The opening two rounds of the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship resulted in a great start to the season for sophomore driver Reid Arnonld, as he piloted his BGR prepared Piper/Quicksilver Honda to two runner up finishes and one fastest lap. Joining Reid for the opening rounds where teammates Mikhail Goikhberg and Ben Hurst.

It was a tough opening weekend for the rookie Hurst, who was having a great debut race until a small error saw him off course bringing out the red flag. He emerged unscathed but the car would require some work to get back to race condition. The red flag meant the race was scored as of the previous lap which gave him back a very solid top 10 result. Goikhberg ran as high as 3rd but ended the race in 4th in his first Toyo Tires F1600 race since 2010.

The Sunday event was once again a terrific run with Reid staying glued to the leaders gearbox for 16 of the 18 laps before a wild slide in turn one left him 1 second back and turn his focus on bringing the car home with a second straight podium. The car stumbled on the final lap with some fuel issues and that meant a larger gap at the flag than anticipated but the pace of the front two runners was such that it was still a long way back to the pursuing pack.

A poor qualifying run with Goikhberg left him battling a little further back and had him in a fierce battle that ended with contact and a less than perfect car to finish out the race with. Hurst made a great recovery from his Saturday accident and although it took some laps to get back up to speed, he ended the day with another top 10 and improved his personal best lap time.

“A solid start for us and the team but definitely not as good as we had hoped for with our returning driver Mikhail. Ben had some bad luck but rebounded very well and we are very happy with his performance as a rookie. Ried did a stellar job and we are very proud to help him achieve his first podiums. While we were puzzled with a handling issue with Mikhail, we did manage to find the source of a problem and we expect him to come back very strong in the next round.” Comments team owner Brian Graham.

Next up for the team is a trip to Calabogie Motorsports Park for rounds 3 and 4 of the F2000 Championship where BGR driver Zacharie Robichon leads the championship. It is also a testing opportunity for the F1600 team members to gain more track time. It is a quick turn around for the following weekend as the team takes to the road again for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal where 5 BGR Piper/Quicksilver Honda powered machines will contest the always exciting F1 support race. That event is also the second weekend of the F1600 Super Series.

Ried Arnold now joins the long list of podium finishers that BGR has accumulated over the years. The Canadian dealer for Piper Racecars and factory supported team is now in its 4th year of the partnership with the well respected manufacturer. Built in California, the Piper chassis is building a winning history in Canada and provides customer support at all the F1600 events on the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship. To learn more about the team visit www.briangrahamracing.com and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/144083092268782