May 23, 2021 – In their first appearance at Barber Motorsports Park, Area 81 Racing moved up the grid to take 5th and 3rd place finishes. In a rare double header for F1000 on Sunday, Race 2 became a race for survival. Fierce competition and limited passing area resulted in an unusual amount of contact, making for an exciting end to the weekend.
As guests of the Historic Sportscar Racing series, scheduling limitations factored into an extended learning curve. F1000 had only one session each day from Thursday to Saturday. Tim Pierce moved up to 5th at the green flag in Race 1, where he would ultimately finish. Starting 5th in Race 2, contact between two competitors Turn 8 on the first lap turned into opportunity. Tim went around both cars on the inside but contact from behind in Turn 9 put the #81 into a high-speed spin. Although he kept off the wall, Tim drove conservatively while he assessed the damage. Subsequent labs saw multiple cars disabled, including a fire, and the race ended under full course caution.
Tim Pierce, driver #81 – “This was our first time racing at Barber and it is a beautiful facility. It is as much a garden as it is a world class track. Every blade of grass was perfectly groomed, the landscaping was immaculate, and we really enjoyed the sculptures. I had been to the Barber Motorsports Museum a few years ago, but it was even more impressed after the expansion. I made a slight miscalculation in my tire strategy, which resulted in a shortened P2 session when I needed seat time the most. It seemed like we had to play catchup the rest of the weekend. Race 2 was crazy, because I saw the #93 had a punctured tire after contact and I decided to go around on the inside. It was a drag race to Turn 9 and I thought I had the line and a car length, but had contact by a nose into my rear left tire. It sent me on a wild ride! Thankfully I was able to keep it off the wall and limp the car to the checker. Thanks to my Crew Chief, Ray Pierce, as we were a skeleton crew this weekend.
The next event on the schedule is Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, PA on June 19th & 20th. Be sure to check out our live stream on the NorthAmF1000 Facebook page. Thanks to our crew, series, sponsors, and competitors for a fantastic weekend.