MAC CLARK UPDATE

Canadian USF2000 racer gaining experience, exposure and support

Story by Greg MacPherson

Inlate February, Canadian racer Mac Clark was honoured during the annual Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) Induction Gala as the Rising Star Award recipient.

The award recognized Clark’s impressive record during his relatively short road racing career, which started in karting and saw him achieve rapid success in F1600 before capturing the USF Juniors championship, last fall, at Texas’ Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

That victory earned him an almost quarter of a million-dollar scholarship to race, this season, in the Road to Indy USF2000 Championship. So far this year, the Milton, Ontario resident –who recently turned 19 – has had two weekends competing in the series for the DEForce Racing team.

Mechanical issues plagued the team at the St. Petersburg opener, but Clark bounced back in the second race, at Sebring.

All the while, the talented racer has been staying on top of his first-year Automotive Engineering program at Oshawa’s Ontario Tech University. He’s also racing and testing when other opportunities present themselves, and his schedule permits.

“Racing during the IndyCar weekend in St. Petersburg was a really cool environment,” said Clark, taking a break from studying for a Physics exam, in mid-April. “But from a driver’s perspective, the weekend wasn’t too great for us, in terms of performance or results. We struggled with some mechanical issues that plagued our new car, and had an electronic issue in qualifying. And then we had an engine failure in Race #2, so we didn’t get what we wanted out of that weekend.

“But we did rebound well in Round Two of the championship, at Sebring. We had a fourth and a second, respectively, in our two races there. It was great to be on the podium on my birthday, which was a nice present. That brought us back to fifth in the championship standings. It’s a long championship, we still have six rounds to go – with double races at most of them – so I have confidence that myself and the team can provide a package that will let us fight for race wins going forward.”

Clark’s ability to keep his wits about him, when things aren’t going well, is a sign of maturity that is earning him praise from those who follow him. Despite the frustration of not being competitive at St. Pete’s, he took it in stride and focussed on working with his team to improve their situation for the future.

“I try to keep level-headed,” continued Clark. “When a situation’s out of your control, as a driver, it’s tough to deal with but I try to keep calm and remember that I can win races and that we have what it takes to compete. This is my second year with DEForce and we had a very successful year last year, and when you win a championship with a team, it’s like building a brotherhood. I have trust in them, and I think they feel the same way about me, so when things are tough, it’s no time to point fingers or anything like that. We just have to focus on what we do best and trust that the bad luck is out of the way.”

Tin Top Outing

In addition to his USF2000 program, Clark also had an opportunity to race a ‘tin top’ car for the first time in his career.

In early April, Clark was a co-driver of the Valkyrie Velocity team’s No. 95 Porsche 718 in the Pirelli GT4 America Pro-Am race at California’s Sonoma Raceway.

“I got the opportunity through Valkyrie AI, who are one of my partners on the Road to Indy side, and they’ve recently become involved in this new project with Velocity. It was a great time and definitely different from what I’m used to, but I feel like I fought well with the pros and it was a valuable experience to try sports car racing and it’s something I’d be open to doing more of in the future. There were 44 GT4s on the grid.”

“I love to drive anything with four wheels, and I want to be a pro driver. I’m still focussed on the IndyCar path, however I’m open to any opportunity. Competing at something like the Rolex 24 or the Sebring 12 Hour would be incredible, and those things are definitely on my bucket list.”

In addition to broadening his racing horizons, Clark’s academic efforts will also serve him well in his racing efforts.

“It’s a little bit crazy, to be honest, balancing it all,” Mac continued. “I’m trying to focus on my racing, do well in school, and also have a little bit of a social life at the same time. To make it all fit, I’m taking a reduced course load right now at Ontario Tech.

“I’m becoming an automotive engineer and I made a promise to my dad, when I was 14 years old, that I would get an education if we – as a family – were going to commit to making the effort and sacrifices to continue with my racing career. I’m passionate about what I’m doing at school, and I really enjoy it. And if I don’t become a race car driver, or maybe after I’m done racing, I’m going become a really good race engineer. Those two paths definitely intersect and I can pull from both as I go.”

Combining natural talent, hard work and a knowledge of automotive engineering could be a very potent combination.

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