Telitz, Stephens All Set for This Weekend’s Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone

Jack Mitchell/JAM Motorsport Photography.

Silverstone, England – Team USA Scholarship drivers Aaron Telitz and Michai Stephens haven’t had much time to relax since their impressive showing in last weekend’s Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, but they are already primed and focused on more competition at the Walter Hayes Trophy, beginning tomorrow with qualifying and the first round of elimination heat races.

A stellar entry of close to 120 Formula Ford cars has been assembled for what has become one of the most cherished events on the British calendar – and certainly one of its most competitive. Three-time winners Joey Foster and Peter Dempsey (who last year won the closest ever Freedom 100 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a thrilling four-car side-by-side finish) are among the entry list, along with last year’s winner Scott Malvern and fellow former British Formula Ford Champion Wayne Boyd, both of whom are looking to jump-start their careers. The two most recent Formula Ford Festival winners, Niall Murray and James Raven, will be gunning for victory too, along with perennial front-runners Oliver White, Neville Smyth and Noel Dunne among several other potential winners.

After a couple of “factory visits” earlier in the week to Ilmor Engineering, home of the Chevrolet Verizon IndyCar Series engine, and RML, which among many other projects in recent years proved to be a dominant force in the FIA World Touring Car Championship with its works-supported Chevrolet Cruzes, Telitz and Stephens have been testing at Silverstone the past two days. Progress once again has been good. Telitz was unofficially fastest in his group in both sessions today, while Stephens was only 0.2s slower in his group.

“I’ve had a great two days back in my Team USA chariot,” said Telitz, from Birchwood, Wis., who won Rookie of the Year honors in this year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. “Silverstone is tons different to Brands Hatch. It’s flat and very fast! Qualifying is going to be about having a good lap and finding some magic in a draft if possible. Really looking forward to the weekend and continuing to drive well.”

“The Walter Hayes Trophy event is going to be incredible ,” added Stephens, who has been a strong contender in this year’s Skip Barber Racing Summer Series – in his very first season of racing. “With two solid days of testing under our belts, I am excited for what is to come and I will undoubtedly learn a lot! Huge thank you once again to all of our tremendous supporters for the opportunity to have such a wonderful learning experience.”

Six Heat races will run tomorrow, Saturday, as the first phase of whittling down the field to 36 cars which will contest Sunday’s Grand Final. Telitz has been drawn in Heat Three and Stephens in Heat Four. Each will take part in a 10-minute qualifying session in the morning (9:40 AM and 10:20 AM, respectively), followed by eight-lap Heat races at 1:10 PM and 2:20 PM. Live timing and scoring will be available at http://www.mstworld.com/timing/livetiming.htm?series=hscc.

About Team USA Scholarship:
The program has been providing opportunities for talented young American race car drivers since 1990. Supporters included Doug Mockett & Company, the Road Racing Drivers Club and www.SAFEisFAST.com, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Mazda, Team Penske, Basecamp.com, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda Performance Development, Robertson Racing, Allen Berg Racing Schools, Ellis Clowes North America, Co-Force International, Race Hero, CXC Simulations, RaceCraft1, PitFit Training, Sparco USA, RACER Magazine, eFormulaCarNews.com, Speedstar Management, Styled Aesthetic, Manifest Group and numerous past Scholarship winners.