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SUMMERTON: A Win At Mosport
Written by: Jonathan Summerton   http://www.formulajon.com/
09/01/2009
Kissimmee, FL
 
Mosport: A great track that has some ballsy corners! Throw in some elevation changes to make it more fun and well some bumps in the compression zones and we were ready to go racing last Sunday.
Summerton left Canada with some extra hardware and a better shot at the 2009 Atlantic Championship title. (Phil Sedgwick/Atlantic Championship) » More Photos

My weekend was pretty good as on the first practice day I was fastest. Second day fastest in the second session and I qualified on pole for the race, setting a new track record. On Sunday I won the race leading from start to finish, all thanks to great team work by the guys at Newman Wachs and my engineer, Don Halliday. What a great feeling to be able to win that race with the history of the track and to be able to win flag to flag.

Qualifying was different from practice due to it raining prior to the session, producing a drying track which meant it was even more fun as you really have to be on the edge to get good times. The session was also delayed due to thick fog which came in and well you couldn't see down to the first corner from the pits. We were all happy with the result of P1.

Later on that afternoon we went to sign autographs for the fans at the Cooper Tire rig. It was actually pretty cold. It was great to see all the kids coming up and smiling and enjoying themselves. It's always great to see fans walking away with a smile and enjoying the racing. To finish off the day after I did my debrief with the engineer and helped the guys pack up and finish cleaning the car I went out to the movies and saw G.I. Joe which was pretty good.

I got up at 7a.m. on race morning and went to the track to go look and see where I was going to start as that is very important for grip and also getting a great start. I ended up going for the left side as if the rain did come it would be the driest side of the track. In the race I felt confident that if I got a good start I could hold off anyone as we were quick and I was confident in the car. It worked well and I had a good 4 seconds lead until Simona miscalculated turn 2, a fast left hand corner that is downhill. Luckily she is OK but her car will have to be rebuilt.

This caused a safety car period and at the restart I floored it knowing l had only one lap to go. At the checkered I had a 1.2 second lead and closed the gap in the Atlantic Championship. One great part I have to mention about the race was our pace car was my dream car an Audi R8 V10. What an awesome car!!

Thanks for the questions again and please keep them coming.

Q: I am a big American open wheel racing fan and over the last decade I have been frustrated to see most of America’s young racing talent choosing a path that leads to NASCAR. What do you think needs to be done to attract more young Americans to the upper ranks of open wheel racing in the states and keep them there? Thanks, and good luck with your career! I hope to see you in the Indy Car Series soon, or at least the USF1 program.

Scott, Johnson City, TN

JS: Scott, having raced both here and in Europe I know that there is a big difference across the pond. I knew that I had to race in Europe to learn the different style of racing and to experience their race tracks which are a bit different. Having said that motorsport is really expensive. Many people go to NASCAR as they see the large financial numbers that NASCAR and its PR machine can bring. Open wheel for most series brings much less. So, to solve this problem we need to have the races held when the crowds are there instead of two days before the main feature race. We also need both the
series and the teams to find sponsors as it is very difficult to find sponsors other than friends when you don’t know what you will be doing the following year. Teams and series could do long term agreements and tell sponsors exactly what they will receive. Once you have this then prize money could cover the cost of racing for the driver.

Q: With the reunification of American open-wheel racing and Champ Car gone, there really doesn't seem to be much of a stepping stone series in America for young, aspiring drivers to transition from Atlantics or Indy Lights into Formula 1. The IndyCar Series could provide you with some experience, but the cars and the tracks (especially ovals) don't really seem to prepare anyone for Formula 1. However, many F1 stepping stone series exist in Europe. Do you hope to ultimately make that transition over the next year by going to Europe to race? And, could you ever see a long-term future for yourself racing stateside in the IndyCar Series?

Jay, Paducah, KY
Jonathan controlled the entire Mosport weekend, claiming pole and leading lights to flag for another win. (Phil Sedgwick/Atlantic Championship) » More Photos

JS: Jay, my long term future is hopefully in F1. As for the American ladder system I feel we have a great ladder system although now with the sad loss of FBMW I think there are too many series that are very similar. The Atlantic series has a good car to learn how to drive, possibly more than the Indy Light car which has more power but not as much down force. I would love to see Mazda enter F3 and convert their series to become F3 America. That would be very interesting! Indy Lights is a good feeder for oval racing but Atlantics is better for road circuits. With Europe I would have loved to race in GP2, however the cost is way too prohibitive at about $2,000,000. I don’t know about the new GP3 series that starts in 2010.

Q: Hi Jonathan, enjoyed reading your column. Congratulations on a great weekend! ....What exactly are you referring to when you "change the setup" of the car after a practice run, and since (if I am catching on) - the Cosworth engines in the car are the same, what are the major differences in the race car from team to team?

Gail, New Jersey

JS: With the Atlantic Championship the cars are all identical for engines, tub, wings, and suspension. However, we can change the ride height, the springs to make the car stiffer or softer, the camber and caster to give us more steering and grip, and also change the front and rear wings to give more down force. The more down force generally means more grip around the corners and therefore you can go through the corner quicker. It is amazing how much different a car can be with very small changes. A driver will drive as fast as the car allows. It is the engineer’s job to evaluate all the data and arrive at the best setting for that time at that track. The difference from team to team is therefore about very small settings.

Don't forget keep the questions coming to

~Jonathan

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

Learn more about Jonathan at JonathanSummerton.com, his web team at www.TangledSpider.com, and his racing team at newmanwachsracing.com

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel
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