Infineon Raceway F3 Update
May 11, 2009
Exclusive Management Inc. driver Sean Rayhall completed a very successful weekend at Infineon Raceway in the Jim Russell USA FJR50 F3 race car April 18 -19. Rayhall qualified on the second row in the third position for his first race in the F3 series. When the green flag dropped, Sean moved into the third position while going through turns 1 and 2. Sean lost some ground on the leaders, Nic Leduc and Nick Galante, during the first three laps; all the while fighting off a hard charging Thomas Asseo in fourth place. Rayhall mentally regrouped and began to put some distance between himself and the fourth place Asseo, starting his charge in the middle of the race to chase down the leaders. With only a few laps remaining, Sean held his position strongly. Unable to challenge the leaders for the top two spots, the young Rayhall crossed the finish line in a solid third place overall - second in the Championship Class. A second place finish in the Championship Class meant Rayhall, who celebrated his 14th birthday on March 10 of this year, became the youngest driver in open wheel history to compete in an F3 series race and finish on the podium.
"What a great feeling this is! I wasn't expecting to finish this well on my F3 debut, as I only had three days to prepare. I couldn't be happier with this outcome! To finish on the podium in such a talented field of drivers is a real honor. I have to thank my parents for the never ending support, Jim Russell USA for supplying me with a great car and my manager and driver coach Michael Duncalfe. He has worked so hard for me and helped me make the transition in to this car. This has been a great day! I will now shift my focus to the qualifying session and race tomorrow and try to learn from today to go quicker tomorrow" stated an elated Rayhall.
During the second round of qualifying for Sunday's race, Rayhall would hold down the #1 spot until the last qualifier, Nic Leduc would slightly edge his quick time on his final lap. Rayhall would start his second F3 race on the outside of row one at Infineon Raceway. As the green flag dropped, Rayhall would hit his rev limiter while going through both first and second gears, this would cause pole sitter, Nic Leduc, to pull out a strong lead over Rayhall and also allow third place qualifier Nick Galante to take the second spot away from Rayhall, heading into turn two on the first lap. Rayhall would stay in the third position for half the race, fighting hard with Galante for the second spot on the track. Just over half way through the race, Rayhall and Galante would go side by side through turn 7 with Rayhall taking the second spot away from Galante heading into turn eight. With only a few laps left, Rayhall would post some quick times and begin to catch the leader, Nic Leduc, in hopes of clinching the top spot on the podium. With the laps remaining in the race winding down, Rayhall would come within a few seconds of Leduc. He could, however come within striking distance of Leduc and ended up with a second place finish overall and a second place finish in the Championship Class.
"This was my best race all year! I had to work really hard to get by Galante. He is fierce competitor. Going through turn 7 with him wheel to wheel was awesome! We gave each other room and never made contact. I would never hesitate to go side by side with him again. He is a great driver and one that definitely gives you respect on the race track. I was really hoping that I would have something for Leduc today and I think I would have, if I would have had a few more laps. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend in my F3 debut. I am pumped and can't wait until rounds three and four."
For more information on Sean Rayhall please see www.seanrayhal.com.