Lindenhurst, New York (September 10, 2015) - Rounds 9 & 10 have come and gone this past weekend for Group-A Racing in the inaugural Formula Lites Series at Pikes Peak
International. Group-A Racing drivers Jackie Ding & Jose Armida earned a 2-3 finish in both rounds after showing vey strong pace throughout the weekend.
The weekend started off with the promoters test day. Jackie Ding finished the morning quickest on the time sheets with Jose Armida not far behind. The next day gave the drivers official practice sessions & qualifying for race one.
Qualifying turned into a very exciting battle for pole position. Group-A Racing’s Jackie Ding initially put the car on the pole to end up on the outside pole nipped by .03 of a second. Jose Armida earned 3rd only four tenths off.
“From one perspective I am incredibly pleased, but the competitor in me is very bitter at the moment” said team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “I am very proud of the cars we put on track and the effort both drivers and the team put in, but it’s tough to come so close to earning the pole and not getting it.The last two races we have missed the pole by a total of 1 tenth of a second when you add up the difference from both events. It’s all good though, we’ll try and get it in the race when it really counts.”
In race one Jackie Ding & championship leader Pappereli battled it out for the lead, trading fastest lap of the race back and forth. As the race went on Pappereli was able to stretch abit of a lead taking the win over Ding. Jose Armida was tremendously consistent and ran 3rd the whole race to add another podium to his tally forthe year.
Race two, the top four were inverted placing Jose Armida on the outside pole and 
Jackie Ding in 3rd for the start. Going into turn one both Group-A Racing drivers and Pappereli were three wide and had some minor contact during the fierce tight battle. Coming out of turn one the running order was Bell, Armida,Papereli and Ding all nose-to-tail. Jose immediately pounced on Bell in turn two on lap one to take the lead. Armida led the first few laps with Pappereli and Group-A Racing team mate Jackie Ding chasing him down. The three battled it out the first third of the race. Eventually when the checkered flag flew,Group-A Racing would earn another 2-3 finish with Ding 2nd and Armida 3rd.
Post EventQuotes:
Team manager Jonathan Scarallo: “Overall I am happy with everything from this weekend. We were part of very close battles in qualifying and both races, but sadly come up a bit short. I am very happy with the way we have developed our cars; both drivers told us the cars were perfect during the races for them which is great to hear. Now we will keep working hard on developing our package and developing our drivers to hopefully finally earn a pole at MSR Houston and hopefully a couple more wins.”
Jackie DingDriver #86 Huawei, EVE Energy, Zone District FL-15: The results certainly weren't bad, but I'm also frustrated about the fact that we couldn't get a first place or a pole, or just a fastest lap! Frustration aside, I'm really happy about how far we have come from the first race in Thompson. I would love to end the season strong in MSR Houston, so that's what I'll work toward until then!
Jose Armida Driver #7 MSR Houston FL-15: "It was a good weekend. Even though I didn't achieve the results I was looking for, I was able to be very consistent. Second race was more exciting than first one, I lead some laps but I couldn’t quite get the win. I will continue to work, so I can be better at my home race at MSR Houston."