After point leader Dane Cameron led both practice sessions and won the pole for Sunday’s Star Mazda presented by Goodyear race at Burke Lakefront Airport, some people figured he had another victory in the bag.
Jonathan Goring, who qualified second, wasn’t one of them.
Showing maturity well beyond his 17 years, the Andersen Racing driver from Norfolk, Conn., watched Cameron closely and saw a possible opportunity to pass him towards the end of Sunday’s race. He tried it; it worked; and the result was Goring’s first Star Mazda victory ever.
Goring’s No. 14, which advertise the Skip Barber Racing School, Alfas Unlimited and NPA Graphics, was 1.059 seconds ahead of Cameron when the checkered dropped in the 45-minute race that was part of the track’s Champ Car weekend. Natacha Gachnang finished third.
Tire management was crucial.
“I was in second for almost the whole race, ” Goring related afterwards. “There was a caution in the middle. That’s when I realized that Dane Cameron wasn ‘t as strong as I was under braking in Turn 1. On the second restart a little later I capitalized on that and passed him under braking in Turn 1. He finished second. I had about a 1-second lead at the end.
“The track was a little slippery because of the Champ Cars going out before us, but my car handled very well, ” added Goring, the 2006 Skip Barber National champion.
“I have to thank everybody on the Andersen Racing team, ” he said. “Getting my first Star Mazda win feels awesome! “
The two other Andersen Racing drivers in the race, Phil Saville of Oak Brook, Ill. and Jonny Baker from Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England, placed 12th and 14th, respectively, in the provisional order of finish for the 23-driver field.
Saville’s car is sponsored by New York Jewelers of Chicago; NVG Residential; Mac Marketing & Advertising Corp. and Chicago Indoor Racing. He was unavailable for comment immediately after the race due to his travel schedule.
Baker said that although his car was consistent in practice, it didn’t handle the bumpy course well on Sunday. “I’ll have to sit down with my engineer, go over the data and see what happened, ” he said. “It might have been something with a shock. “
Sunday’s race, which marked the season’s midpoint, will be broadcast on SPEED Monday, July 9 at 3 p. m. ET, with a re-broadcast on Thursday, July 12 at 4 a. m. ET.
The next Star Mazda event is July 6-7 in Toronto.
Andersen Racing is committed to offering a program that gives up-and-coming drivers the proper training to reach open-wheel racing’s major leagues. It fields multiple cars in the F2000 Championship Series, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and the Indy Pro Series.
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