Race 05: Round of France

Woodard has mixed feelings over the lap One incident.

"I'm not sure what to say," Woodard told reporters with the help of a French Translator, "We had a top 10 car but due to my haste last week, it got sent back to the rear of the field. The ironic thing was the drivers I was expecting to wreck first actually didn't get involved. I'm really sorry to Johannes, I really had no options there. I just hope Sweden goes better than this." Woodard now sits just outside the top 20 in points.

Woodard and crew celebrates with PSI over Plissken's podium finish.

While Woodard may have suffered an early race knockout, Kurt Plissken kept up his pace and with excellent pit work by the 16 team, he was able to finish third after battling with Mathias Taube. "This is awesome, it's good to see Kurt and PSI rebound from that horrible season they suffered with that debacle with Tonare." Woodard told reporters, "I'm sure this has boosted the morale of the team, especially my crew, after the start of the race. Could have gotten second, but at least Kurt didn't have to worry about lapped cars." Woodard chuckled, albeit, somewhat sadly. "I know I'm feeling better, seeing that our cars are in top-notch condition to take on the best."

Lycoia Europe CEO clears up Lycoia-Lenard Connection in the European Market.

"On the comments of Dan Mullen about Lenard rebadging some of our cars due to a 'lack of influence' here in Europe, I have to make a minor correction on his assumptions. Lenard is not rebadging any of our cars, however, they are using their marketing resources to expand what little influence we do have here. We've been around in Europe for some time, our expansion here has been attributed to the TMMC and other regional leagues." Elijah Voltaire, wrote on the manufacturer's Q and A open house. "We even have factories here that we bought out or built previous to the deal with Lenard, it's on our FAQ page! Lenard is a great organization that has helped expand our influence (and funding opportunities), so far they haven't attempted to do what they did with Fortner and I, along with many, are grateful for."

Mummert, MT Motorsports celebrate successful start to Independents' Trophy campaign


Adrien Devereux may have been celebrating a win on home soil, but if you'd looked down at the MT Motorsports pit, you could've sworn they were celebrating a win, as well.

An MT Motorsports car finally made its TM Master Cup Series debut, and the only thing that could've gone better was a Top 5, or a win, as Kraig Mummert, competing in his first TM Master Cup Series race since leaving James Dalton Racing last Summer, nailed down an 8th place finish, the highest finish of all Independents' Trophy drivers, at the Round of France.

Mummert started near the mid-pack, and made his way up the order, both through passes, and as other drivers fell by the wayside, most notably his former Bolden teammate Luciano Soveral, who lost a sure victory on a last lap collision with Packer Carroll.

When Mummert brought the car into the pits after the checkered flag, he joyously jumped into the arms of his crew. It was a moment he and the team had been waiting for since 2008.

"I've always wanted to be the man to drive the car when MT Motorsports debuted in TM Master Cup," Mummert said. "To finish in the Top 10, to finish the highest amongst all the Independents' Trophy teams, is just amazing. There were far more experienced drivers than me making mistakes, and I kept it on the road, and the guys in the pits nailed all the stops. A great day to get everything in sync."

MT Motorsports owner Fred Caldwell said that it's one of his Top 3 proudest moments in racing.

"It's up there alongside our first stock car win [Brian Morris's triumph in the 2012 TM Lights opener at Las Vegas], and the team's first win in any race ever [Mummert's win at the 2009 CRL Modified Division race in Portland, Oregon]. My goal has always been to reach the TM Master Cup Series, and to debuted in such a fantastic way is like this a dream come true. I'm hoping that this is the start of a great career for this team in this series. We've really started to explode these last few years. And I've got to thank Lycoia. They built us a great car."

Mummert will continue driving the 114 car in all road course and short track events it is scheduled to compete in. Brian Morris's only scheduled start in the car will be at Indianapolis, thanks to his superspeedway prowess. Whomever will drive the car in the non-championship race that's only for Independents' Trophy drivers will be announced when the track the race will be held at is determined.

Jonser defends himself after wreck


Craig Jonser found himself under a bit of scrutiny after apparently taking out Arto Kekkenon from third in the late stages of the race. While apologetic, he maintained that he was not at fault for the accident.

"We were heading into turn 6 and Kekkonen got loose and came up into me. I'm sorry that it had to end that way for him, and I'll try and get a hold of him when I can, but I don't feel that I was at fault for the accident."

Ironically, he also announced that he wouldn't appeal the time penalty because "it would have gained [him] nothing."

Volpi Replaces Carroll with Dorian After Injury


Although rumors that Packer Carroll would be suspended from the Round of Sweden have not been confirmed, it appears that Carroll will not be able to race anyways after a broken wrist. Volpi Racing Team announced on Monday that Carroll's replacement for the Round of Sweden will be Englishman Robert Dorian, who previously drove in the TM Master Cup series for Xenos Racing.

VRT boss Cyril Volpi reiterated his support for Carroll, despite the Californian sitting on -30 points after a crash with Jose Luis Martinez in the season opener. "Packer is having a rough time of things this season, but he has won a race for our team, and we will give him the time he needs to recover."

Whether that means that Carroll will sit the Karjala Grand Prix is a subject Volpi was not willing to answer. "We will handle that matter when it arises."

Dorian could, theoretically, replace Carroll at Karjala as well, however, Dorian may have a commitment for Karjala already lined up with his current Dash Cup team, TH Racing. Dorian was excited when Volpi gave him the call to race at Sweden, saying; "It's good to be back in a TM Master Cup series car, and with a team like VRT, I hope to deliver a performance up to their standards!"

Devereux Wins at France

Despite teammate Luciano Soveral dominating the Round of France until his last-lap demise, Frenchman Adrien Devereux insisted that his win in the Round of France was proof that he would continue to be a threat for wins on a regular basis.

"It just shows that you aren't always in control... it's a shame that Luciano couldn't bring it home for a 1-2 finish for the team, but sometimes you have to race some of the slow cars differently... I suppose if you lose some because of other people's mistakes, you win some that way."

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