(Photo: Teresa Matkovich - Photo Arts International)

Back for the first time in a competitive racing weekend since September 2009, Stefan Rzadzinski took to the track for the opening rounds of the 2010 Ontario Formula Ford Championship at Mosport International Raceway.

Following a successful day of dry weather Friday testing, Rzadzinski and the Ontario Formula Ford Championship contenders took to difficult conditions on Saturday. After qualifying in 3rd position on a damp and drying track, Rzadzinski was looking forward to the final event. Unfortunately he struggled to find a comfort in the balance of his car in the pouring rain, but did manage to bring the car home in 4th position which was a positive result after being out of a racecar for many months.

Sunday brought dry but frigid conditions following a brush of snow from the night before as drivers arrived at the track on Sunday morning. Once again, Rzadzinski put his Brian Graham Racing #2 Formula Ford 3rd on the grid in the qualifying session. This lap was set with Rzadzinski passing slower traffic, but a gearbox issue prevented him from setting another quick lap with an empty track. Starting from the second row, Rzadzinski held his position through the entire race and brought home the car in 3rd position for a podium finish. After losing the draft to the front two drivers early in the race, which is critical to success at Mosport, Rzadzinski fought hard to hold on to the 3rd position while battling an understeering car. 

“I really wanted to come into this weekend and challenge for a victory as I felt we had the capability. On Friday we were very quick and confident that we could have a successful weekend. The weather had its own ideas on Saturday, and I just could not find a balance which I was comfortable with in the car to push under the rainy conditions. On Sunday I had an issue in qualifying as a gearbox issue prevented me from finishing my last hot lap which would have been quicker than my time which placed me 3rd on the grid. I pushed really hard in the race but lost the draft on the first lap as I could not find first gear for Turn 5 and ended up slotting the car into third gear which lost me quite a bit of momentum, and in turn, the draft onto the long straightaway. From there, I fought to try and catch the leaders but the draft pulled them away from me slightly each lap. I was also dealing with quite a heavy understeer in the race which caused me to slow up more than usual in the fast sweeping corners at Mosport.

However, it was great to finish on the podium! Everyone on the team worked really hard and I was glad to bring the car home in a strong finishing position. I really have to thank my supporters The ABL Group and SuperTint for their continued support into this 2010 season; we could not have done it without them. Now we will continue planning the rest of season, and I look forward to putting together a strong racing program with our limited budget!”

For RzadRacing partnership opportunities or inquiries, please contact Sean Collins at OOMPH! Events:

Email - sean@oomphevents.com
Phone - 780-232-0339