2000 Watkins Glen International

The 2000 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 presenting sponsor is Speedvision. The series also receives generous support from the Ford Motor Company, Yokohama Tires, Sunoco Racing Fuels and Racing Electronics.

The championship consists of thirteen races and is contested on road courses and ovals. The season begins in March on the oval at Phoenix International Raceway. Next on the calendar is a road course double-header in Canada at Mosport International Raceway. Then the series travels to Indianapolis Raceway Park for another oval event. Rounds five and six are conducted on Road America. It is back to Canada to visit the temporary circuit at Trois-Rivieres at the end of July, followed a week later for a second visit to Mosport International Raceway. Watkins Glen International hosts race nine and ten. The penultimate round sees teams return to Indianapolis Raceway Park, with the final weekend of competition taking place at Road Atlanta.

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:

F2A – This category is for newer cars. Competitors score points on the road courses and ovals to secure the National Championship. There is also the Road to Indy Oval Crown for the driver who performs the best in the oval events.
ACC – The American Continental Championship is for cars built from 1990 to 1999. Drivers in this division score points on the road courses. This class was introduced to provide an economical means for drivers and teams to enter the series.

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

Rounds nine and ten of the 2000 US F2000 National Championship were held at Watkins Glen International in conjunction with the Grand-Am series. Drivers would compete in two fourteen lap contests around the eleven-turn 3.337-mile road course.

The starting grid for Sunday’s race US F2000 National Championship at Watkins Glen International. For the fourth time, this season is the No. 32 Van Diemen of Aaron Justus was on the pole. Sharing the front row and making his second series start of 2000 is Mike Andersen in the No. 11 Van Diemen. Behind the two fastest qualifiers are the third and fourth place starters Marc-Antoine Camirand and Memo Rojas.

The only high point for the rookie, Peter Walsh, since rounds two and three at Mosport, where he scored a victory and runner-up finish was a third-place result at Trois-Rivieres. In races nine and ten of the season, Walsh was back on form. On Saturday, he was gridded fifth for the start but moved into first on the opening lap and held the position until the checker. In the finale, he finished in the runner-up spot.

In race one at Watkins Glen International, Ian Lacy qualified fourth in the No. 6 WorldBestBuy.com Van Diemen but lost two places on the opening lap. Lacy regained the spots and chased Peter Walsh, Aaron Justus and Marc-Antoine Camirand. He moved by Camirand and when Justus crashed on lap-11, Lacy inherited a runner-up finish. On Sunday, he started in the fourth position and finished sixth.

Winning the American Continental Championship on Saturday at Watkins Glen International was Mike Durand. Durand qualified and finished ninth overall on the way to the class victory. The following day, the driver of the No. 71 sponsored Van Diemen was gridded seventeenth and finished in the fifteenth position with gave him second place in the American Continental Championship division.

After qualifying on the pole for round nine, the points leader, Aaron Justus, had good reason to be optimistic. On the opening lap, the driver of the No. 32 Forsythe Racing Van Diemen lost the top spot. But things went from ‘bad to worse’ when Justus crashed on the eleventh circuit and was classified with a twenty-second-place result. On Sunday at Watkins Glen International, he redeemed himself with a flag-to-flag victory.

The 1999 SCCA Formula Continental National Champion, Mike Andersen, made his 2000 series debut in rounds nine and ten. In qualifying, Andersen surprised the regulars by recording the second-fastest time in the qualifying session. Unfortunately, the No. 11 Van Diemen driver fell out of contention and finished a distant seventh. On Sunday, Andersen fared much better and captured the final spot on the podium.

Entering the Watkins Glen weekend, Tom Dyer had four American Continental Championship victories in the No. 2 Cycle Shack / Bell Helmets sponsored Carbir. Dyer was not a factor in Saturday’s contest after being eliminated on lap-6 after contact with James Eaton. The following day, he was gridded twelfth overall and won his division by a comfortable margin of 10.13-seconds.

After a terrific battle with Ian Lacy and Aaron Justus, Canadian Marc-Antoine Camirand captured the final podium position in race one at Watkins Glen International. In the finale, Camirand’s No. 96 Key Motorsports Van Diemen was gridded in the third spot. On the twelfth circuit, Camirand crashed in corner eight and retired. He was classified with a thirty-place finish but recorded the fastest lap of the race.

The round ten podium for the 2000 US F2000 National Championship at Watkins Glen International. From left to right is the American Continental Championship class winner, Tom Dyer. Beside Dyer is the overall and victor of the National category, Aaron Justus. Next is the runner-up from Ireland, Peter Walsh. And the final position on the rostrum is occupied by the third-place finisher, Mike Andersen.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	5	F2A	Peter Walsh	Key Motorsport/Van Diemen	14	-
2	4	F2A	Ian Lacy	WorldBestBuy.com/Van Diemen	14	-
3	3	F2A	Marc-Antoine Camirand	Key Motorsport/Van Diemen	14	-
4	13	F2A	James Hanson	DuPont/Van Diemen	14	-
5	6	F2A	Daniel Muniz	TexacoHavlineRcg/FujiFillm/Van Diemen	14	-
6	7	F2A	Memo Rojas Jr	TelMex/Van Diemen	14	-
7	2	F2A	Mike Andersen	Valvoline/Pi Research/Van Diemen	14	-
8	15	F2A	Arnold Brinkmann	H2OLA/Fruit/Van Diemen	14	-
9	9	ACC	Mike Durand	Kart Sports/Van Diemen	14	-
10	8	F2A	Arie Luyendyk Jr	Luyendyk Racing/Van Diemen	14	-
11	34	F2A	Piero Rodarte	TelMex/Sico/Yumuri/Elf/Van Diemen	14	-
12	12	F2A	Jeff Harrison	Moto1.net/MtspRanch/Palancasa/Van Diemen	14	-
13	27	ACC	Nick Fanelli	Fanelli Motorsports/Van Diemen	14	-
14	26	ACC	Cliff Pickett Jr	Heritage Motorsports/Van Diemen	14	-
15	29	F2A	Niki Fleury	TBD/Van Diemen	14	-
16	24	ACC	Richard Zober	Zober Industries Incl./Van Diemen	14	-
17	32	ACC	Paul Lasko	TCR/RacingforKids/Triumph/Van Diemen	14	-
18	28	F2A	Tommy Constantine	Tickets.com/Mexmil/Van Diemen	14	-
19	33	ACC	Mike Scanlan	1-800-PART-STOP/Valvoline/Van Diemen	14	-
20	23	F2A	Andrew Davis	Technical Sales Associates/Van Diemen	13	Off Course
21	22	ACC	Georges Forgeois	Cafe Noir/Jules/Van Diemen	13	-
22	1	F2A	Aaron Justus	Forsythe/Indeck/Torco/Van Diemen	10	Contact
23	10	F2A	Andy Lally	Cafe Noir/T-One/Oberto Jerky/Van Diemen	10	Mechanical
24	25	ACC	Chris Burke	Taylor Rental/Valvoline/Van Diemen	10	Mechanical
25	21	ACC	Tom Sabiel Jr	Wurth/CalCustomCrafts/BodyWks/Van Diemen	10	Mechanical
26	22	F2A	Carl Russo	TBD/Van Diemen	9	Contact
27	30	ACC	Adam Sodano	F1 Boston/Outsource/EpicTech/Van Diemen	9	Contact
28	11	ACC	Tom Dyer	CycleShack/BelHelmets/Paladin/Carbir	6	Contact
29	18	F2A	James Eaton	Primus Racing/Van Diemen	6	Contact
30	17	F2A	Guy Cosmo	KC Technical Services/JWR/Carbir	4	Mechanical
31	31	ACC	Niki Coello	PouredFoundations.com/CoelloRc/Carbir	2	Engine
32	14	F2A	Harold Primat	Primland Resort/Van Diemen	0	Contact
33	16	ACC	Greg Schings	Valvoline/Valco/SR Racing/Van Diemen	0	Contact
34	19	F2A	Billy Asaro	Forsythe/InDeck Racing/Van Diemen	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	F2A	Aaron Justus	Forsythe/Indeck/Torco/Van Diemen	14	-
2	5	F2A	Peter Walsh	Key Motorsport/Van Diemen	14	-
3	2	F2A	Mike Andersen	Valvoline/Pi Research/Van Diemen	14	-
4	6	F2A	Ian Lacy	WorldBestBuy.com/Van Diemen	14	-
5	13	F2A	James Hanson	DuPont/Van Diemen	14	-
6	4	F2A	Memo Rojas Jr	TelMex/Van Diemen	14	-
7	7	F2A	Daniel Muniz	TexacoHavlineRcg/FujiFillm/Van Diemen	14	-
8	9	F2A	Arnold Brinkmann	H2OLA/Fruit/Van Diemen	14	-
9	11	F2A	Harold Primat	Primland Resort/Van Diemen	14	-
10	10	F2A	Jeff Harrison	Moto1.net/MtspRanch/Palancasa/Van Diemen	14	-
11	12	ACC	Tom Dyer	CycleShack/BelHelmets/Paladin/Carbir	14	-
12	8	F2A	Arie Luyendyk Jr	Luyendyk Racing/Van Diemen	14	-
13	16	F2A	Andy Lally	Cafe Noir/T-One/Oberto Jerky/Van Diemen	14	-
14	18	F2A	Piero Rodarte	TelMex/Sico/Yumuri/Elf/Van Diemen	14	-
15	17	ACC	Mike Durand	Kart Sports/Van Diemen	14	-
16	14	F2A	Andrew Davis	Technical Sales Associates/Van Diemen	14	-
17	20	ACC	Georges Forgeois	Cafe Noir/Jules/Van Diemen	14	-
18	21	ACC	Greg Schings	Valvoline/Valco/SR Racing/Van Diemen	14	-
19	19	F2A	Guy Cosmo	KC Technical Services/JWR/Carbir	14	-
20	23	F2A	James Eaton	Primus Racing/Van Diemen	14	-
21	22	F2A	Carl Russo	TBD/Van Diemen	14	-
22	25	F2A	Niki Fleury	TBD/Van Diemen	14	-
23	30	ACC	Adam Sodano	F1 Boston/Outsource/EpicTech/Van Diemen	14	-
24	26	ACC	Nick Fanelli	Fanelli Motorsports/Van Diemen	14	-
25	29	ACC	Richard Zober	Zober Industries Incl./Van Diemen	14	-
26	28	ACC	Tom Sabiel Jr	Wurth/CalCustomCrafts/BodyWks/Van Diemen	14	-
27	33	ACC	Paul Lasko	TCR/RacingforKids/Triumph/Van Diemen	14	-
28	31	ACC	Niki Coello	PouredFoundations.com/CoelloRc/Carbir	14	-
29	34	ACC	Mike Scanlan	1-800-PART-STOP/Valvoline/Van Diemen	13	-
30	3	F2A	Marc-Antoine Camirand	Key Motorsport/Van Diemen	12	Spin
31	27	ACC	Cliff Pickett Jr	Heritage Motorsports/Van Diemen	10	Off Course
32	24	F2A	Tommy Constantine	Tickets.com/Mexmil/Van Diemen	8	Mechanical
33	32	ACC	Chris Burke	Taylor Rental/Valvoline/Van Diemen	7	Mechanical
34	15	F2A	Billy Asaro	Forsythe/InDeck Racing/Van Diemen	0	Did Not Start

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