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IndyCar
HOBBS: An Educational USF2000 Debut
Rookie USF2000 driver Andrew Hobbs files his first column for SPEED.com after learning the ropes at the opening round in Sebring, FL.
Andrew Hobbs came away with a new appreciation for Sebring after his first weekend of USF2000 competition. (Photo: John Hendricks)
First of all I would like to say a huge thank you to SPEED for giving me this opportunity. As a rookie in the USF2000 Championships I was stunned when I was asked to do the column this year. I hope you all like reading it and continue to support the great Mazda Road to Indy program. Enjoy!
As the sun finally started to rise over the track I just stood in front of the tent and smiled. I was looking at what was finally my car. Not the series car, not my car for the session or the day, but my car that I could change and adapt just for me. When my mechanic Dale fired up the engine for the first time that morning I couldn’t wait to just get in the seat and drive it around and around all day long. Be patient I told myself, you’ve waited 18 months for this, you can wait another hour or two.
I couldn’t believe I was finally here; I finally got to drive my USF2000 car around Sebring International Raceway on the weekend of the Sebring Twelve Hour. To be honest, when I raced at Sebring before in Skip Barber, I really didn’t like the track at all.
In those cars the bumps were just magnified and you didn’t really carry very much speed due to the treaded tires. Because of this experience I didn’t see why all the fuss over the Twelve Hour. Yes, I know it is one of the most prestigious endurance races in the world, one that my grandfather had raced in for Ford, Porsche and many other manufacturers, but what about this track made people want to come back?
Wow! Did my perspective change. After one session in a USF2000 car my idea about the track totally changed. It was so fast and in a stiff car the bumps weren’t really that bad; instead they added an extra challenge and thrill to the track. On top of that the Twelve Hours of Sebring is one of the most amazing racing events I have ever witnessed. The atmosphere is amazing, the cars and teams that attend are legendary, and the whole event is just spectacular. I was completely caught off guard by how big of an event it is. Of course that doesn’t exclude the schedule for the USF2000 events either. Even though it is a support series the conduct from the management team, the drivers, the teams themselves is all so professional. I was rushing around doing pictures, and then being taken up to the media center to meet reporters, series marketing directors, PR reps from various organizations that supported the series and entertaining guests from my sponsor Pulse. It seemed like I was going nonstop from 8am to 6pm each day, which I am not complaining about at all because after all I get to race cars!
This sense of amazement never left me even in the car. The difference between the Skip Barber car, what I raced last year, and the USF2000 car is staggering. While I had tested a USF2000 car before, I had only done a few days and on fairly low speed circuits. I had never experienced the full grip and level you could push these cars to like I experienced at Sebring. The speed you could carry through one and seventeen was amazing, and something I was totally unaccustomed to. It showed as the weekend went on. Even though we ended the weekend mid-pack, 2 seconds off the leaders, it was clear where the time was. Through the infield I was a mere 0.5 off the top ten. For a first weekend I’ll definitely take it. The rest of the time was in one and seventeen where my inexperience with the car showed as I was still getting to the limit of the car.
Overall I was incredibly happy with the weekend. Through hard work I was able to get faster every time I was in the car and by the end of the weekend, just six sessions to clarify, I was able to be in the field fighting for positions. Now as we head for St. Petersburg, I am incredibly grateful for the trial-by-fire I had in Sebring. Sebring allowed me to get accustomed to the car and start testing the limits. I’m incredibly excited for St. Petersburg and am really looking forward to continue climbing up the time sheets.
Andrew Hobbs is an 18-year-old native of Milwaukee and the grandson of legendary driver turned commentator David Hobbs. A graduate of karting and the Skip Barber program, he is making his professional racing debut on the Mazda Road to Indy driving the #22 for ArmsUp Motorsports. Get to know Andrew at www.AndrewHobbsRacing.com; on Facebook and on Twitter @AHobbsRacing.
As the sun finally started to rise over the track I just stood in front of the tent and smiled. I was looking at what was finally my car. Not the series car, not my car for the session or the day, but my car that I could change and adapt just for me. When my mechanic Dale fired up the engine for the first time that morning I couldn’t wait to just get in the seat and drive it around and around all day long. Be patient I told myself, you’ve waited 18 months for this, you can wait another hour or two.
I couldn’t believe I was finally here; I finally got to drive my USF2000 car around Sebring International Raceway on the weekend of the Sebring Twelve Hour. To be honest, when I raced at Sebring before in Skip Barber, I really didn’t like the track at all.
In those cars the bumps were just magnified and you didn’t really carry very much speed due to the treaded tires. Because of this experience I didn’t see why all the fuss over the Twelve Hour. Yes, I know it is one of the most prestigious endurance races in the world, one that my grandfather had raced in for Ford, Porsche and many other manufacturers, but what about this track made people want to come back?
Wow! Did my perspective change. After one session in a USF2000 car my idea about the track totally changed. It was so fast and in a stiff car the bumps weren’t really that bad; instead they added an extra challenge and thrill to the track. On top of that the Twelve Hours of Sebring is one of the most amazing racing events I have ever witnessed. The atmosphere is amazing, the cars and teams that attend are legendary, and the whole event is just spectacular. I was completely caught off guard by how big of an event it is. Of course that doesn’t exclude the schedule for the USF2000 events either. Even though it is a support series the conduct from the management team, the drivers, the teams themselves is all so professional. I was rushing around doing pictures, and then being taken up to the media center to meet reporters, series marketing directors, PR reps from various organizations that supported the series and entertaining guests from my sponsor Pulse. It seemed like I was going nonstop from 8am to 6pm each day, which I am not complaining about at all because after all I get to race cars!
This sense of amazement never left me even in the car. The difference between the Skip Barber car, what I raced last year, and the USF2000 car is staggering. While I had tested a USF2000 car before, I had only done a few days and on fairly low speed circuits. I had never experienced the full grip and level you could push these cars to like I experienced at Sebring. The speed you could carry through one and seventeen was amazing, and something I was totally unaccustomed to. It showed as the weekend went on. Even though we ended the weekend mid-pack, 2 seconds off the leaders, it was clear where the time was. Through the infield I was a mere 0.5 off the top ten. For a first weekend I’ll definitely take it. The rest of the time was in one and seventeen where my inexperience with the car showed as I was still getting to the limit of the car.
Overall I was incredibly happy with the weekend. Through hard work I was able to get faster every time I was in the car and by the end of the weekend, just six sessions to clarify, I was able to be in the field fighting for positions. Now as we head for St. Petersburg, I am incredibly grateful for the trial-by-fire I had in Sebring. Sebring allowed me to get accustomed to the car and start testing the limits. I’m incredibly excited for St. Petersburg and am really looking forward to continue climbing up the time sheets.
Andrew Hobbs is an 18-year-old native of Milwaukee and the grandson of legendary driver turned commentator David Hobbs. A graduate of karting and the Skip Barber program, he is making his professional racing debut on the Mazda Road to Indy driving the #22 for ArmsUp Motorsports. Get to know Andrew at www.AndrewHobbsRacing.com; on Facebook and on Twitter @AHobbsRacing.
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