Posted at: 10:06, Fri 10 Jul 2009

Dempsey's Quest for Extra Topping in Pizza Ranch 100

Dempsey

Peter Dempsey’s quest for Star Mazda series glory continues in Iowa on Friday where the Ashbourne racer is bidding for glory in the Pizza Ranch 100.

Dempsey ran as high as second before finishing fourth on his oval racing debut in Milwaukee three weeks ago and the reigning Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year is hoping that he and his new Juncos Racing team can continue their good form this weekend.

With 207 points on the board, just four off the series lead, Dempsey knows that another good showing this weekend will keep him in contention for his first US career title.

The competitiveness shown by the pairing of Dempsey and Juncos Racing on their debut in Milwaukee delighted all and Dempsey is looking forward to another oval race this weekend.

“We had a two day test at Iowa on the 28th and 29th of June which went well and we got up to speed quite quickly,” says Dempsey. “Iowa is a high speed oval but only 7/8's of a mile long with high banking. It’s flat out in a Star Mazda and we were averaging 144mph.

“I was losing time on the straights on the data so we did some checks on the car. We realised the compression across the 2 rotors in the Mazda engine had dropped off. There was a 20% difference between the two.

“So, we decided not to run the second day to save the wear and tear on the car. Despite the engine issue which will be solved by the race, we were happy with the chassis and aero setup of the car and Juncos Racing did a great job. We are excited and optimistic for the weekend.”

After two one hour sessions of free practice, qualifying for round seven of the series is at 3pm Friday afternoon, 9pm Irish time, followed by the Pizza Ranch 100 at 8.30pm, 2.30am, Saturday morning, Irish time.

Star Mazda Series 2009
Points Standings after six rounds:-
1 Adam Christodoulou 211 Points
2 Peter Dempsey 207
3 Joel Miller 194
4 Alex Ardoin 187
5 Caio Lara 186

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