Joey to Contest in US FF2000 Series with Cape Motorsports
25.03.2005 by Harry Hogge
Joey?s late decision to contest the USFF2000 series was taken at the end of March, as the budgetary requirements for a full British F3 campaign could not be put in place in time.
Chris Weller of Promatecme Racing still has Joey on top of his wish list of drivers, despite Damon Hill prot?g? Steven Kane making a late signing for the team. ?Whilst we are delighted to have someone of Steven?s calibre in the car, our top priority is still to get Joey racing?. Nick Jordan of Lola Cars International was similarly upbeat. ?We are still planning to get Joey in the car, it?s not always about money, but the distribution of it?. Danilo Dirani, in the car originally built for Joey, won the opening two rounds at Donington Park. ?I?m delighted for Lola? said Joey, ?but also sorry not to be in the car, especially as I was nearly a second a lap quicker than Danilo when I tested. What we need to do now is go and win in America and get back to F3 as soon as possible?.
A surprise test with Cape Motorsports, based in St Petersburg, Florida, saw Joey offered a place in their 2005 line up. Last week at the teams final test before Road Atlanta (at Moroso Speedway) Joey smashed the best lap time ever recorded around the West Palm Beach circuit. The USFF2000 series has 35 entrants already, including fellow Brit Jay Howard. ?It?s going to be tough, we?ll be racing on circuits completely new to me. Depending on the meeting, we are sharing the bill with Champ Cars, US Grand Am, and Le Mans spec cars, so the crowd support will be massive. These cars will also lay down lots of rubber, so judging the tyre window for qualifying will be hard. At least we use the same tyres as F3, so I can learn about them as well!?
Importantly, all the package benefits for sponsors and consortium members still stand, the only real limitation being the hospitality day for F3, as this will depend on when Joey is able to race.