Alex Ellis, of St Catharines, Ont., continues to narrowly lead the Jim Russell “Race of Champions” title race, after placing first and second in the third and fourth rounds respectively at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on July 9.
Ellis remains a mere two-points ahead of fellow 2010 Future Driver Gary Carlton, of Marysville, Calif., with just the final two races, to be staged on August 6, remaining in the six race invitational competition, which sees the outright points winner claiming a seat in Round Nine of the Firestone Indy Lights at the Infineon Raceway.
Ellis claimed pole-position for both races, with 2008 & ’09 Jim Russell Championship Series championship Brett Smrz completing the front-row. Carlton rounded out the top-three in qualifying – the latter having just returned from claiming third place overall in the WSK World [Kart] Series in Portugal.
Ellis led the day’s opening race from Smrz, the pair pulling away from the chasing pack, only for Smrz to spin heavily in to the outside wall of turn 10 on the second lap, ending his race, and bringing out the safety car for three laps. When the race resumed, Ellis led Carlton, Galante and Liefoohge, with the Round One winner Ellis extending his lead to the checkered flag.
Ellis looked to be heading for a second win of the day, and open up a healthy advantage going into next month’s two final races, but a technical issue with his car in the closing stages of the second race forced the Canadian to back off, the unfortunate Ellis coasting over the finishing line, but not before Carlton had swept past the hapless Ellis 20 yards before the checker to snatch the victory.
Galante held a steady pace to claim his second third place of the day, moving him up one place in the points standings after the opening two rounds, while Gregory Liefooghe moved up two places in the points at the expense of Smrz, who forced in to the role of spectator after his first race accident. Aleksander Altberg placed fourth in both races. Liefooghe and Altberg can both mathematically still win the title.
All the racers drove identical FJR-50 single-seaters owned and prepared in house by the Jim Russell Championship Series, ensuring equality and placing the emphasis of success on driver talent. The Lola-built Formula Three equivalent machines feature a carbon/kevlar fiber composite monocoque, a sequential five-speed gearbox and a two-liter, turbocharged Mitsubishi engine producing 300bhp.
“What can I say?" stated Ellis. "The day was perfect until the last half of the second race. I was hoping to complete a clean sweep today, but was forced to back off when I noticed smoke in the cock pit. I suppose I was lucky to coast home to remain second at the flag. It would have been nice to have had a six-point lead going into the final races but that's racing. But I’ll be back next month to take the title home to Canada."
"I struggled a lot with the car this time but got lucky," commented Carlton. "I've been on the other end of the luck as well, so I will take the points on this occasion. I’ll be back next month to battle it out in the final races."
“It was a great day for me," added Galante. "I set some personal goals and met them. To be able to achieve that in a field of such talented drivers is very rewarding."
The six-race Jim Russell “Race of Champions” concludes on August 6, with Rounds Five and Six at Infineon Raceway outside of Sonoma, Calif.