Photo credit: Formula Race Promotions | RTD Media

Formula Race Promotions (FRP) continued their weekend this afternoon at Pittsburgh International Race Complex with the first races taking place, with championship contenders and series newcomers rising to the front of the pack.

Earlier in the day, teams had the chance to qualify on a drying track after a morning rain shower created challenging conditions. No more rain occurred for the rest of the day.

F1600

Qualifying – Overall

1. Gabriel Cahan – 1:49.235
2. Chace Supplee – 1:49.265
3. Dillon Defonce – 1:49.543
4. John Thompson – 1:49.543
5. Ayrton Cahan – 1:49.704

Qualifying – F1600 Masters

1. John Thompson – 1:49.543
2. Scott Rubenzer – 1:50.408
3. Phil Kingham – 1:50.490
4. David H. Livingston Jr. – 1:50.790
5. Bob Reid – 1:50.871

Race 1 – Overall

1. Gabe Cahan
2. Ayrton Cahan
3. Wesley Gundler
4. Chace Supplee
5. Cooper Travis

Race 1 – Masters

1. John Thompson
2. David Adorno
3. David H. Livingston Jr.
4. Scott Rubenzer
5. Bob Reid

Race 1 Recap:

Gabe Cahan closed the gap between him and his championship-leading brother ever so slightly this afternoon with a race win where the top three cars were separated by just over a tenth of a second as they crossed the line.

After emerging from a late restart, Gabe Cahan managed to hold off his brother across the line with K-Hill’s Wesley Gundler sitting just behind the two.

“I appreciate Ayrton and Wesley for driving me very cleanly,” said Gabe Cahan. “It made it very entertaining and was a great last lap battle for sure.”

In the master’s class, John Thompson took a similarly tight win over David Adorno to take the class victory. Adorno started the race in fifteenth and clawed back to just two tenths of Thompson in sixth overall, but Thompson held on.

“It’s fun to have Gabe and Ayrton help push me to be a better driver,” said Thompson. “These guys have been a great help.”

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F2000

Qualifying 1

1. Brandon Dixon – 1:42.444
2. Sebastian Newberg – 1:48.449
3. Carter Sheets – 1:49.909
4. Bob Wright – 1:50.072
5. Anthony DiCesaro – 1:51.949

Race 1

1. Brandon Dixon
2. Carter Sheets
3. Bob Wright
4. Ken DeNault
5. Arshia Akhtar

Race 1 Recap:

Continuing on his dominant pace throughout the weekend, Brandon Dixon took the F2000 class win in the first race of the weekend after topping both practice sessions and qualifying. He moved closer to the weekend sweep in a race which saw him take the fastest lap in the class by over two seconds, taking his third win of the season in as many races.

After a lengthy safety car period bunched the pack up mid-race, Carter Sheets showed calmness under the pressure to build a gap to Bob Wright behind as the two held on to take the final podium spots. Wright’s podium finish allowed him to also extend his lead in the championship.

“It was a great battle for the first couple of laps,” said Sheets. “We were switching positions constantly. Once the safety car came out, we all settled in a channel together and just kept moving.”

After stepping out of the car, Dixon remarked his admiration to be able to come out and have the opportunity to compete in a series like FRP.

“It’s always great to be on the podium with Bob,” said Dixon after taking the checkered flag. “Thanks Bob for putting on a great series, we all owe you so much.”

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Atlantic Championship

Qualifying 1 – 016

1. John Mcaleer – 1:37.557

Qualifying 1 – Open

1. Bob Corliss – 1:41.586
2. Tim Pierce – 1:41.761
3. Brandon Dixon – 1:42.444
4. Paulie Gatto – 1:46.001
5. Brandon Schwarz – 1:46.584

Qualifying 1 – Juniors

1. Justin di Lucia – 1:44.780

Race 1 – 016

1. John Mcaleer

Race 1 – Open

1. Brandon Schwarz
2. Tim Pierce
3. Bob Corliss
4. Jason Slahor
5. Paulie Gatto

Race 1 – USF Juniors

1. Justin di Lucia

Race 1 Recap:

Starting sixth in the field, Havoc Motorsport’s Brandon Schwarz stormed to the front in the opening laps of the Atlantic Championship’s open class race to take the class victory, extending his win streak in the series to four races. Schwarz built a considerable gap over Tim Pierce and Bob Corliss, who both picked up their first podiums of the season. Schwarz built out his championship lead over Paulie Gatto, who finished fifth in the class.

“I was able to grab the lead at the end of the second lap,” said Schwarz. “And from there it was kind of free sailing, (it was) a good race and a fun race.”

In the 016 class, John Mcaleer picked up the win and set an overall fastest lap of 1:35.907.

“Thanks to FRP for letting us do this and thanks to Hoosier tire,” said Mcaleer.

Justin di Lucia picked up the win for Exclusive Autosport in the Atlantic Juniors class as well.

“I’m definitely getting more experience,” said di Lucia. “I can’t thank Formula Race Promotions and Exclusive Autosport enough for everything they’re doing.”

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CCS

Qualifying

1. Mitchell Ferguson – 2:06.225
2. Mike Lawrence – 2:06.254
3. Samuel Ryan – 2:06.777
4. Trevor Carmody – 2:06.913
5. Sherman Engler – 2:06.917

Race 1

1. Mike Lawrence
2. Mitchell Ferguson
3. Jeff Filipowski
4. Mark Farnham
5. Trevor Carmody

Race 1 Recap:

In the Formula Vee Challenge Cup Series, Mike Lawrence extended his championship lead by picking up the race win in a remarkable photo finish which saw him beat Mitchell Ferguson to the line by only six thousandths of a second. Jeff Filipowski, 11th in the championship heading into the weekend, finished in third place to round out the podium in a 26-car field which saw tight racing throughout.

You can find details about FRP events on the FRP website at racefrp.com and on social media throughout the event weekend.