Braselton, GA (April 22, 2019) – Despite Mother Nature wreaking havoc at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta during Rounds 3-4-5 of the F3 Americas Championship powered by Honda this past weekend, Dakota Dickerson overcame mechanical gremlins to come away with a win and 3rd place finish.
Photo: Joseph Bierschbach – Red Case Photography
“What a crazy weekend! Ups and downs were the name of the game. We had fantastic pace all weekend but were just a bit unlucky. In the first two races of the weekend, we were leading the race before having to make a pitstop for repairs. Nevertheless, the team stayed focus and persevered through it all. They consistently gave me a great car and we absolutely had the pace and positioning to win all 3 races this weekend. It’s in times of adversity when a team’s true colors show and I have to say, I have never been prouder of how hard everyone at Global Racing Group worked this weekend. We won and lost as a team this weekend. I know we are all hungry for wins going into Pittsburgh.”
Photo: Joseph Bierschbach – Red Case Photography
The qualifying session was cancelled on Friday morning due to severe weather, hence the grid for Round 3 was determined by championship point standings putting Dickerson on pole. Unfortunately, on the parade lap, the Global Racing Group driver sensed a problem with the car and went directly into the pits before the green flag. “The guys fixed it very quickly and got me out on track without losing a lap,” said Dickerson. “However, this meant I had to start 13th, last on the grid. I was able to fight my way back up through the field and got up to 4th place before a full-course yellow came out. Then, after the re-start, I managed to gain another position before the checkered flag. It was a somewhat disappointing day, knowing the potential we had, but nevertheless, we got a podium and we snagged “Fast Lap” which means pole for tomorrow’s race, all due to the fast actions of the team.”
Saturday morning’s Round 4 showed good promise as Dickerson was leading the pack with nearly a 3-second lead by Lap 5, when three cars went off into the gravel trap bringing out a caution flag. Rain had begun to fall again and added an additional challenge as the cars were on Hankook slick tires. During this full course caution, Dickerson also noticed a vibration developing in the rear of the car. As the race progressed, the vibration continuously worsened and caused a secondary issue to appear. As the track went green, he suddenly lost steering input and moments later, Dickerson ran off track and lost the lead. The San Diego driver was able to re-join the circuit and pit for repairs. Unfortunately, this put him 2 laps behind the field but because of the team’s resilience, still managed to finish in 6th position and gain important points.
“It was such a shame having another issue take us out of the race while in the lead. It felt like we developed a bad vibration during the full course yellow. As the race went on, my steering was getting very erratic until it was completely unpredictable. Fortunately, the team never gave up on me, kept me in the race, and helped me score some great points regardless of the situation. All in all, it’s disappointing but just another reminder as to why Global as a team is so strong. I know we have great pace for the final race, and we will surely be up front.“
Photo: Joseph Bierschbach – Red Case Photography
In the afternoon’s Round 5, Dakota Dickerson started second on the grid but quickly passed car #16 of Kent Vaccaro, and from then on, he led the final race of the weekend all the way to the checkered flag, claiming the win with a 6-second gap on his teammate Leguizamon who scored 2nd place. And once again, Dickerson ran the “Fastest Lap” of the all-green race to end the weekend on a good note for the Global Racing Group with a 1-2 Finish. Unofficially, Dickerson’s overall weekend results have him sitting 2nd in points, just one point off the Championship lead.
Whether it was the Full Moon or Mother Nature creating havoc with the heavy rains and bad weather, the weekend was tougher than expected for all the F3 Americas teams and drivers. Needless to say, everyone is looking forward to some nice warm weather for the next event at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex on June 21-23. Fans will be able to follow live timing and scoring on F3Americas.com or on the Race Monitor app.
F3 Americas Powered by Honda
April 5-7 - Barber Motorsports Park
April 18-20 - Road Atlanta
June 21-23 - Pittsburgh International Race Complex
July 26-28 - Virginia International Raceway
August 22-24 - Road America
September 13-15 Sebring International Raceway
###
Dakota Dickerson’s race fans can follow him on his website dakotadickersonracing.com, Instagram (@dickersonracing), Facebook (Dakota Dickerson Racing) and on Twitter (@DickersonRacing).
About Dakota Dickerson Racing:
Dakota Dickerson is a third-generation racer from San Diego, CA. The 22-year old has been racing since he was 6 years old and is currently racing with Global Racing Group in the F3 Americas Championship powered by Honda. In his first two years of racing cars, he won a Driver Development scholarship from Bryan Herta Autosport (2-time Indianapolis 500 winning team), a Karts to Cars scholarship from Skip Barber Racing School, was chosen to be one of two drivers to represent the United States overseas via the Team USA Scholarship and was the 2016 USF2000 Mazda Scholarship Driver. Most recently, he won the 2018 F4 US Championship. With this success, he hopes to continue on to the NTT INDYCAR Series.
About Global Racing Group:
Global Racing Group is one of the leading Professional Junior Racing Teams in North America, with a focus on the F3 Americas Championship and targeted driver development programs. Its racing and commercial activities are strongly supported by three distinct advisory boards that specialize in the fields of business, motorsport competition and sports management. The personalities on these boards have years of experience in motorsport and can call on motorsport executive and Fortune 2000 company contacts around the world when there is a commercial requirement. With this in mind, Global Racing Group offers high-level sponsor and brand development services to businesses and brands that are interested in launching dynamic and bold engagement programs in motorsport.
About F3 Americas Championship:
The F3 Americas Championship Powered by Honda continues the evolution of affordable, competitive and technologically advanced open wheel racing that was established by the successful Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda that debuted in 2016. This next level of open wheel racing meets the demands of racers and teams looking to grow their capabilities into more sophisticated and powerful machinery. The F3 Americas Championship aligns with the global FIA development ladder philosophy of using common components to provide a cost-efficient, reliable, and powerful racing structure as drivers ascend through the levels on their way to U.S. or global racing success.
About SCCA Pro Racing:
SCCA Pro Racing is a division of Sports Car Club of America, Inc. - a 60,000-member organization dedicated to motorsports events. SCCA Pro Racing provides full-service organization, operation and sanction for numerous professional racing series like F4 U.S. Championship and Trans Am. SCCA Pro Racing is a voting member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS) - the FIA delegate for this country.
Anne Roy | Cell.: 514 627-0191 | annedroy0@gmail.com | www.dakotadickersonracing.com