Frankie Muniz and David Farias hit the road for rounds #3 and #4 of the 2006 Formula BMW USA championship at the Lime Rock circuit in northern Connecticut this weekend.
The permanent road course is set in rural Connecticut, about 45 miles west of Hartford. The track layout is very fast, with effectively only 5 right-hand turns and 1 left hand turn.
Friday morning practice started well, with rookie driver David Farias clocking the 10th fastest time (out of 25 drivers). Unfortunately some untimely rain showers disrupted afternoon qualifying, and the IMSA stewards elected to cancel the qualifying session completely. So while David was obviously a top 10 driver for the weekend, he would have to start in 20th position based on the points standings following his accident in the Mid-Ohio race one week prior. David finished Race #1 in an eventual 17th position.
For Race #2, Farias was unable to start following a high-speed accident in morning warm-up. The car sustained heavy damage to the left side suspension, wings, and other parts of the race car. The incident occurred as David put 2 wheels on the grass on the outside of the car on entry to the 100 mph downhill last turn. The team worked quickly to put the car back together, but the time between warm up and the race was short. Meanwhile, David is fine, with only bruising to his right wrist.
Muniz, driving the #2 Jensen MotorSport entry, had somewhat of a breakthrough weekend. Again finishing both races, the true rookie Muniz showed his speed and skill by passing five cars with terrific moves in the Monday race. Classified an eventual 16th position, Muniz was consistently quicker than many other drivers. Team owner Eric Jensen states, "It's terrific to see how quickly Frankie is learning. He pushed very hard in the race, making passes on the inside and outside of turn 1. As he gains more experience, he will pick up new tracks quicker and with better qualifying positions, top 10 race finishes should be coming shortly."
The BMW team will race next at the world class Montreal Grand Prix with Formula One on the weekend of June 23-25. |