Photo: Skib Barber Racing School
Ivan Machado Perez continued his unbeaten run in rounds five and six of the Skip Barber Formula Race Series at Watkins Glen and New Jersey Motorsports Park.
He kicked things off at Watkins Glen on July 11-13 with a huge pace advantage, setting a 1m59.284s to lead free practice one by 3.874 seconds and improving to 1m58.107s to maintain a 2.935s gap in FP2.
In qualifying he found even more pace, with a 1m57.757s putting him on pole by 2.111s over title rival Alan Orzynski. Chris Spada was 3.079s behind in third, and Trevor LaTourrette was 4.903s off the pace in fourth.
The gaps were shrinking since Machado Perez’s rivals could learn from his onboards and telemetry, but the points leader still had it easy in race one as he remained over a second per lap faster than the opposition.
He won the 12-lap race by 14.804s over Orzynski, with Spada a further 5.017s behind. Series returnee Nick DeLucia beat LaTourrette to fourth by 2.855s.
Race two panned out slightly differently, but Machado Perez knew little of it. With a pace advantage of over three seconds per lap he won by 40.412s on-the-road over Orzynski, who finished 0.938s ahead of Spada.
LaTourrette and DeLucia were split by 0.981s in the battle for fourth, but Orzynski and DeLucia then got five-second penalties for track limits abuse, and LaTourrette was penalised 10s for the same offence. That lifted Spada to second, and DeLucia actually gained a position too by moving ahead of LaTourrette into fourth.
The paddock headed to NJMP on August 1-3, having initially been set to race at Lime Rock before a late calendar change, and Machado Perez kicked things off looking similarly dominant.
He had a 2.089s gap to Orzynski in FP1, and was fastest by 1.685s over the returning Naim Saleh in FP2. Saleh slashed the gap to 1.209s in qualifying, denying Orzynski a front row spot by 0.153s. John O’Donnell qualified fourth, trailing by 2.232s while being 0.438s ahead of fifth-placed Scott Pyle.
Machado Perez converted pole into victory with ease, winning the 18-lap race one by 11.236s. Saleh also gapped Orzynski finished 10.206s clear, and it was Pyle who completed the top four.
Race two went Machado Perez’s way by a larger margin, as he was victorious by almost half a minute, and there was drama behind. O’Donnell finished second after putting three seconds between himself and Orzynski late on, and Saleh finished sixth rather than fourth after being handed a one-minute penalty for failing to report to the pitlane after a spin.
With two rounds to go, four drivers remain in title contention but Machado Perez looks to be one race way from title honours.
Results round-up
Watkins Glen race 1 (12 laps)
1 Ivan Machado Perez 24m02.142s
2 Alan Orzynski +14.804s
3 Chris Spada +19.821s
4 Nick DeLucia +31.805s
5 Trevor LaTourrette +34.660s
6 Logan Anderson +1m05.273s
7 Scott Pyle +1m21.893s
Pole: Machado Perez, 1m57.757s
Fastest lap: Machado Perez, 1m58.317s
Watkins Glen race 2 (12 laps)
1 Machado Perez 23m38.083s
2 Spada +41.350s
3 Orzynski +45.412s
4 DeLucia +56.151s
5 LaTourrette +1m00.170s
6 Anderson +1m27.517s
7 Pyle +1m33.008s
FL: Machado Perez, 1m57.473s
NJMP race 1 (18 laps)
1 Machado Perez 24m54.915s
2 Naim Saleh +11.236s
3 Orzynski +21.442s
4 Pyle +49.891s
5 Grant Mitchell +1m26.590s
6 LaTourrette +1 lap
7 Robert Mosteller +1 lap
8 Thaden Van Wong +1 lap
Ret John O’Donnell
P: Machado Perez, 1m21.718s
FL: Machado Perez, 1m22.099s
NJMP race 2 (18 laps)
1 Machado Perez 24m49.545s
2 O’Donnell +29.728s
3 Orzynski +32.836s
4 Pyle +49.644s
5 LaTourrette +58.180s
6 Saleh +1m48.386s
7 Van Wong +2 laps
8 Mosteller +3 laps
Ret Mitchell
FL: Machado Perez, 1m21.901s
Championship standings
1 Machado Perez 408 2 Orzynski 347 3 Spada 294 4 Saleh 282 5 LaTourrette 199 6 Anderson 194 7 Ethan Booher 178 8 O’Donnell 158 9 Keagan Day 156 10 Mitchell 141