This past weekend a large gathering of all types of racers was scheduled for a double-header event at Sonoma Raceway. Many of those racers would have travelled over state and county lines to attend. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and recommendations this was just not possible, and the event was cancelled. “It was sad for us to lose that event, but we have to focus on what is best for the entire community,” noted Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear Series Official Mark Milazzo.
“Our entire racing community is suffering a variety of hardships. Most racing entities have lost much of their income, and many will have a hard time making it through 2020 without events. We met with the track, spoke with the local teams and drivers, and came up with a plan. That plan ended up being this weekend’s Formula Car Festival Of Speed at Sonoma Raceway.”
The event was only open to a small handful of local drivers, many of them already tenants at the Sonoma Raceway complex. Social distancing was not only encouraged, it was mandated. All garages, transporters, and team pit assignments had twenty feet of clearance from the others. There was minimum staff per car, and no spectators. “The event attendance was about 15-20% of what the previously scheduled event would have seen,” added Milazzo. “It made it easy for everyone involved to exceed the prescribed precautions, and get back to the sport we all love.”
Even though there were no podium celebrations, that didn’t mean that there weren’t any race winners. On both days there was a ton of wheel-to-wheel action, and position changes, but in the end Ed Ozard won both Pro FM races in a car that he recently purchased from World Speed Motorsports, and Bill Weaver won both Formula Mazda class races in his always well prepared number 67.
The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear recently updated the 2020 schedules, and will compete next at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway July 31st – August 2nd.
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