(June 2, 2015) — It was a weekend that many critics and doubters thought would never happen. Yet as the second of two checkered flags dropped marking the end of SCCA Pro Formula Lites inaugural race weekend at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway, one thing was clear – international open-wheel motorsports now has a truly viable and dynamic new playing field.
Making his debut with Florida-based BW Racing a successful one, American Nick Neri drove the Highway Systems/GridSport/Corby Concept-backed Crawford FL-15 to Formula Lites first ever series victory last Saturday morning. A celebrated go-kart champion with 300 wins and 26 championships to his credit, 19-year old Neri took advantage of an early race mistake by inaugural pole setter Vinicius Papareli to take the checkered flag. Papareli recovered to get within 1.8-seconds of Neri in taking 2nd place, while China’s Jackie Ding came home in 3rd just ahead of Group A teammate Jose Armida.
“It was a really, really fun battle at the beginning going back and forth with Vinicius Papareli,” Neri explained after climbing from his Honda-powered race car. “He made a bit of a mistake early, which gave me some space before he passed me again. We had been struggling to keep his pace all weekend, but after he spun I just had to hit my marks. It’s an incredible feeling to win the first race in this series ever.”
After enjoying two very promising and reliable days of Formula Lites testing and qualifying under sunny Connecticut skies, the groundbreaking field of drivers put their new Crawford Composites-built FL-15 chassis to the test for two races on Saturday. Much to the surprise of many Formula Lites drivers and teams, the series’ Honda powerplants and spec Pirelli tires performed to perfection all weekend.
Making good on the speed and performance advantage his JDX Racing team and team co-owner Jeremy Dale had established, Papareli took control of things on Round 2 from the drop of the green flag. Armida, a champion driver from Mexico City, Mexico, gave chase with Neri in hot pursuit. All of their efforts came up short, with the amiable Brazilian taking home the victory with a 2.3-second advantage at the checkered flag.
“So, yes, I had a very, very good car and a good team this weekend,” he explained after his victory celebration.”Jeremy (Dale) and JDX are very professional, and it was my job to drive well and perform for them. I am very, very happy today.”
As an added bonus, Papareli took home not one, but two specially-crafted Formula Lites commemorative Oakley watches for setting the fastest lap time in each of the two inaugural races. These beautiful “Oakley Fast Lap Awards” will be presented for each of the 12 Formula Lites races in 2015.
“After waiting seven years to see this weekend come to fruition we couldn’t have imagined a more solid and promising debut,” explained Formula Lites Co-Founding Partner Dennis McCormack. “Our new teams, drivers and cars were exceptional from nearly every perspective. We are proud of them and confident we have established a solid first cornerstone to build from”
“Many people expressed their doubts, but we feel this weekend proved them wrong,” he concluded.
The inaugural 2015 SCCA Pro Formula Lites season continues in just two weeks as the series takes on the challenging New Jersey Motorsports Park complex in Milville, New Jersey. Formula Lites will be part of the “Weekend of Thunder presented by MPT Industries” that features a full schedule of racing including SCCA Trans-Am, Porsche Club of America (PCA) and National Auto Sports Association (NASA) competition.