The final race of the 2007 season for the Robinson Motor Sports/ Cincy Images Formula E was at Road Atlanta November 8^th – 11^th for the American Road Race of Champions (ARRC) presented by Grass Roots Motorsports Magazine. This event was the National Championship Race for the Formula Car Magazine series, where the top drivers from the individual divisions compete in the winner take all event.

Going into the event, we knew we had a great shot at coming home with the title, considering our success in the Formula E…. three races, three wins. With the five pre-qualifying sessions, and two rounds of qualifying, our main objective was to avoid any mistakes by the crew or the driver, and be diligent in all of our decisions regarding chassis set-up. As the sessions started to wind down, we thought the perfect season was slipping from our grasps…the final three sessions before qualifying found us getting a total of three laps due to rare mechanical failures. First we had an ignition relay mysteriously disappear from the car, stalling the engine and ending the session early. The next session we had an axle fail while leaving pit road, then the final one had a fourth gear failure as we completed the warm up lap.

After some excitement from the previous sessions, we had the car repaired and crossed our fingers as qualifying began. As has been common all season long for Robinson Motor Sports, provisional qualifying had all three team cars in the top positions with the Cincy Images FE starting second behind teammate Matthew Inge, and Ian Harms in third. Once again after the second and final of round qualifying, the top of the charts saw RMS sweep the front row, with the Cincy Images FE holding on to second position.

As we were preparing the car for the race, we decided to make a few chassis adjustments to help free up the car a little bit. We wish we had more time on the track and data to analyze, but the mechanical failure’s had us relying more on instinct than on raw data to make our decisions.

As the green flag flew over the 39 Formula E competitors for the 2007 FCM Championship race, the Robinson Motor Sports/ Cincy Images car took the early advantage through turn one. At the completion of lap one the advantage was sizeable and the lead grew as each lap passed. Lap after lap around the renowned Road Atlanta circuit, the RMS/ Cincy Images Formula E would never relinquish the lead, taking the checker flag by four seconds over second place Matthew Inge, with Ian Harms in third….a sweep of the podium for Robinson Motor Sports.

The win secured the Formula Car Magazine National Championship for the team, and gave the RMS/ Cincy Images FE a perfect season. With Matthew Inge starting on the pole and Ian Harms setting the track record, it was icing on the cake for the entire team.

The books are closed on the 2007 season, and we will see everyone again in January 2008.