Glen Head, NY – Add another young aspiring racer to the F1600 field. John McCusker, son of longtime F2000 veteran Jeff McCusker, will enter the 2012 F1600 Formula F Championship Series in a Van Diemen/Honda. The 16 year old will take over his father’s car, which has been converted to F1600 spec, as Jeff moves onto a RFR in F2000 competition.

“My expectation for 2012 is to learn the ropes of car racing,” said John, who has a long and very successful karting resume, in addition to Skip Barber and Bertil Roos. “I hope to learn as much as I can.”

He said the biggest challenge this year will be adapting to the Van Diemen chassis and getting his shifting down. The aspiring racer will be mentored by Ove Falck.

A junior at North Shore High School, he added that keeping his grades up is important to go racing, and the team hopes to test before VIR, April 12-15, at either Monticello or New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Father Jeff added: “We wanted him to drive the F1600 car so he can learn how to work on setup without wings. We picked the F1600 Series because of the high car count and the competition, and we are very happy with the way the Series is run.”

As far as advice, Jeff said that he told John to compete the best he can, and to be sure he completes all the laps without any issues on the track.

The 2012 campaign will open at VIR, April 12-15, followed by a trip to Lime Rock in May, with New Jersey, Mid-Ohio and Summit Point following for a summer swing, before the season ends October 12-14 at Watkins Glen International.