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The 2003 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 twelve doubleheader weekends, each being contested on road courses. The season begins in March at Sebring International Raceway. In May, the teams travel north for races at Lime Rock Park. The championship makes its first of two visits to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course a month later. Next on the calendar are rounds seven and eight at Road America. Then the series returns to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the penultimate race weekend. The season ends with the final two races at Road Atlanta during the Petit Le Mans event. 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 popular 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:
Titles are also on the line for Chassis Manufacturers, Engine Builders and Teams. Rounds eleven and twelve a Road Atlanta would conclude the 2003 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship. Drivers would compete on the twelve-turn 2.54 –mile road course for eighteen laps.
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The start of the penultimate round of the 2003 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship. The pole-sitter and points leader, Westley Barber, makes a poor start and is passed by the Van Diemen's of the second and fourth fastest qualifiers, Jonathan Bomarito and Charlie Kimball. Negatively impacted by Barber's start is the third-place qualifier, Andy Brumbaugh. A total of twenty-five competitors took the Starter's flag. |
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Heading into the championship's final weekend, the title would be decided between Westley Barber and Jonathan Bomarito. Bomarito, driving the No. 23 Van Diemen, qualified second to Barber in the weekend's first race but passed him before turn one to claim the victory. Barber was disqualified, which meant two points were separating the contenders. In the finale, Bomarito led flag-to-flag for the championship. |
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Charlie Kimball was the first retiree of the season, crashing on the opening lap at Sebring International Raceway. However, he was on form at Road America and claimed a pair of wins. Kimball was gridded in the fourth position for the weekend's first race at Road Atlanta and battled to a third-place result. In the finale, the driver of the No. 91 Van Diemen qualified and finished third, which gave him third place in the final standings. |
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The 2002 British Formula Ford champion, Westley Barber, entered the final weekend with a comfortable points lead but still had to deliver some excellent results to secure the title. He started by qualifying on the pole for race one. Unfortunately, a bad start caused Barber to finish second. However, he was disqualified after the contest. In the finale, Barber had to finish ahead of Jonathan Bomarito, which he failed to do. |
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Andy Brumbaugh drove the No. 86 Andy LLC / Corby Concepts Van Diemen RF03 and was gridded third for the start of the weekend's first contest. Unfortunately, the pole-sitter, Westley Barber, had a poor start which caused Brumbaugh to lose positions. He fought back to fourth at the finish line and inherited third place when Barber was disqualified. He ended the season by qualifying fifth fastest and finishing fourth. |
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The American Continental Championship points leader after ten rounds was Chris Dona. The driver of the No. 37 Rexxon Engineering / RaceLift / Barberry Van Diemen RF01 could wrap up the title in race one if he finished ahead of Erick Hansen. Dona started the penultimate round on the class pole and finished in front of Hansen to claim the Crown. He ended the season with his sixth category victory. |
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The podium for the penultimate round for the 2003 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship. From left to right is the American Continental Championship race winner and new class champion, Chris Dona. Beside Dona is the Zetec championship points leader and second-place finisher, Westley Barber. Next to Barber is the race winner for the fourth time this year Jonathan Bomarito. Completing the rostrum is Charlie Kimball. |
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| FINISH | START | CLASS | DRIVER | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | F2A | Jonathan Bomarito | Valley Financial / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 2 | 4 | F2A | Charlie Kimball | rentvillas.com /Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 3 | 3 | F2A | Andy Brumbaugh | Andy LLC/Corby Concepts / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 4 | 6 | F2A | Adam Pecorari | SAI Hydraulics / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 5 | 10 | F2A | James Gué | Essex Racing/GTP Motorsports / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 6 | 9 | F2A | Andrew Prendeville | TCW/Valvoline / Van Diemen RF02 | 18 | - |
| 7 | 14 | F2A | Bobby Wilson | Green-Keep / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 8 | 13 | F2A | Tonis Kasemets | FlexOvit/MK Industries / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 9 | 8 | F2A | Doug Prendeville | TCW/Valvoline / Van Diemen RF01 | 18 | - |
| 10 | 12 | F2A | Chris Festa | Car Centric / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 11 | 15 | F2A | Ian Baas | Blossom Chevrolet / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 12 | 11 | F2A | Josh Hunt | Sirromet Wines/Gold Group / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 13 | 16 | F2A | Steve Welk | Van Diemen Scholarship / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 14 | 23 | F2A | Doug Smith | 10/Tenths Motorsports / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 15 | 17 | F2A | Philip Klaar | Pabst Racing Services / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 16 | 19 | F2A | Al Salvo | Miracle Sealants / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 17 | 18 | F2A | Ira Fierberg | Personal Injury Law / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 18 | 21 | ACC | Chris Dona | Rexxon Engineering / Van Diemen RF01 | 18 | - |
| 19 | 22 | ACC | Erick Hansen | Hansen-Moore Co. / Van Diemen RF01 | 18 | - |
| 20 | 24 | F2A | Matthew DiRenzo | Van Diemen Scholarship / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 21 | 25 | ACC | Andy Chu | P&M Machining / Van Diemen RF01 | 17 | - |
| 22 | 7 | F2A | Lawson Aschenbach | King Automotive/M&M Welding / Van Diemen RF03 | 16 | Did Not Finish |
| 23 | 5 | F2A | Robbie Pecorari | SAI Hydraulics / Van Diemen RF03 | 9 | Accident |
| 24 | 20 | F2A | Marshall Aiken | Aiken-Harpers Partners / Van Diemen RF03 | 1 | Did Not Finish |
| - | 1 | F2A | Westley Barber | Cape Motorsports / Van Diemen RF03 | - | Disqualified |
| FINISH | START | CLASS | DRIVER | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | F2A | Jonathan Bomarito | Valley Financial / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 2 | 2 | F2A | Westley Barber | Cape Motorsports / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 3 | 3 | F2A | Charlie Kimball | rentvillas.com /Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 4 | 5 | F2A | Andy Brumbaugh | Andy LLC/Corby Concepts / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 5 | 6 | F2A | Andrew Prendeville | TCW/Valvoline / Van Diemen RF02 | 18 | - |
| 6 | 11 | F2A | Tonis Kasemets | FlexOvit/MK Industries / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 7 | 12 | F2A | James Gué | Essex Racing/GTP Motorsports / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 8 | 15 | F2A | Ian Baas | Blossom Chevrolet / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 9 | 8 | F2A | Lawson Aschenbach | King Automotive/M&M Welding / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 10 | 13 | F2A | Josh Hunt | Sirromet Wines/Gold Group / Van Diemen | 18 | - |
| 11 | 20 | F2A | Marshall Aiken | Aiken-Harpers Partners / Van Diemen RF03 | 18 | - |
| 12 | 17 | F2A | Philip Klaar | Pabst Racing Services / Van Diemen RF03 | 17 | - |
| 13 | 14 | F2A | Steve Welk | Van Diemen Scholarship / Van Diemen RF03 | 17 | - |
| 14 | 23 | F2A | Matthew DiRenzo | Van Diemen Scholarship / Van Diemen RF03 | 17 | - |
| 15 | 21 | ACC | Chris Dona | Rexxon Engineering / Van Diemen RF01 | 17 | - |
| 16 | 19 | F2A | Al Salvo | Miracle Sealants / Van Diemen RF03 | 17 | - |
| 17 | 22 | ACC | Erick Hansen | Hansen-Moore Co. / Van Diemen RF01 | 17 | - |
| 18 | 18 | F2A | Ira Fierberg | Personal Injury Law / Van Diemen | 14 | - |
| 19 | 24 | ACC | Andy Chu | P&M Machining / Van Diemen RF01 | 4 | Suspension |
| 20 | 25 | F2A | Doug Smith | 10/Tenths Motorsports / Van Diemen RF03 | 3 | Mechanical |
| 21 | 10 | F2A | Adam Pecorari | SAI Hydraulics / Van Diemen RF03 | 3 | Accident |
| 22 | 16 | F2A | Bobby Wilson | Green-Keep / Van Diemen | 2 | Accident |
| 23 | 4 | F2A | Robbie Pecorari | SAI Hydraulics / Van Diemen RF03 | 0 | Mechanical |
| 24 | 7 | F2A | Chris Festa | Car Centric / Van Diemen | 0 | Accident |
| 25 | 9 | F2A | Doug Prendeville | TCW/Valvoline / Van Diemen RF01 | 0 | Accident |
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