World Speed Motorsports announced final stats for the 2003 Fran Am West series today. The team ran all 13 rounds and won the 2003 Sportsman Championship with driver Frank McCormick in the Onyx Pharmaceuticals #16 car. World Speed driver Brad Coleman picked up fourth place in the championship and was surprised with an additional award from the series. Due to his outstanding rookie effort and consistent performances for World Speed Motorsports he was presented with the Rookie of the Year runner up Award for the Fran Am 1600 Series. Overall the team had a total of 11 podiums in 13 events. Highlights were Frank’s Championship, the win with Jason Kritikos in his first Fran Am event at Sears Point, and back-to-back 2nds at Buttonwillow with Coleman.
When World Speed wasn’t on the road vying for wins in the Fran Am series, they were testing and setting up multiple racecars in the Northern California area. In addition to testing a multitude of karters including Alan Sciuto the team prepared a majority of the Formula Mazdas running in the SCCA San Francisco Region.
“Many of the FMs we’ve been maintaining our cars that were in the World Speed stable when we used to run in the SCCA, stated Telo Stewart team owner. It’s great that the local racers appreciate what we do, and make sure that their cars stop here before heading out on track.”
For 2004 WSM will be returning to the Star Mazda Series. They’ve competed in the series for 10 years, won 6 Championships and were runner-up every year they didn’t take the Championship. The team will also continue in the Fran-Am West Series for 2004. Fran-Am allows training of drivers as young as 14, preparing them for more powerful cars like the new Pro Mazda and Toyota Atlantic. The Fran-Am West Pro Series is run on the west coast, so travel and transport costs are kept very reasonable.