Podiums for Exclusive Autosport Driver Trio in F1600 & F2000

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Exclusive Autosport enjoyed a standout weekend, 4th-5th July, competing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with all three of its drivers landing podium spots across the F1600 Formula F Championship Series and F2000 Championship Series.

Australia’s Scott Andrews claimed his sixth and seventh wins of the season respectively in Race 1 and Race 3 in the F1600 category. He was joined on the podium on Saturday with Canada’s Thomas McGregor claiming his second podium spot of the year with a third place finish. In F2000 America’s Trent Walko led his first laps in the series before taking a maiden podium in Sunday’s Race 2, the teenager finishing second at the checkered flag.

The weekend started with F1600 points leader Andrews qualifying on pole for Saturday’s Race 1. A subsequent penalty for being late to the grid meant the 24-year-old was forced to start at the rear of the 20-car field. A brilliant drive followed with Scott slicing his way through the tightly packed field despite Mid-Ohio being notorious for its lack of over-taking opportunities.

He dramatically seized the lead of the race on the eighteenth and final lap to complete an outstanding race and clinch his sixth win of the 2015 campaign. Exclusive Autosport’s delight was further bolstered with ex-Formula Tour 1600 Pro Class Champion Thomas McGregor storming to third having driven a smart and measured race from fifth.

Sunday’s opening event, Race 2 on the F1600 schedule, again saw Andrews on the podium, a third place finish adding to his commanding points lead. McGregor, fourth in the title chase, finished the 18-lap charge in seventh to add to his own points haul.

Race 3 later in the day delivered another text-book drive from Andrews, who duly claimed his seventh win of 2015, the eighth in total for Exclusive Autosport in the F1600 Formula F Championship this season. Snatching the lead on lap three, having started third, Scott subsequently led all the way to the checkered despite race-long pressure from the hustling pack of top-ten cars shadowing behind. Last lap contact with Andrew Hobbs punted McGregor from a guaranteed top-ten finish, the Saskatoon racer classified 17th.

Trent Walko’s development in the F2000 Championship Series took another positive step over the course of the weekend. The 18-year-old kicked off his weekend with a fifth place finish in Saturday’s 19-lap sprint. Lining up fifth on the grid for the second consecutive race, Sunday’s Race 2 proved to be a breakout race for the American.

Charging from the flag, Walko quickly found himself in the lead of the race for the first time in his F2000 career. He led until a full-course caution, and the subsequent re-start allowed race-winner Sam Beasley to get the jump agonizingly close to the end. Trent duly celebrated his second place podium spot having easily held his own over third placed Robert Allaer on the run to the checkered.

“Mid-Ohio’s definitely the high-point of the season for us as a team,” enthused Exclusive Autosport Team Principal Michael Duncalfe. “To have all of our drivers reach the podium, especially with Trent securing his first F2000 top-three, it’s a great reward for everyone’s hard work and the competitiveness of our Spectrum package. Trent’s been challenging recently and that’s a direct result of his development on and off track. I’m delighted for him and hopefully there’s more to come in F2000.

“In F1600 obviously Scott had a barnstorming drive on Saturday to go from last to first and he doubled up his win tally with a totally different kind of drive on Sunday afternoon. He was under immense pressure throughout but he stay focused and delivered. Thomas was unfortunate to be collected in the final race but we know he has the pace to be up there as evidenced by his top-three performance on Saturday. All in all, we’re taking lots of positives from Mid-Ohio and combined with Parker Thompson’s F1600 wins for the team in Quebec, it’s been a tremendous weekend for Exclusive Autosport.”

F1600 Formula F Championship Series - Exclusive Autosport Driver Quotes:

Scott Andrews (@scottandrews44): #94 Exclusive Autosport / Exclusive Management Inc. / Automobility PTY Ltd / Andrews Automotive / Spectrum / Sparco / Honda Racing HPD

Race 1 Saturday 4th July – Qualified: 1st / Finished: 1st
Race 2 Sunday 5th July – Qualified: 5th / Finished: 3rd
Race 3 Sunday 5th July – Qualified: 3rd / Finished: 1st

Quote: “To come away from a track I’ve never been to with a pole position, two wins and a third is extremely satisfying. The whole Exclusive Autosport team has been working so hard and I’m happy to repay them with results. Notching up seven wins already and resetting the benchmark for most wins in an F1600 season for me is very humbling. It’s been a dream season so far and I hope to continue our great work.”

Thomas McGregor (@TMacRacing): #93 Exclusive Autosport / Exclusive Management Inc. / Dairy Queen / Spectrum / Sparco / Honda Racing HPD

Race 1 Saturday 4th July – Qualified: 5th / Finished: 3rd
Race 2 Sunday 5th July – Qualified: 7th / Finished: 7th
Race 3 Sunday 5th July – Qualified: 10th / Finished: 17th

Quote: “The positives are that we were fast straight into the weekend and the podium in Race 1 was an appropriate result. Frustratingly things didn’t really go my way after that despite always being in the mix. Race 2 was somewhat uneventful and then Race 3 I saw another decent result stolen from me after I was hit on the last lap.”

F2000 Championship Series - Exclusive Autosport Driver Quote:

Trent Walko (@twalko91): #91 Exclusive Autosport / Spectrum / Zetec

Race 1 Saturday 4th July – Qualified: 5th / Finished: 5th
Race 2 Sunday 5th July – Qualified: 5th / Finished: 2nd

Quote: “I’m obviously really pleased to have had such a strong race on Sunday. It felt good leading and maybe if it hadn’t been for the full-course caution bunching us all up I could have taken it all the way home. That said, I’m happy to get my first podium and I can hopefully use the momentum from Mid-Ohio to enjoy a strong second half to our season.”

Round 5 of the SCCA sanctioned F1600 Formula F Championship Series and F2000 Championship Series is hosted at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Friday 31st July to Sunday 2nd August.

Formed in 2013, Exclusive Autosport has quickly forged a reputation as one of North America’s premier junior formula outfits. Championship success came quickly under Michael Duncalfe’s leadership with notable achievements including back-to-back driver titles in 2013 and 2014 in the Canadian Toyo Tires F1600 A-Class Championship and in the Quebec Formula Tour 1600 Pro-Class Championship.

Exclusive Management Inc. is the official North American Importer and Distributor for Spectrum Chassis, designed and produced by Borland Racing Developments in Australia.

www.exclusiveautosport.ca / @ExclAutosport

Series Links:
F1600 Formula F Championship Series: www.f1600championshipseries.com
F2000 Championship Series: www.f2000championshipseries.com
SCCA Pro Racing: www.sccaproracing.com