“Cliff and Michelle Dempsey are great”, noted Hindman during a break from studying for his mid-terms. “When I raced with them for Team USA Scholarship we communicated well and the team really made me feel welcome. I don’t think there is a better place for me to be than with Cliff Dempsey Racing.”

When the provisional Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship schedule was announced late last year, the dates lined up perfectly; presenting no conflicts with Hindman’s previously announced Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda campaign with Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing. A recent reshuffle of the schedule means that Hindman will miss Donington Park.

“While the gaps in the USF2000 schedule are going to allow me to get to most of the Formula Renault races, unfortunately I’m going to miss Donington the weekend of August 17-18. When BARC updated the schedule it was moved from the end of June to the same weekend as the USF2000 triple header at Road America. USF2000 is my priority so I will be stateside that weekend.”

2012 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship – Provisional Schedule
April 7-8, Snetterton 200 Circuit, Norfolk TRIPLE HEADER
May 19-20, Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northamptonshire TRIPLE HEADER
June 16-17,Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire DOUBLE HEADER
July 21-22, Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire DOUBLE HEADER
August 18-19, Donington Park National Circuit, Leicestershire DOUBLE HEADER
October 6-7, Silverstone National Circuit, Northamptonshire DOUBLE HEADER

How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm? (After They’ve Seen Paree)
Wayside, New Jersey may not be the farm, Brands Hatch and Silverstone may not be Paris and Trent Hindman may not be a Doughboy returning from the Western Front, but racing for Team USA Scholarship in last year’s Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy races was just as eye opening for Hindman, as he noted after returning home from Silverstone last Fall.

“I really enjoyed racing in England. The on-track action is less tightly controlled than it is in the States so the racing is more physical, but that forces the drivers to learn to be more respectful since things like blocking and contact are expected. I can’t wait to get back at it.”

Next up
Trent Hindman heads to Florida to join Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing for the USF2000 Cooper Tires Winterfest, starting February 6-7 at Sebring International Raceway for the first three rounds of the series and followed by the second three rounds February 11-12 at Palm Beach International Raceway. Live timing and scoring is available at www.usf2000.com, and follow the action semi-live on Twitter by following @altemus_prime.

(Article courtesy of Jim Altemus)

Team USA Scholarship driver Trent Hindman wrapped up his 2011 racing season with another strong weekend in England, this time at Silverstone for the annual Walter Hayes Trophy races. Battling changing track conditions and the stiff Formula Ford competition in Europe, the Wayside N.J. driver advanced to the final and ultimately scored a top ten finish. 

On the days leading up to Saturday’s heat races, racers were faced with changing conditions that included fog, rain and constantly changing track conditions.

“Learning the layout of the track was easy because of all the time I spent on iRacing leading up to my trip to England”, recalled Hindman from his Wayside, N.J. home. “What the weather did was make it difficult to figure out the quickest way around the track. We didn’t have a completely dry track until Sunday morning for the Semis.”

In the brief, ten minute qualifying session, Hindman put his Ray GR08 third on the time sheet, but was moved up to second on the grid when a penalty moved Adrian Campfield to the back of the grid. The promotion to the front row wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

“The promotion moved me from the dry side of the track right into a puddle in the middle of my grid spot. Not the ideal conditions for a standing start.”

Despite the damp track conditions on the grid, Hindman made a clean start, keeping pace with and ultimately passing pole sitter Morgan Dempsey on his way to a comfortable 4.3 second margin of victory over Gaius Ghinn in Heat Race 4, putting him at the outside of the front row for Sunday morning’s semi final 1.

From second on the grid, Hindman used the first consistently dry track conditions of the weekend to get up to speed; sticking with the lead trio of drivers and running his quickest lap of the weekend to that point, a 1:03.659, to finish fourth and transfer to Sunday afternoon’s Grand Finale, where he started alongside Team USA Scholarship teammate Neil Alberico on Row 4.

Any thoughts of a two-car Team USA Scholarship run through the field were quickly dashed when Alberico was knocked out of the race on the third lap. So while Adrian Campfield and Wayne Boyd, consistently the two quickest drivers all weekend, broke away from the field to fight for the win, Hindman found himself in a pitched battle of his own with Josh Fisher, Robert Hall and Jonny McMullan for third. Lap after lap, the quartet jostled and elbowed their way around the track; each trying to get the advantage.

“The lap chart doesn’t reflect how many times positions changed. I went from sixth to third and back to sixth almost each lap; sometimes more than once per lap. The racing was clean, but very aggressive. We were blocking each other; moving each other out of the way; out-braking each other… it was awesome!”

After officially being scored as high as fifth late in the race, Hindman brought his Cliff Dempsey Racing car home in sixth place; his second top ten finish in as many weekends in England. Better still was the experience the driver gained in six race starts against some of the toughest junior open-wheel drivers in the world.

“I look forward to going back to England and racing again when the opportunity presents itself. I really enjoyed standing starts and the more relaxed rules about blocking and contact. There were plenty of both during my races but everyone was respectful of everyone else. I wish racing in North America was a bit more like this.”

“There are so many people to thank for this incredible experience; Jeremy Shaw, Team USA Scholarship and the sponsors and alumni who continue to support the program, Cliff Dempsey and Cliff Dempsey Racing for providing me competitive cars both here and at the Formula Ford Festival, my parents for supporting me and helping me pursue my dream.”

Next up
The Walter Hayes Trophy weekend represents the end of the racing season for Trent Hindman, who will turn his attention to his junior year at Ocean Township High School.

“Between Skip Barber National, Ontario Formula Ford, Team USA Scholarship and good old fashioned testing, I haven’t been in school as much as I should. Fortunately my principal and teachers have worked with me to make sure that I am keeping up with my studies even if I’m not in the classroom. I wouldn’t have been able to accept the Team USA Scholarship without their support.”

While there is no live timing and scoring of Trent’s academic progress, we’ll keep you apprised as the school year continues.

Three weeks removed from his introduction to European junior open wheel racing at the Formula Ford Festival, Team USA Scholarship driver Trent Hindman heads to the Silverstone Circuit for this weekend’s Walter Hayes Trophy with the lessons learned at Brands Hatch still fresh in his mind.

“The Formula Ford Festival was a huge learning experience for me”, noted Hindman after returning to his New Jersey home. “Everything was new; the track, the car and team, the rules, and most importantly how they race in Europe.”

After being quick in Practice at Brands Hatch, Hindman qualifying on pole for his Heat race, winning it handily. Starting on pole for his semi-final, Hindman lost ground at the start before being knocked off track by another competitor. Rejoining at the back of the field, Hindman finished the semi-final in 11th to transfer to the Kent Class final, where he charged from 22nd on the grid to a ninth place finish.

Now with a few weeks to process everything he learned, Hindman is ready to apply that knowledge gained at Brands Hatch.

“While the Formula Ford Festival did not turn out like I hoped, I was pleased with how quickly I gelled with the guys at Cliff Dempsey Racing and got up to speed. Now that I know what I have to work with, the Walter Hayes Trophy races are going to be about winning.”

Silverstone Circuit
Since its opening in 1948, the Silverstone Circuit northwest of London has hosted just about everything on two and four wheels (and in the case of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, six). Long known as the Home of British Motorsport, Silverstone was the site of the first modern Formula One World Championship race in 1950, a race won by Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo. The Walter Hayes Trophy races utilize the 1.639 mile National Circuit, with the Club Straight connecting Maggotts (Turn 3) to Brooklands (Turn 16) of the new Grand Prix circuit. Although only slightly longer than Brands Hatch, the two circuits couldn’t be more different.

“A big feature of Brands Hatch is the elevation changes; you’re going up and down for most of the lap. On the other hand, Silverstone is flat like Sebring International Raceway, a track I’ve become rather familiar with the past couple of years. I put in as many hours as I could on iRacing to prepare for this race. It is going to be a blast.”

After testing on Thursday and Friday, the Walter Hayes Trophy weekend officially begins with qualifying on Saturday morning at 9:00 local time (5:00 a.m. Eastern). Live timing and scoring details will be available from MST Systems with almost live commentary on Twitter at @altemus_prime.

As any foreign exchange student can tell you, one of the challenges of travelling abroad is learning the local customs of the country you visit. For Team USA Scholarship driver Trent Hindman, a trip to England and the Brands Hatch Circuit meant learning how they race Formula Fords in Europe. While the 40th edition of the Formula Ford Festival didn’t end up as he would have liked, the Wayside N.J. driver quickly adapted to their more aggressive and tactical style of racing, and like most foreign exchange students, he can’t wait to go back for more.

The first official session at Brands Hatch was qualifying. After Cliff Dempsey Racing teammates Neil Alberico (Team USA Scholarship) and Xavier Coupal (Team Canada) qualified first and fourth respectively in Heat 1, it was up to Hindman to match their performance in Heat 2. In a session shortened by a red flag after an engine failure coated the entire circuit with oil, Hindman took advantage of the pre-oildown conditions to take the pole position with a 51.362 on his third lap.

“I’m glad I got the lap in when I did”, noted Hindman after the session. “The track was really slick with the oil dry. The track was getting cleaner as we lapped but we ran out of time. Another lap or two and we would have matched our times but in the end it wasn’t necessary.”

Hindman made the most of his first ever standing start, rocketing into Paddock Hill Bend with the lead.

“I was sweating the standing start because not only had I not even attempted one before, but the pit straight at Brands Hatch is itself a pretty steep hill so just holding the car while keeping the revs up and the clutch in was a challenge.”

Hindman built an early two and a half second lead over Cormac O’Neill when an incident between Louis Cook, Felix Fisher and Jonathon McMullan brought out the safety car on Lap 5, allowing O’Neill and the rest of the field to close up behind him. The safety car period provided its own challenge to Hindman.

“When the safety car came out I wasn’t sure what the rules were exactly so I didn’t want to push things too far. What I learned is that the rules are more relaxed and in my eyes more driver friendly than what I’ve experienced elsewhere, where full course cautions are more tightly controlled.”

At the end of the 12 lap race, Hindman had his first victory outside North America by just over two seconds over Cormac O’Neill and taking quick lap of the race by two-hundredths of a second over defending Kent Class champ Neville Smyth with a 50.620 on Lap 10.

The Heat win put Hindman on the pole for Semi Final 2 on Sunday morning. After being beaten off the start by Coupal, Hindman held second place before tangling with Smyth in Druids on Lap 2; knocking Smyth out of the race and leaving Hindman 13 laps to get to 14th place or better to transfer to the Final.

“I tried to change something that worked during the heat race and it backfired on me so Xavier beat me into Paddock Hill Bend. Going up to Druids I saw Neville coming up on my inside so I left him a little room. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, his left front hit my right rear and I went around. It was just some good luck that I didn’t get any damage to my car and I was able to continue.”

Within two laps Hindman caught the back of the pack and one by one began picking off other cars. With fast lap after fast lap (and a little help from attrition) Hindman made it to that all-important 14th place on Lap 9 and by the time the checkered flag dropped he was all the way back to 11th place behind winner Xavier Coupal, with his 50.572 sec. best only three-tenths off of Ivor McCullochs’ fastest lap of the race.

“It is incredible how hard people race here. The drivers respected each other but they weren’t afraid to do what they had to in order to get around you or to keep you behind them. It’s not the way I wanted to do it, but I was happy to make the final because it wasn’t looking good for a while there.”

While Coupal and Semi Final 1 winner Alberico were enjoying the fruits of their labor by starting on the front row for the Kent Class final, 11th in the Semi meant that Hindman was going to have his work cut out for him; starting 11 rows deep in the field in 21st.

At the green light Hindman set to work. Gaining a position a lap in the early going, by the halfway point he was up to 12th. By Lap 12 Hindman was into the Top 10, battling with John Ferguson and Rob Hall for eighth place. At the finish it was Ivor McCullough winning the Kent Class at the 40th Formula Ford Festival followed by Kenneth Thirlwall and Hindman’s Team USA Scholarship teammate Neil Alberico. Hindman finished ninth; behind Rob Hall but ahead of John Ferguson, who dropped out on the final lap.

“While I can’t say I’m happy with ninth after being so quick all weekend, I’m satisfied that I gave it everything I had. I’ve never had to work so hard to pass people in my life. In the U.S. you’re used to passing one person per corner. Here the battle for P13 was just as tough as the battle for P1.”

“I can’t thank Jeremy Shaw and Team USA Scholarship enough for this incredible opportunity and Cliff Dempsey Racing for preparing cars that were quick from the first session on. I learned more this weekend about high level open wheel racing than I’ve learned in a long time. I can’t wait to get to Silverstone in three weeks to apply what I learned.”

Next up
Trent Hindman returns with Team USA Scholarship to England the weekend of November 5-6 for the Walter Hayes Trophy races at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire. Live timing and scoring details and almost live commentary of the races will be announced on Twitter at @altemus_prime.

A week after claiming the Ontario Formula Ford Championship, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver Trent Hindman travelled to northwest Connecticut and Lime Rock Park to try and wrest the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda championship from points leader Scott Anderson. While he earned Rookie of the Year honors, a second championship in as many weeks was not in the cards for the Wayside, N.J. driver.

Coming into Lime Rock Park Hindman’s task was simple; win both poles and both races, scoring maximum points while hoping that point leader Scott Anderson had at least one bad race. Hindman got the weekend off to a quick start. Being the only car in the 57 second bracket in Thursday morning’s Practice session, Hindman went out second in the afternoon’s single-car Qualifying session and set the quick time with a 58.208 sec. lap. Five cars later the closest anyone got was Sebastian Ordonez with a 58.579 and Hindman had his series leading sixth California Scents Pole Award and almost as important, the bonus point.

Due to the schedule idiosyncrasies of a Skip Barber Race Weekend, National drivers held their second qualifying session on Friday morning prior to completing their first race. Claiming changing conditions for the early morning qualifying session, Skip Barber officials opted for a 30-minute group qualifying session in lieu of the preferred single car format. Quick early, Hindman set the bar with a 58.247 sec. on his 15th lap. Five laps later, Hindman’s weekend took a left turn… literally. Heading into the Uphill on his 20th lap, Hindman attempted to carry too much speed, exiting the track and impacting the tire wall on the outside of the corner. Hindman immediately climbed out of his damaged car, climbed on top of the wall and watched the remainder of the session from the flagging station before being checked out and cleared by the track EMS.

“I just pushed a little too hard”, said Hindman after the session. “We knew that Sebastian has been quick in these group format qualifying sessions all season and that my .247 would probably not stand for pole so I was reaching for another tenth or two and reached a little too far.”

Apart from aggravating a sore elbow picked up during a qualifying crash a week earlier in Mosport Hindman was uninjured, but with the left front corner torn off and the frame damaged, his favored #11 was done for the weekend. To add insult to injury, both Sebastian Ordonez and Danilo Estrella both put in quicker laps after Hindman’s exit to take the front row.

For Round 15 Friday afternoon, Hindman started from the pole but now in the unfamiliar car #85. It was almost immediately apparent that the new car was down on power, as Hindman faded through the field after leading the first two laps, dropping behind Anderson on Lap 6 before the #85’s engine ultimately expired with three laps to go. Hindman’s first non-Top 5 finish of the season could not have come at a worst time; his eighth place finish combined with Anderson’s third place finish meant that the Skip Barber National Championship and the $200,000 USF2000 scholarship would go to Hindman’s Colorado teammate.

“I didn’t notice anything during the warm up, but the motor just didn’t have the pull the other cars did and eventually it just laid over. I knew it was going to be a long shot to win the championship but it doesn’t make it any less disappointing for it to end like this. I am happy for Scott; he’s had a great season and earned the championship.”

With the championship settled Round 16 became a race to settle second place in the final standings between Hindman and Brandon Newey, as a win by Newey combined with another bad result by Hindman would move Newey into second place in the standings. Now in the #57 car, Hindman dropped behind Anderson at the start and followed him around first Estrella, who struggled with car issues of his own and faded to a seventh place finish, and Ordonez, with whom Hindman battled for second for several laps before Skip Barber Cup driver (and 2005 National Champion) Gerardo Bonilla joined the fray.

With two laps to go, the lead pack of Anderson, Bonilla, Ordonez and Hindman were nose-to-tail at the start/finish line. After Bonilla’s attempted outside pass for the lead sent him into the grass at Big Bend, the order at the white flag was Anderson, Ordonez, Hindman and Bonilla. Going into West Bend for the final time, Ordonez stuck his nose in on Anderson, but lost momentum and second place to Hindman. At the finish it Scott and Trent scoring Jonatan Jorge Racing Development’s fifth 1-2 finish of the season, with Ordonez immediately behind in third.

“Sebastian tried a move in West Bend but it backfired. He basically parked his car and I was able to get the run going into the Downhill. Another lap or two and I might have been able to get Scott, but I know winning this race was important to him so I’m okay with second.”

Top 5 – 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, after Round 16 of 16
1. Scott Anderson, 456 points
2. Trent Hindman, -22
3. Brandon Newey, -31
4. Sebastian Ordonez, -56
5. Shelby Blackstock, -84

Trent Hindman’s three wins, six pole positions and 15 top five finishes in 16 races earned him not only second place in the final Skip Barber National points but Rookie of the Year honors.

He may have lost the Skip Barber National Championship, but don’t feel too bad for Trent Hindman. As soon as the Race Series banquet ended Saturday night he was on his way home to New Jersey to rest and pack before jumping on a plane to England to begin his driving duties for Team USA Scholarship, starting with this weekend’s Formula Ford Festival at the Brands Hatch Circuit. Hindman also recently announced his plans for 2012; joining Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing for next year’s Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. And then there is the Ontario Formula Ford Championship. Not a bad year.

“I have so many people to thank for this year. MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development, Jonatan Jorge and my teammates at JJRD, the coaches and technicians at Skip Barber Racing School, Racelite Protection, Premier Woodcraft and Sparco for their support throughout the year, my teachers at Wayside High School, for allowing me the time to pursue my dream while continuing my education, and my parents, who’ve been supporting me since day one.”

Brands Hatch
At 1.53 miles, there are few road courses in the world shorter than Lime Rock Park. One of those is the 1.2 mile Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent, England. Less than an hour southeast of London, over the years the Brands Hatch Circuit has hosted everything from the British Touring Car Championship and DTM to Formula One and IndyCars and since 1976 has been the home to the annual Formula Ford Festival.

While Trent Hindman will see the track for the first time on Wednesday for testing with Cliff Dempsey Racing, he’ll have plenty of seat time there behind the wheel of his computer.

“Ever since I was selected for the Team USA Scholarship I’ve been running the Brands Hatch Indy and Silverstone Circuits on iRacing. If the elevation changes at Brands Hatch are anything like they appear online, I think I’m really going to enjoy this track.”

The weekend kicks off with Qualifying on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. local time. Follow the action, from the heat races through the final, with Live Timing and Scoring via TSL Sports Timing Solutions and look for updates throughout the weekend on Altemus Prime’s Twitter feed, @altemus_prime.