2000 Mosport - Canadian Formula Ford Championship

2000 marked the third season that the Canadian Formula Ford Championship was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company. Running as a support race for high profile events such as the Canadian Grand Prix and the Toronto Indy contributed to healthy grids and close racing.

The 2000 season opened on the May long weekend at Mosport International Raceway. This event was followed by the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and another popular venue on the calendar, the Molson Indy Toronto. Rounds four and five were the series only doubleheader weekend. Competitors would race on Saturday and Sunday at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. The next two events took place at Mosport, with races being conducted on August’s the first and last weekend. The championship concluded in early September at Autodrome St-Eustache.

The single-seater, open-wheel race cars in the series are powered by a four-cylinder, 1600-cc Ford engine, which produces120-horsepower. A mixture of European and North American chassis is used by competitors. Two of the most successful cars are constructed in Canada – the Aero and CMV. Minimum vehicle weight is determined by the suspension design and ranges from 1050 to 1125-lbs., with the driver. Teams are required to use a spec fuel from Sunoco (Ultra 94) and a spec tire (Hankook Z2000).

Round one of the 2000 Canadian Formula Ford Championship was conducted at Mosport International Raceway on the Victoria Day weekend. Drivers would compete on the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course for sixteen-laps.

The first lap into corner one for the opening round of the 2000 Canadian Formula Ford Championship. Leading the field of twenty-three starters is the pole-sitter, Jonathan Macri, in the No. 31 AIM Motorsports prepared AERO II. Behind Macri is the third-place qualifier, Matt White driving the No. 4 Britain West Van Diemen RF00 and the No. 7 Vector MG-93 of the outside front row starter, Jean-Sebastien Bedard.

Last year’s ‘Rookie of the Year,’ Jonathan Macri, joined the AIM Motorsports team to drive the No. 31 AERO II. In qualifying, Macri didn’t post his fastest time until the last lap, which earned him the pole. He led the opening lap of the race but lost the top spot to Jean-Sebastien Bedard, who would battle with Matt White. Bedard and White had issues during the contest and Macri would win by a margin of 21.66-seconds.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin joined the Canadian Formula Ford Championship for his second full season of the series. Dumoulin piloted an older No. 99 Van Diemen RF90. During the qualifying session, he was only able to manage the fifteenth fastest time. In the race, Dumoulin charged to the front and benefited from the misfortunes of Matt White, Francis Macri and Jean-Sebastien Bedard to finish in the runner-up position.

Didier Schraenen was also able to advance due to his competitor’s bad luck and capture the final position on the podium. Schraenen was the fifth-fastest in qualifying but could not match the pace of the leaders or Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and Marc DeVellis. With Matt White, Francis Macri and Jean-Sebastien encountering issues and the disqualification of DeVellis, Schraenen inherited a third-place finish.

British Columbia’s Marc DeVellis started round one of the Canadian Formula Ford Championship in eleventh-place. An excellent performance and problems for Matt White, Francis Macri and Jean-Sebastien Bedard allowed the driver of the No. 67 Key Motorsports Van Diemen RF98 to cross the finish line in third place. Unfortunately, DeVellis’ car was underweight during the post-race tech inspection and he was disqualified.

Jean-Sebastien Bedard gave notice early in the weekend that he would be a contender. Bedard dominated the practice sessions and topped the qualifying timesheet until the final minutes of the session. He started second but moved into the lead on lap-2. Bedard traded first place with Matt White and Jonathan Macri until the sixth circuit when the No. 7 Vector MG-93 developed a mechanical issue. He finished eighteenth.

The No. 4 Britain West prepared Van Diemen RF99 was driven by Matt White, the son of the former Bulova Formula Ford champion, David White. He was gridded fourth for the start of the race and exchanged the lead with Jonathan Macri and Jean-Sebastien Bedard. On lap-12, there was contact between White and Francis Macri in turn eight. The incident took him out of contention and he finished in twelfth-place.

The podium for round one of the 2000 Canadian Formula Ford Championship at Mosport International Raceway. In the center is last year’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ and the race winner, Jonathan Macri. On the left side of the rostrum is the runner-up, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin. The final position on the podium is occupied by Marc DeVellis. DeVellis would be disqualified after his car failed the technical inspection.

POS	START	DRIVER	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Jonathan Macri	AERO II	AIM Motorsports	16	-
2	15	Louis-Philippe Dumoulin	Van Diemen RF90	CHB Forest	16	-
3	5	Didier Schraenen	CMV	Dynatec	16	-
4	7	Brett Osler	Van Diemen RF92	SPOC Telecom	16	-
5	13	Gerry Kavanaugh	Van Diemen RF91	EDJ Packaging	16	-
6	17	Melanie Paterson	Van Diemen RF97	Sunoco/Pennzoil	16	-
7	19	Alex Michie	Van Diemen RF98	Tooling & Equipment	16	-
8	22	Robert Boyer	Van Diemen RF98	Spasco	16	-
9	12	Eric Paradis	Van Diemen RF97	Amusement 222	16	-
10	20	Steve Pickering	Van Diemen RF90	Transmissions Unlimited	15	-
11	21	Michel Fournier	Van Diemen RF94	Simard Transport	15	-
12	3	Matt White	Van Diemen RF00	Britain West	13	Accident
13	8	James Yott	Van Diemen RF98	Groupe DKY Advertising	13	Did Not Finish
14	14	Michael Gayowski	Van Diemen RF92	Monarch Automotive	13	Did Not Finish
15	18	Tom Reinsel	Van Diemen RF97	Broken Bones Racing	13	Did Not Finish
16	4	Francis Macri	AERO II	AIM Motorsports	12	Accident
17	16	Edouard Aube	Van Diemen RF94	Team Scalzo	12	-
18	2	Jean-Sebastien Bedard	Vector MG-93	Scuderia LM	12	-
19	6	Frederick Martel	Van Diemen RF94	Team Scalzo	6	Did Not Finish
20	9	Ryan Horses	Van Diemen RF98	Basi Autosport	5	Did Not Finish
21	10	Jon Adams	Van Diemen RF98	Adams Racing	4	Did Not Finish
22	23	Hughes Guenette	Van Diemen RF97	Basi Autosport	0	Did Not Finish
DSQ	11	Marc DeVellis	Van Diemen RF98	Key Motorsport	16	Under Weight