Series VIR qualifying one notes

F2000:Daniel Erickson Takes VIR Pole for Race 1

Daniel Erickson Takes VIR Pole for Race 1

Alton, VA -- Australian rookie Daniel Erickson took pole for today's F2000 race at VIR with a new track record at 1:54.496, three tenths up on the rest of the field. It was only Erickson's third day in his Primus Racing Van Diemen/Zetec. The former British Formula Ford driver waited until the very last second to bump Brazilian Victor Carbone off the pole.

"The car was handling well," said Erickson, who grabs three championship points. "I'm still getting used to it but the result is great, big thanks to the team and Jon Baytos. The lap came together at the end and there wasn't much traffic, things were getting better by the lap. For the race, it would be nice to pull a gap and break away from the field but that is easier said than done."

Carbone, driving for Alegra Motorsports in his second F2000 season, set the pace for most of the session and will start second on the 33-car grid.

"The car is just amazing," commented Carbone, who logs his best ever starting position as the run to the national championship begins. "The base setup was fast and we're making small changes to make it even better."

Behind Erickson and Carbone on the front row were Canadian Remy Audette, who was on pole at VIR last year, Fabio Orsolon, Carbone's Alegra teammate, and 2007 F2000 Champion Cole Morgan. That makes four different nationalities and four different teams in the top five.

Rounding out the top ten were Tim Kautz, Jonathan Scarallo, Tom Fatur, Phil Lombardi and Tim Minor.

Tim Kautz was fastest of the Masters Class drivers, also in his first F2000 race ever.

"We're still learning here, I've only got about 30 laps in the car," Kautz explained. "The car is good and Liberty Motorsports is doing a great job, each time I go out the car gets a little faster."

Jonathan Scarallo, in his first race for R-Sport commented: "It was a disappointing run to be honest. We left a lot of time out there and only got one clear lap. We have a great car for the race so it should make it a good show."

Jesse Yorio, in the brand new Piper DF5C chassis qualified 11th. Chris Livengood, in the only Pinto-powered Van Diemen in the field will be grided 13th.

"We threw the kitchen sink at the car last night," commented Livengood, another rookie in the deep F2000 field. "The lap was pretty good but I got held up which cost me some time, it's not bad since all the wheels are still on the car and we should be able to move up in the race."

The session was relatively clean with one short black flag period for Tim Walsh, who had a minor incident in turn one. Rob Nicholas, who was fastest in the first official practice of the weekend, also failed to complete a lap in the session. Al Guibord, Sr. had starter issues and never got out of the paddock.

Race one of the 2010 season starts this afternoon at 3:30 eastern. Sunday has a similar schedule with a mid-day qualifying session followed by an afternoon 30-minute or 14-lap race. Fans and competitors can follow live updates, news and photos on www.F2000ChampionshipSeries.com or on Twitter
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-source: f2000