The Monoposto Season Ends Next Weekend

Formula Juniors in 2014. Photo courtesy of George McClure

After 10 events at 9 tracks the Monoposto season ends next weekend. The Circuit of the Americas doesn't have as long a history as the other tracks on the 2019 schedule, but it has many special features. CoTA was designed specifically as a venue for Formula 1 and will host the 2019 US Grand Prix in about a month.

The track has some really interesting characteristics from the challenging turn one with over 130 feet of elevation gain and narrows down significantly as you go through it. The stretch between turns three to ten is a real rhythm section. Your ability to balance your car through the turns 13 to 15 section can really pay off. The high-speed sweeper that starts coming out of turn 15 and ends with turn 19 will challenge you every lap as your tires age and the track evolves.

But while acknowledging all the challenges of the track, for me the best part of racing at CoTA is found off the track watching the Formula 1 race. Seeing cars racing at CoTA or watching the in-car video is a much richer experience if you have been on the track. You know that some sections that look challenging are straightforward and other parts that look simple are really challenging. Reading about this or hearing it on TV will never be as good as capturing the experience yourself so come to the last Monoposto event of 2019. Who knows, while there you might even lock up one of our 11 championships.

Following the precedent of the last few years there will not be a Monoposto party at CoTA. The schedule continues to be too full of on and off-track activities and, with race cars paddocked in three different areas around the track, our previous attempts to host parties just haven't worked out. If this creates some free time for you, take the opportunity to visit downtown Austin, billed as the Live Music Capital of the World.

Travis Engen

President,

Monoposto Racing

Penultimate Event

Can it really be that our next to last event of the year is this coming weekend at VIR?

VIR is a wonderfully flowing natural terrain track: 3.27 miles of challenging sections like the Snake, the Climbing Esses, Oak Tree and Hog Pen.  The back straight is long enough that if you draft pass too early you will be re-passed!  Most of the turns are evocative of signature corners found at other tracks but they’re all here in one track.  The course was laid out in the late 1950s when natural terrain was the basis of road courses and the rebirth of the circuit in 2000 followed the original lines. We will have a Monoposto party hosted by Bill and Donna Demarest. Right now, it hasn'tr been decided if the party will be on Friday or Saturday so look for notices when you are in position on the false grid. Other series will be running late in the afternoon of each day so we should have an early start to snacks, libations and tall tales.

Our last event will be at CoTA in two and a half weeks so save some of your tire and engine budget for fun in Austin.

Travis Engen

President,

Monoposto Racing

How Many Formula Fords?

Does it take to fill three grids? Apparently VSCDA believes that the number is well over 200! In addition to the three formula Ford grids on the schedule there are grids for Classic Monoposto and F70. Only Indy Lights cars will not have an opportunity to accumulate championship points, though they will be able to run with the F70 group.

Obviously, this formula Ford year has been celebrated at many events by having special grids and races but the number of entries for Road America blows away the next largest group at the SVRA Indy event by more than double. One can only wonder what a 60 car draft looks and feels like!

With so much on-track and off-track activity on the schedule we will not have a Monoposto party this coming weekend.

I hope everyone (and especially the organizers) has a great weekend! Remember if you haven’t gotten enough track time there is a Monoposto event at VIR the following weekend and our season ender comes up two weeks after that at the Circuit of the Americas

Travis Engen

President,

Monoposto Racing