F4 U.S. Championships

DC Autosport with Cape Motorsports continued its streak of podium finishes in the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda last weekend at Road Atlanta. American Dakota Dickerson extended his podium run to five races after the first and second events of the weekend, and then followed those fine results with a fourth in the third race on the challenging 2.54-mile, 12-turn track. All told, Dickerson scored a second, a third and a fourth to move into second in the championship standings, unofficially. Brazilian Eduardo Barrichello continued his rapid development with the team, and turned in his best finish of the young season with an eighth in Race 2, highlighting a pair of top-10s.

"It was a good weekend all around at Road Atlanta,” Conner enthused. “We were stronger here for sure, and Dakota and Eduardo both did a fantastic job!”

Dickerson began the weekend running within the top-five in the two practice sessions, while Barrichello came up to speed quickly, sitting 13^th following the second on-track outing. Dakota was strong in qualifying and timed in third to set up a second row start for the first of three races on the weekend.  Eduardo improved on his pace from practice, dropping another second to break into the top-10, eventually taking a strong ninth by the end of the session.

Dickerson was immediately into the lead battle in Race 1, dicing all race long for the second position, until a multi-car incident brought out the full-course yellow for an extended period. The race went back to green with 10 minutes remaining, and Dakota found himself embroiled in a battle with James Raven and eventually settled for third.  In only his fourth car race, Barrichello was part of a four-car fight for sixth and he crossed the line at the tail of the quartet in ninth. Dickerson’s fast time in the opening 12-lap race placed him second on the grid for race 2, and Barrichello followed suit with the improvement, advancing to the inside of the third row thanks to his ever-improving pace.

In Race 2, Dickerson started second and moved quickly to the lead during the opening lap. His competition then paired up to draft by, dropping him to third, but he tucked in to begin the race-long strategy play. However, a pair of full course yellows slowed the pace on two occasions, and the race ended under yellow with Dickerson running in second. Barrichello was also impressive, again improving on his best result of the season in eighth.

Dickerson’s fast lap from Race 2 put him on the pole for the final race of the tripleheader. The race did not start smoothly, as a massive incident occurred as the field streamed through the track’s final corner on the completion of the first lap, collecting eight cars, included that of Barrichello. As Eduardo took evasive maneuvers to avoid the incident, he was tagged by another car, ending his weekend.  Dakota has taken up position in second on the opening lap, and was making a move for the lead with the full course yellow was displayed for the initial incident.  The yellow lasted for 23 minutes, leaving just five minutes at the end of the race for the dash to the checker. Dickerson was second at the green, but dropped a position each lap until he settled in fourth. On the final lap, he made a move back to fourth, where he ultimately finished.

Overall, the weekend was a solid success for DC Autosport with Cape Motorsports, as in addition to Dickerson’s P2 position in the standings, the squad is also third in the current Team Standings.

The team will now set its sights on the third event on the schedule, which is set for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in mid-June.

DC AUTOSPORT – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES

F4 US CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUNDS 4/5/6 – MAY 11-13, 2018

ROAD ATLANTA – BRASELTON, GA

DAKOTA DICKERSON - #9

Qualifying: 3^rd – 1:24.467

Race 1: Start – 3^rd / Finish – 3^rd

Race 2: Start – 2^nd / Finish – 2^nd

Race 3: Start – 1^st / Finish – 4^th

Driver Quote: ““It was another really great points weekend for us. We showed some great pace and were consistently fighting for wins. We know what we need to work on going into Mid-Ohio and I am confident that will we be able to grab a set of wins!"

EDUARDO BARRICHELLO - #91

Qualifying: 9^th – 1:27.970

Race 1: Start – 9^th / Finish – 9^th

Race 2: Start – 5^th / Finish – 8^th

Race 3: Start – 13^th / Finish – DNF 24^th

Driver Quote: “I am very happy with how my weekend went. I earned my first points and I am getting more and more comfortable with the car and the team. I can’t wait until Mid-Ohio.”