike Durand | Aspen Mint/Van Diemen RF97 | 20 | - |
| 20 | 25 | F2A | Arnold Brinkman | Fruit Ecuador/Van Diemen RF99 | 19 | - |
| 21 | 24 | ACC | Brett Harrison | Everett Engineering/Van Diemen RF95 | 19 | - |
| 22 | 26 | F2A | Tom Sporney | Ram Motor Sports/Tatuus RC98 | 19 | - |
| 23 | 28 | ACC | Chas Shaffer | Price Waterhouse Coopers/Van DiemenRF97 | 19 | - |
| 24 | 3 | F2A | Dan Wheldon | Primus Racing/Van Diemen RF99 | 18 | Off Course |
| 25 | 27 | ACC | Jon Groom | Jon Groom Racing/Van Diemen RF96 | 16 | Off Course |
| 26 | 23 | ACC | Greg Schings | Valvoline/Citation 95SF | 13 | Mechanical |
| 27 | 16 | F2A | Tommy Constantine | Mexmil/Tatuus RC99 | 12 | Off Course |
| 28 | 29 | ACC | Bob Wright | Smith Barney/Van Diemen RF95 | 11 | Engine |
| 29 | 17 | ACC | Guy Cosmo | Demonspeed.com/Van Diemen RF97 | 6 | Off Course |
| FINISH | START | CLASS | DRIVER | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | F2A | Dan Wheldon | Primus Racing/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 2 | 5 | F2A | Marc-Antoine Camirand | Key Motorsport/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 3 | 4 | F2A | Bobby Oergel | Red Line Oil/Mygale US-99 | 20 | - |
| 4 | 6 | F2A | Steve Rikert | Richard Morgan Racing/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 5 | 9 | F2A | Bryce Miller | Venture Marketing/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 6 | 14 | F2A | Daniel Muniz | Texaco-Havoline/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 7 | 13 | F2A | Jonathan Bottoms | Roppe Corp./Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 8 | 8 | F2A | Alejandro García | Dixie Numerics/Van Diemen RF98 | 20 | - |
| 9 | 16 | ACC | Guy Cosmo | Demonspeed.com/Van Diemen RF97 | 20 | - |
| 10 | 21 | ACC | Mike Durand | Aspen Mint/Van Diemen RF97 | 20 | - |
| 11 | 18 | F2A | Larry Oberto | Oberto Beef Jerky/Van Diemen RF98 | 20 | - |
| 12 | 25 | F2A | Arnold Brinkman | Fruit Ecuador/Van Diemen RF99 | 20 | - |
| 13 | 26 | ACC | Chas Shaffer | Price Waterhouse Coopers/Van DiemenRF97 | 20 | - |
| 14 | 1 | F2A | Aaron Justus | Torco Racing Lubricants/Van Diemen RF99 | 19 | Penalty |
| 15 | 10 | F2A | Jacek Mucha | Orion Packing/Van Diemen RF99 | 19 | - |
| 16 | 8 | F2A | Mark E. Dismore | Monster.com/Van Diemen RF99 | 18 | Accident |
| 17 | 17 | F2A | Galen Puccini | RESET/Carbir DS-3 | 18 | - |
| 18 | 11 | F2A | Harold Primat | Primland Resort/Van Diemen RF99 | 17 | - |
| 19 | 23 | F2A | Tommy Constantine | Mexmil/Tatuus RC99 | 17 | - |
| 20 | 20 | ACC | Brett Harrison | Everett Engineering/Van Diemen RF95 | 17 | - |
| 21 | 15 | F2A | Jeff Glenn | Red Line Oil/Carbir DS-3 | 14 | Off Course |
| 22 | 28 | ACC | Greg Schings | Valvoline/Citation 95SF | 14 | Mechanical |
| 23 | 3 | F2A | T.J. Bell | Bell Helmets/Van Diemen RF99 | 11 | Off Course |
| 24 | 22 | ACC | Georges Forgeois | Café Noir/Van Diemen RF97 | 9 | Suspension |
| 25 | 7 | F2A | Rolando Quintanilla | Tecate/Van Diemen RF99 | 7 | Accident |
| 26 | 12 | F2A | Ian Lacy | Red Line Oil/Mygale US-99 | 7 | Accident |
| 27 | 27 | F2A | Tom Sporney | Ram Motor Sports/Tatuus RC98 | 7 | Mechanical |
| 28 | 24 | ACC | Jon Groom | Jon Groom Racing/Van Diemen RF96 | 3 | Mechanical |
| - | 29 | ACC | Bob Wright | Smith Barney/Van Diemen RF95 | - | Did Not Start |
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