Skip Barber National at Road Atlanta Weekend Wrap-Up

Heading into the final two rounds of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National presented by Mazda, the championship title was still in the air, with MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver Spencer Pigot leading over Isaac Lyons by twenty points. By taking home the win in Round 13 at Road Atlanta, Pigot won the championship with one race to go. Isaac Lyons finished the championship in second Felix Serralles in third, Dennis Trebing in fourth, and Ashley Freiberg rounded out the top five.

2010 Skip Barber National Champion, Spencer Pigot Race 1, Round 13

As in the previous race weekend at Road America, the draft at Road Atlanta played a key role in strategy, especially in the final turns of each lap. A driver could find themselves leading down the back straight only to find themselves in fifth position when crossing the start/finish line. Pigot started from pole in the first race of the weekend, leading six laps throughout the race. Dennis Trebing started third, but at the end of lap one, found himself down in fifth. Early on, the whole field was running clean, nose-to-tail. Brandon Newey, after an impressive qualifying session, started third and took advantage of a field lock-up and took the lead in lap two. In the same lap, Ashley Freiberg suffered from an off track excursion and found her self in last place, but very impressively worked her way back up to fifth just three laps later. The same field lockup resulted in a bent front wing for Isaac Lyons, who fought hard, but ultimately finished seventh.

Trebing wisely worked his way through the field to lead laps twelve and thirteen. As the white flag flew, nerves were at an all time high. In order for Pigot to win the championship, all he had to do was finish on the podium, but with one lap to go, he was in fourth with Trebing leading, and Freiberg and Newey were close behind. In twelve of fourteen laps, Newey stayed in the top three positions, and in the end finished in fifth. Using the draft to his advantage, Pigot wisely bided his time and jumped from third to grab the lead in the final turns of the final lap, winning not only the race but the 2010 championship as well. Spencer receives hugs from his parents after his race and championship win

Pigot, Trebing and Serralles on the Round 13 Podium Race 2, Round 14

Dennis Trebing grabbed the final pole position of the 2010 season, although he did not take home the checker, he set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:35.396 with a speed of 95.853. Trebing lead Pigot, Freiberg and Serralles across the start line, and shortly after turn five, Trebing, Serralles and Pigot went three-wide for the lead, with Serralles coming out on top. Serralles led for a lap before Pigot grabbed the top position, only to have Freiberg then lead with Pigot and Serralles in tow.

Brandon Newey started in fifth and quickly worked his way up to the top four, in the main pack battling for the lead. By lap eight, Nick Andries had fought his way from eighth to fourth. In the same lap, Lyons spun on the front straight, but masterfully recovered and was able to not only continue, but keep all four wheels on track.

At the front of the back, Pigot grabbed the lead back from Serralles, passing on the inside in lap ten. Hoping to repeat his handling with the draft the previous day, Pigot instead found the other drivers using his draft to grab the lead. Nick Andries worked his way up from fourth just two laps before to take home the checker, followed by Serralles and Freiberg. After a long race season, Andries was ecstatic to finish the 2010 season with his first Skip Barber National race win. This was the second Skip Baber podium of the weekend for Serralles, and he also finished second on the USF2000 podium that weekend as well in his second ever USF2000 race. Anderson, Lyons, Dyne and Newey in qualifying

Andries, Serralles, Freiberg and Jim Norman on the Round 14 Podium Also during the weekend, Serralles and fellow MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver Spencer Pigot also were both selected as the winners for the prestigious Team USA Scholarship. Next week, both drivers will fly to England to participate in the 2010 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch October 16-17 and at the Walter Hayes Trophy event at Silverstone November 6- 7.

Following the on-track festivities, the drivers and staff of the Skip Barber National, USF2000 and Star Mazda Series were joined by the staff of MAZDASPEED Motorsports for the end of the season ladder awards dinner. Skip Barber’s Vice President of Competition Todd Snyder and Championship winner Spencer Pigot both gave impressive and capturing speeches, focusing on the importance of a racing family and support of sponsors. Skip Barber drivers looking to advance up the Mazda motorsports ladder were able to network with USF2000 and Star Mazda race teams and drivers. Overall, the night was a great success, especially for Skip Barber Racing, given that the champions for the 2010 USF2000 and Star Mazda titles were also Skip Barber Alumni.

OFFICIAL Results Thursday, September 30, Race 1 (round 13 of 14) BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, Road Atlanta, 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course

Starting position in parenthesis) 1. (1) #40 Spencer Pigot, Windermere,FL 2. (2) #41 Dennis Trebing, Cape Coral, FL 3. (4) #83 Felix Serralles, Haines City, FL 4. (9) #56 Scott Anderson, Fort Collins, CO 5. (3) #58 Brandon Newey, Indianapolis, IN 6. (5) #72 Ashley Freiberg, Homer Glen, IL 7. (7) #93 Isaac Lyons, Hillsborough Down, Ireland 8. (6) #63 Nick Andries, Pinellas Park, FF 9. (10) #74 Jim Norman, Tampa, FL 10. (8) #68 Austin Dyne, Indianapolis, IN

OFFICIAL Results Friday, October 1, Race 2 (round 14 of 14) BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, Road Atlanta, 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course (Starting position in parenthesis) 1. (8) #80 Nick Andries 2. (4) #83 Felix Serralles 3. (3) #72 Ashley Freiberg 4. (2) #40 Spencer Pigot 5. (1) #41 Dennis Trebing 6. (6) #56 Scott Anderson 7. (7) #63 Isaac Lyons 8. (5) #58 Brandon Newey 9. (9) #74 Jim Norman

2010 Skip Barber National Final Points Standings after 14 of 14 rounds, top 10 drivers:

1. Spencer Pigot-R, 419 points (Skip Barber Karting Shoot-Out Scholarship Winner, MAZDSPEED, Lott-o-Lawyer.com, California Scents, parathyroid.com, Silver Knight Racing, Sparco) 2. Isaac Lyons, 385, (Richard Lyons Driver Development, World Wide Renewable Energy) 3. Felix Serralles-R, 376 (Skip Barber Karting Shoot- out Scholarship Winner, MAZDSPEED) 4. Dennis Trebing, 367 (Trebing Tile & Carpet, Uwe Alzen Automotive) 5. Ashley Freiberg, 356 (Akzo Nobel, Collision Damage Experts) 6. Nick Andries-R, 350 (Indy 500: American Icon by Julie Studer, Team Pelfrey) 7. Scott Anderson-R, 317 (Laser Nail Centers, Neuropathy Testing Center of Colorado) 8. Brandon Newey-R, 293 (Bell, Sparco, Bryan Herta Autosport) 9. Mukul Sud-R, 210 (Skip Barber Karting Shoot- out Scholarship Winner, Artrotondo.com) 10. Luis Michael Dorrbecker 150 2010 Skip Barber Cup points standings after 14 of 14 rounds, top 3 drivers: 1. Jim Norman, 249 2. Peter Ludwig, 127 3. Brian Skinner, 119 4. Brian Cook, 70 5. Quentin Wahl, 67

Next Up

The Karting Shootout this December will determine some of next spring’s Skip Barber National participants as the event awards two drivers with a full season scholarship in the series for the 2011 season. Keep up to date by visiting www.skipbarber.com or www.twitter.com/SkipBarberNatl for all the inside information both on and off season.