SONOMA, CALIF. (March 25, 1999) — Jeff Bucknum, in his second year of Star Formula Mazda competition, led the World Speed Motorsports team to a second-place finish in the season-opening Star Formula Mazda Pro Series Speedvision Challenge race at Sebring International Raceway last weekend. Bucknum, who qualified on pole with a new Formula Mazda track record, was never seriously challenged for the second-place spot and set a comfortable pace behind eventual race winner Joey Hand.
“We came up just a little short this weekend,” said Bucknum, who captured one win and two poles en route to third overall in last year’s Star series. “I had a jump on Joey at the start in first gear, but then I missed second
gear. I simply messed up, but I think I would have had a tough time keeping Joey behind me anyway. As it was I couldn’t catch up to him, so I settled into a comfortable pace and focused on getting as many points for the championship as possible. We learned at Sebring that it’s not going to be an easy year. We know we’re going to be right there, but we definitely have our work cut out for us. It’s going to be a great year of racing.”
World Speed Star Mazda rookies Grant Ryley and Pierre Ehret also had strong 1999 season debuts at Sebring. Ryley, of Saratoga, California, started in the fifth spot, quickly moved into fourth, then fell victim to an on-track skirmish while challenging for third place that ended his day. Ehret also moved forward in his first Sebring race to finish 11th after starting 15th.
World Speed Motorsports’ dominance of the Formula Mazda series includes six championship and five pro series Rookie-of-the-Year titles since 1991. Most recently, the team captured five wins (Mike Miller – 4, Bucknum – 1) and two poles (Bucknum) en route to second (Miller) and third (Bucknum) in the 1998 Star Formula Mazda Pro Series championship. Joining Bucknum, Ryley and Ehret in the World Speed Motorsports Star Mazda stable are returning veterans Bryan Willman, Frank McCormick, Ginni Swanton and Debbie Girdler.