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Road To Indy on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Indy Pro 2000 preview

Posted by  on Thursday, May 9th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

The Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires series visit the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the sixth straight year for the middle-rung of ladder’s 12th and 13th races.

The PM-18 made it’s “Month of May” debut last year and put on an outstanding show. The pole sitter won seven times in the first nine races that saw a total of three lead changes.

In 2018, the pair of races had five lead changes between them, and the race winners started in third and sixth place.

Juncos Racing and Team Pelfrey are currently tied with three Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course wins each. The other two active teams with wins in this event are Exclusive Autosport and RP Motorsport.

Previous Indy Pro 2000 winners on the the IMS road course

Year

Driver

Team

Start

2018 Race #2

Parker Thompson

Exclusive Autosport

6

2018 Race #1

Harrison Scott

RP Motorsport

3

2017 Race #2

Victor Franzoni

Juncos Racing

1

2017 Race #1

Victor Franzoni

Juncos Racing

1

2016 Race #2

Pato O’Ward

Team Pelfrey

1

2016 Race #1

Pato O’Ward

Team Pelfrey

1

2015 Race #3

Santiago Urrutia

Team Pelfrey

1

2015 Race #2

Timothe Buret

Juncos Racing

1

2015 Race #1

Weiron Tan

Andretti Autosport

1

2014 – Race #2

Scott Hargrove

Cape Motorsports with /WTR

2

2014 – Race #1

Scott Hargrove

Cape Motorsports with /WTR

2

The advancemnt scholarship chase

Parker Thompson, winner of the first two races of the year, who started the 2019 season on a two-race deal with Abel Motorsports, will return for at least two more races with Louisville, Ky. based team.

The points leader headed into the “Month of May” has had some previous success on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course. The 21-year-old has two wins (including last year in Indy Pro 2000), three podiums, five top five and one pole in eight previous starts.

“I’ve had success there last year,” explained the Red Deer, Alberta, Canada driver. “I won and finished fifth, due to a mechanical issue, in the two Indy Pro 2000 events a year ago. As strong as Abel Motorsports is right now, there’s nowhere to go but up. I’m going to hold us to a pretty high standard. I don’t see any reason why we can’t be on the top step of the podium both days this weekend.”

Behind Thompson and his healthy 19-point lead are seven drivers covered by only 19 points.

Juncos Racing rookie Rasmus Lindh starts the “Month of May” as the driver closest to the veteran on top of the standing. The first of Lindh’s five podiums in the USF2000 championship last year came in the second race at this same event.

An aggressive move to start the second race in St. Petersburg propelled Exclusive Autosport rookie Danial Frost to a second place finish, his first Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires podium. The 17-year-old from Singapore, who begins the weekend only four points behind Lindh, will be making his first race start on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Frost did complete a successful Chris Griffis Memorial Test so that the circuit won’t be entirely new for him.

Only two points behind Frost is veteran Sting Ray Robb. The third-year driver has made four previous starts on the IMS Road Course, grabbing a podium in the second race last year.

Defending USF2000 champion Kyle Kirkwood rebounded from a DNF in the first race of the season to grab his 14th career Road To Indy podium in the second. Combine the fact that RP Motorsport is a proven winner on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with Kirkwood’s two USF2000 victories last year, and you shouldn’t be surprised when the Jupiter, Fla. native is at the pointy end of the grid.

Veterans Nikita Lastochkin (Exclusive Autosport), Moisés de la Vara (DEForce Racing) and Phillippe Denes (Fatboy Racing!) are all within seven points of Kirkwood and can move into the top five in points with a solid weekend.

Indy Lights points headed into the “Month of May”

RANK

DRIVER

POINTS

BACK

1

Parker Thompson

64

2

Rasmus Lindh – R

45

-19

3

Danial Frost – R

41

-23

4

Sting Ray Robb

39

-25

5

Kyle Kirkwood – R

33

-31

6

Nikia Lastochkin

31

-33

7

Moisés de la Vara

30

-34

8

Phillippe Denes – R

26

-38

9T

Antonio Serravalle – R

22

-42

9T

Jacob Abel – R

22

-42

9T

Damiano Fioravanti – R

22

-42

12

Parker Locke – R

20

-44

13

Kory Enders – R

19

-45

14

Charles Finelli

13

-51

Newcomer

Ian Rodriguez will be making his Indy Pro 2000 and Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires debut with RP Motorsport.

The Guatemalan is not new to formula car racing, spending the past three seasons in Europe. The 18-year-old who was part of a one-car team had four podiums in three seasons of the hotly contested Italian F4 Championship.

“I’m really happy to make my debut in this championship with RP Motorsport,” said Rodriguez. “It is a great opportunity for my career, which will take place in a such a prestigious place as Indianapolis: a circuit where all drivers dream of racing at least once in their life, though of course my goal will be to stay focused on driving and learn as much as possible. I’m sure the team will give me great help in this regard, and I can’t wait to start!”

Road To Indy Returnee

Jacob Loomis, who made two Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship starts on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2017 returns with Texas-based open-wheel development team JDL Racing. The team includes principal Jim Loomis and former Indy Pro 2000 standout Moses Smith.

Loomis, a 19-year-old college student studying Aviation Technology stood on the podium four times over two seasons of F4 United States Championship Powered By Honda competition.

Jacob Loomis heads out on track during his Road To Indy debut in a USF2000 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

“This represents a major step forward in my career and toward my dream of winning an Indy 500,” said Loomis. “We are eager to put our small-town team’s effort to the test and are ready to show that a lofty budget and a lavish team aren’t always necessary to take that next step in climbing the Road to Indy ladder. I love racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, enjoying success at the F4 level, and am hoping to continue the streak.”

 

Keeping busy and winning races the Indy Pro 2000 edition

With the long break between Indy Pro 2000 events, the Abel Motorsports duo of Parker Thompson and Jacob Abel have kept busy.

Abel Motorsports with driver Kyle Kirkwood ware the defending F3 Americas Championship Powered By Honda champions and after five of sixteen races hold down the top spot with Abel.

Abel finished third and fourth in the opening pair of races at Barber Motorsports Park in support of the NTT IndyCar Series before winning twice and finishing on the podium once at Road Atlanta. The 18-year-old holds a one-point advantage headed to the third round of the competition.

“Getting those wins has given me a lot of confidence going into Indy,” said Abel. “It’s going to be a busy month of May for us with the Grand Prix weekend and then my oval debut at Lucas Oil Raceway on the 500 weekend. I can’t wait to get going!”

Abel’s teammate and Indy Pro 2000 points leader Thompson is contesting Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA series with JDX Racing. The single-make series began the season at Barber Motorsports Park with the NTT IndyCar Series in April where Thompson turned his first laps in a race car with a roof, before moving to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last weekend.

Thompson began the season with a pair of second place finishes in the season-opening couple of races in Alabama. His third second-place finish followed a dominant victory in treacherous conditions Saturday in Ohio. That leaves the Canadian in second place, ten points behind countryman Roman DeAngelis headed into the next round at home in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Exclusive Autosport’s Nikita Lastochkin took part in a different kind of race. The Russian ticked off a bucket list item by completing the Los Angeles Marathon in March.

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR INSTAGRAM POST

 

Other Notes

  • Abel Motorsports sophomore Parker Thompson is the only past winner the field this year.
  • Indy Lights rookie Oliver Askew, who also holds the USF2000 qualifying record on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course, set the qualifying track record last year with a lap of 79.3319 seconds.
  • Parker Thompson with a lap of 81.0338 seconds currently holds the race track record.
  • Only two of the eleven previous Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race winners on the IMS have gone on to win the coveted advancement scholarship. Santi Urrutia won once in 2015, and Victor Franzoni won twice in 2017.
  • All 11 races have finished under green flag conditions.
  • The most significant margin of victory occurred in 2017 race #2 when Victor Franzoni obliterated the field, finishing 13.0798 seconds ahead of TJ Fisher.
  • Only three of the 11 races have had a margin of victory of less than one second, including the closest finish — Harrison Scott’s slim 0.3834-second margin over Oliver Askew in race #1 last year.
  • The first four Indy Pro 2000 races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course had a first lap caution. There was then a six-race span with no first lap cautions, until a first lap caution in the second race in 2018.

Race Weekend Basics

  • Each entry can utilize three new sets of Cooper Tire slicks as well as one set of used/scuffed tires from the test at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
  • Race name: Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires
  • Race #1 length: 25 laps or 40 minutes
  • Race #2 length: 25 laps or 50 minutes
  • Drivers failing to slow at least 15% in a timing sector with a local yellow will be subject to a two-place grid spot penalty.
  • Drivers who fail to heed the checkered flag at the end of a session will receive a two-grid spot penalty.
  • Causing one red flag will result in a driver losing their fastest lap.
  • Causing a second red flag will wipe out all of drivers laps, and be parked for the remainder of the session.
  • Crossing the white line between Turn 6 and Turn 7 is considered out of bounds. Crossing behind the Turn 7 curbs in qualifying will result in the loss of that lap.
  • Pit lane speed is 45mph.
  • At pit exit, all cars shall exit behind the Turn 1 curb and keep all four wheels to the right of the white line.
  • Driver points are distributed as follows: 30 – 25 – 22 – 19 – 17 – 15 -14 – 13 – 12 – 11 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – an additional one point will be awarded to the pole sitter, to the driver who leads the most laps, and to the driver who turns the quickest race lap.

Watch the 2018 Races

Race #1

Race #2

 

 

Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:

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MRTI – Chris Griffis Memorial Test – Saturday – Update #2 – Pro Mazda session #1 and Juncos Racing drivers

Posted by  on Saturday, September 22nd 2018     

By Steve Wittich

A pair of USF2000 rookies from this season, who are both driving for Juncos Racing this weekend led the first of three Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire sessions on the first day of the Chris Griffis Memorial Test.

Rasmus Lindh led most of the 45-minute session before Danial Frost turned in the only lap under 80 seconds to grab the top spot. That lap at 79.731 seconds is well under the race record set by Parker Thompson in May.

Rounding out the top five were Julian Van der Watt (BN Racing), Kyle Dupell (BN Racing) and Mathias Soler-Obel (RP Motorsport).

A total of nine drivers representing five teams turned laps during the first of three Saturday sessions.

Juncos Racing and Frost, Lindh and Cameron Shields

Pro Mazda team champion Juncos Racing, who has also fielded the last two Pro Mazda Champions has a trio of drivers running for them this weekend. The Speedway, Ind. based team had seven wins and 21 podiums during the 2018 Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire season.

Frost contested seven races in USF2000 this season with Exclusive Autosport with a best finish of fourth in Toronto. The driver from Singapore has a lot of seat time in Formula 4 and Formula Masters, an Asian series that utilizes a Tatuus chassis and Volkswagen 2.0 L powerplant.

Lindh, a talented 17-year-old coming off a successful first season in cars with Pabst Racing in USF2000, is joined this weekend by Danial Frost and Cameron Shields.

Lindh ended his rookie Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season second in USF2000 points and along the way collected five podiums, three poles, and the second lowest average race lap speed.

Shields, who like Verizon IndyCar Series driver Will Power, hails from Toowoomba, Australia. Shields started racing in Formula Ford in 2015 and since then has won 46 races across Formula Ford, Formula 4 and Formula 3 in Australia.

Saturday – Pro Mazda – Chris Griffis Memorial Test session #1 results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 62 Danial Frost Juncos Racing 1:19.731 –.—- 24
2 1 Rasmus Lindh Juncos Racing 1:20.091 0.3599 25
3 79 Julian Van der Watt BN Racing 1:20.277 0.5465 19
4 78 Kyle Dupell BN Racing 1:20.323 0.5918 19
5 27 Mathias Soler-Obel RP Motorsport Racing 1:20.342 0.6110 22
6 10 Darren Keane RP Motorsport Racing 1:20.365 0.6343 21
7 90 Nikita Lastochkin Exclusive Autosport 1:20.626 0.8953 23
8 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 1:20.838 1.1076 23
9 73 Cameron Shields Juncos Racing 1:21.190 1.4587 22

Pro Mazda is back on track 1:15 PM and 4:15 PM for 45-minute sessions.

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MRTI at Portland International Raceway – Sunday – Malukas grabs third win of the year in final Pro Mazda race of 2018

Posted by  on Sunday, September 2nd 2018     

When the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire series came to the Pacific Northwest for the final two races of the 2018 season, Rinus VeeKay and Parker Thompson were ensconced in the first two spots of the championship, but a third-place check for $20,000 and the Indy Lights test that goes with it was still up for grabs.

The first driver in contention, Oliver Askew won Saturday’s first race. David Malukas, who was six points in arrears of Askew when the race weekend began, finished a disappointing fourth.

That left the 16-year-old driver 18 points adrift of Askew for third in the championship. The BN Racing driver, who started on the outside of the front row, did all he could, leading all 30 laps on the way to his third win of the season.

“Yesterday we ended up finishing fourth,” explained Malukas to TSO Ladder. “We knew we had the pace and today we wanted to end strong. We knew we had pace on the start and I tried not to make mistakes.”

David Malukas on the way to his third win of the season in the final Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire race of the season at Portland International Raceway ((Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Askew started third and for the fourth time in six races finished on the podium to end up in third in the championship by a 303 to 295 lap margin.

VeeKay, who clinched the championship by taking the green flag for Friday’s practice, finished on the podium for the ninth time this season. The soon to be 18-year-old scored his 21st podium in 29 career Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires starts.

The final Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire race was scheduled to start at 2:15 PM, but was delayed due to an exciting Verizon IndyCar Series race that had Takuma Sato winning his third career race.

The front row of VeeKay and Malukas led the field across the start/finish line, but it was Thompson, who started on the outside of the second row that got to Turn 1 first on the outside of Malukas and VeeKay.

VeeKay clattered across the curbs while Malukas provided an impressive smoke show after locking up his brakes. Thompson was not able to get the No. 90 Exclusive Autosport machine rotated to the apex of Turn 2. That allowed Askew to grab the final spot on the podium.

Behind them, Sting Ray Robb and Moisés de la Vara made contact. The DEForce Racing #12 lost it’s front wing, and it appeared that Robb had some rear suspension damage.

Thompson lost another spot, this time to Robert Megennis and the running order at the end of the first lap was Malukas, VeeKay, Askew, Meggennis, Thompson, Nikia Lastochkin, and Moisés de la Vara.

Robb and de la Vara were forced to pit road for repairs. Team Pelfrey and DEForce Racing were able to make repairs but both lost multiple laps, finishing sixth and eighth respectively.

On the next lap, Thompson came to pit road with what was reported at a flat right rear tire.

Thompson came out just in-front of Malukas, but quickly let the leader by, slotting in between the leader and VeeKay in 2nd.

By Lap 13, Askew was looking to get past VeeKay. The 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda champion looked to the outside, but couldn’t get the pass done.

On Lap 17, Megennis and his No. 9 Juncos Racing Mazda/Tatuus came to pit road. The Juncos Racing did get back on track, but ended up retiring after 16 laps.

Up front, Malukas had a 4.4989 lead over VeeKay, who was still being forced to defend against Askew who continued to pressure the new champion.

VeeKay was able to pull away through the Festival Curves and Turns 4, 5 and 6. Askew was able to close up from the exit of Turn 7 through Turn 12.

With five laps left Malukas lead was still 4.5 seconds. Askew was still pressuring the Dutchman for second place.

With two laps remaining, Askew turned the quickest lap of the race in an effort to catch VeeKay for second, but the pilot of the Juncos Racing No. 2 was only a few-hundredths off of Askew’s torrid pace.

Askew turned the quickest lap of the race as he took the white flag, starting the final lap only 3/10ths behind VeeKay, but Saturday’s winner was not able to get around VeeKay. That duo ended the race 3.5 seconds behind Malukas.

Lastochkin equaled his best finish of the year from Race #2 in Toronto with his fourth-place finish.

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire Race #2 – unofficial results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 79 David Malukas 30
2 2 Rinus VeeKay 30 3.5821
3 3 Oliver Askew 30 3.8847
4 8 Nikita Lastochkin 30 41.9233
5 90 Parker Thompson 29 1 LAPS
6 82 Sting Ray Robb 19 11 LAPS
7 9 Robert Megennis 16 Contact
8 12 Moises de la Vara 5 Contact
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MRTI at Portland International Raceway – Saturday – Oliver Askew takes Soul Red No. 3 to victory lane in the “Rose City”

Posted by  on Saturday, September 1st 2018     

Oliver Askew, who won seven times during his 2017 USF2000 Championship season, won his first Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire race, lifting a significant weight off his back after 16 winless races.

“It’s a really good feeling,” said a relieved Askew to TSO Ladder. “I can’t quite describe it. It was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done. I was under pressure the whole time! I just tried not to make any mistakes. I know it’s very hard to pass here and my priority was to not make any mistakes. Our pace wasn’t an issue, but I didn’t want to give Rinus any opportunities to get around me. It’s a huge monkey off our backs especially going into the offseason. It’s a big help.”

Askew’s win, combined with a fourth-place finish by Malukas extends his lead for third in the championship, and the Indy Lights test and $20,000 check, that goes along with it.

Rinus van Kalmthout (Rinus VeeKay), who clinched the $790,000+ Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship when he took the green flag for practice yesterday, had his five-race winning streak come to an end after losing the lead in the “Festival Curves” on Lap 1. The 17-year-old Dutchman did come home in second, his ninth podium of 2018 and 21st of his Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires career.

Exclusive Autosport rookie Parker Thompson ended up on the final step of the podium, his sixth of the year, but the first since a Lucas Oil Raceway win in May.

Oliver Askew leads Rinus VeeKay, Parker Thompson, and David Malukas through the “Festival Curves” on the way to a Saturday win at Portland International Raceway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The final race of a busy Saturday at the Grand Prix of Portland was the first of two Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Cooper Tires scheduled for the final Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires weekend of 2018.

Askew, who was still looking for his first win in 2018, got a great jump and arrived at the right-hand Turn 1 first. VeeKay swept past Askew for a brief moment, but by the time the duo exited Turn 2, the No. 3 Soul Red Mazda from the Cape Motorsports was in the lead.

“Well I had a terrible start actually,” explained VeeKay to TSO after the race. “I went… I was a bit confused. There were signs, so I went too early on the throttle. I then backed off and went on again. Oliver stayed flat out. So it was a bit unfortunate, although could have been a lot worse. Getting a podium in my championship-winning race is great. I cannot wait to go to Indy Lights next year!

Moisés de la Vara was forced to head through the Turn 1 run-off.

The running order at the end of the first lap was: Askew, VeeKay, Thompson, David Malukas, Sting Ray Robb, Robert Megennis, de la Vara and Nikia Lastochkin.

Moisés de la Vara was the first driver to retire from the race with damage to his rear wing.

With ten laps remaining, Askew had a slim 0.7668 lead over VeeKay. On the very next lap, both drivers turned their quickest laps of the race with the Juncos Racing’s rookie being the fastest of the race to that point.

With eight laps remaining, the gap had shrunk to 0.6026 seconds, but that was as close as things got with Askew stretching the lead to 1.3482 seconds when the checkered flag was shown after 30 laps.

Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Cooper Tires race #1 – unofficial results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 3 Oliver Askew 30
2 2 Rinus VeeKay 30 1.3482
3 90 Parker Thompson 30 2.5135
4 79 David Malukas 30 3.7177
5 9 Robert Megennis 30 12.7176
6 82 Sting Ray Robb 30 14.8565
7 8 Nikita Lastochkin 30 24.7640
8 12 Moises de la Vara 3 Contact

The final Pro Mazda race of the season gets the green flag at 2:15 PM on Sunday after the Grand Prix of Portland.

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MRTI at Portland International Raceway – Saturday- VeeKay lowers Pro Mazda track record on the way to his sixth pole

Posted by  on Saturday, September 1st 2018     

For the sixth time during his rookie Pro Mazda season, Rinus VeeKay grabbed the bonus point for winning the pole. It’s the 17-year-old’s fifth pole in the last seven races, and seventh straight front row start.

VeeKay’s lap of 1:05.897 lowered the Pro Mazda track record that the Dutchman set yesterday. David Malukas joins VeeKay on the front row, with Oliver Askew and Parker Thompson starting right behind them. The front two rows were all below yesterday’s fastest qualifying lap.

For comparison, that lap is a tenth-of-a-second quicker than James Hinchcliffe’s Mazda Atlantics pole time from 2007.

The final Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying session of 2018, a 20-minute Pro Mazda affair, followed a crazy Indy Lights qualifying session. https://www.tsoladder.com/2018/09/01/mrti-at-portland-international-raceway-saturday-normans-maiden-pole-oward-incident-cap-off-chaotic-indy-lights-qualifying/

David Malukas was the early leader, but the top five were all within a half-second of each other.

At the half-way point of the 20-minute qualifying session, it was still the BN Racing rookie Malukas that held the provisional pole.

Askew grabbed the provisional pole just after the ten-minute mark and held it for the next four minutes.

Surrounding the halfway point, most drivers came to the attention of their teams on pit road for adjustments and fresh Cooper Tire slicks.

Thompson was the first driver to get his Coopers up to temperature and went quicker than Askew.

With four minutes remaining VeeKay grabbed the provisional pole and on his next lap went even quicker with a lap under the track record he set during Saturday’s qualifying.

On the next lap, his 12th of the session, VeeKay was the first driver to turn a sub-65-second lap.

Malukas, who was the last driver back on the 1.964-mile, 12-turn Portland International Raceway natural terrain road course after making adjustments, was the last driver to set a quick lap. That lap ended up being only four-hundredths slower than VeeKay.

Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying #2 – unofficial results.

RANK CAR NO. NAME QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE
1 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:05.897 –.—-
2 79 David Malukas 1:05.941 0.0439
3 3 Oliver Askew 1:06.253 0.3557
4 90 Parker Thompson 1:06.324 0.4263
5 9 Robert Megennis 1:06.507 0.6093
6 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:06.696 0.7984
7 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:06.974 1.0762
8 12 Moises de la Vara 1:07.646 1.7490

The first Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Cooper Tires will roll off this afternoon at 4:50 PM, the final on-track activity on Saturday.

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MRTI at Portland International Raceway – Friday – Qualifying 1 – O’Ward scores record Indy Lights pole, VeeKay captures Pro Mazda pole

Posted by  on Friday, August 31st 2018     

O’Ward secures record ninth pole of Indy Lights season

Pole man Patricio O’Ward. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

He’s new to the Portland International Raceway circuit, but is not new to pole position. That was the story for Patricio O’Ward in qualifying for the first of two Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires races at the track.

O’Ward is in search of the Mazda Motorsports advancement scholarship to win the top rung of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires ladder. He’ll start from the best possible place to do so on Saturday with a record ninth pole position this year.

The four Andretti Autosport and two Belardi Auto Racing cars led the field out of the pits for the 30-minute qualifying session. Juncos Racing’s Victor Franzoni followed about half a minute later. Heamin Choi’s second car remained on pit lane at the start of the session, as the Juncos team had to repair it following his incident in the morning practice session.

After Patricio O’Ward’s 1:03.933 lap in the morning practice, it remained to be seen whether anyone could go faster in the heat of the day for qualifying. That question didn’t take long to get answered.

O’Ward and Colton Herta were both into the 1:03.8 range to start off the session. O’Ward then improved to a 1:03.1868 lap, which was significantly quicker.

Herta got down to a 1:03.3508 lap before a red flag flew with just under 20 minutes remaining, for Dalton Kellett off course at Turn 4.

The green flag flew shortly thereafter with O’Ward, Herta and Franzoni going back on track. Kellett returned to the track next ahead of Aaron Telitz and Ryan Norman. Santi Urrutia completed the runners on track with less than 12 minutes remaining.

Kellett had another off in Turn 11 later in the session into the tires, and pulled off course at that corner. Norman had an off-and-on at the same corner, but resumed.

O’Ward made it into the 1:02 bracket at 1:02.8074, a full half second clear of Herta.

Telitz moved into second at 1:03.3171 with Herta third with one minute to go. But Herta got him back at 1:03.1808, 0.3734 off the pole.

Ultimately, the pole time eclipsed Townsend Bell’s previous qualifying record of 1:04.991, set in 2001, by more than 2.1 seconds.

O’Ward told the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network’s Rob Howden on pit lane: “I didn’t know the track coming into the weekend. I knew I just had to get it together. I didn’t expect it by four tenths! Survive Turn 1 and we’ll have a chance to win. I did really well in Turns 4, 5 and 6. The lasts sector of the track is so fast and keeps you on your toes. It’s so narrow. There’s no room for error. I didn’t think I would like this place, but man I really do like it.

This pole is O’Ward’s ninth this year, which is a new single-season record. It broke a tie he had with Bryan Herta (1993), Townsend Bell (2001) and Thiago Medeiros (2004).

Qualifying two is Saturday at 9:50 a.m. The first race, where O’Ward can clinch the title, goes green at 2:05 p.m.

Indy Lights Qualifying #1 – Unofficial Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 27 Patricio O’Ward 1:02.807 –.—- 23
2 98 Colton Herta 1:03.181 0.3734 21
3 9 Aaron Telitz 1:03.317 0.5097 21
4 23 Victor Franzoni 1:03.452 0.6449 21
5 5 Santi Urrutia 1:03.593 0.7859 19
6 48 Ryan Norman 1:03.611 0.8034 21
7 28 Dalton Kellett 1:04.687 1.8800 14
8 7 Heamin Choi No Time — —

—

VeeKay grabs Pro Mazda pole for Race 1

Rinus VeeKay. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Rinus VeeKay’s coronation as champion of this year’s Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires series is off to a good start at Portland International Raceway.

The Dutch teenager scored the pole position for Saturday’s first race of the weekend, ahead of his two sparring partners in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda from last year.

VeeKay took his No. 2 Juncos Racing Tatuus PM-18 Mazda to a best time of 1:06.3317 around the 1.964-mile, 12-turn road course. The new car is a full two-plus seconds quicker than the previous qualifying record, set by Pablo Donoso in 2005, at 1:08.466.

VeeKay moved into the top spot with just under eight minutes remaining at 1:06.3475, then improved by a little over one hundredth before the checkered flag flew to end the 20-minute session.

While VeeKay will look for his sixth consecutive victory this season, last year’s USF2000 champion Oliver Askew is poised to return the “Soul Red” Mazda colors of Cape Motorsports to victory lane for the first time this season in Pro Mazda.

Askew will start alongside with a best time of 1:06.4202 in his No. 3 car. Askew seeks third place in the championship, and locked in a battle with Robert Megennis and David Malukas for that position.

Parker Thompson came up just 0.0008 of a second off a front row starting position, but the Exclusive Autosport driver may have the benefit of the clean line on the run down to Turn 1 from third place.

Malukas is fourth, ahead of Sting Ray Robb in fifth. Each of these three drivers are their lone representative from their respective teams (Exclusive, BN Racing and Team Pelfrey) this weekend, as all of their teammates have dropped off at some stage this season.

Megennis will look to continue his recent run of form, with four consecutive podium finishes, from sixth on the grid.

DEForce Racing’s Moises de la Vara will start seventh ahead of Cape’s Nikita Lastochkin. De la Vara was late out to the track and his car sounded off song, but he still managed to complete 10 laps.

The first race of the weekend for Pro Mazda goes green at 4:50 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Before they race, they’ll have their second qualifying session of the weekend on Saturday morning at 10:35 a.m.

Pro Mazda Qualifying #1 – Unofficial Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:06.332 –.—- 14
2 3 Oliver Askew 1:06.420 0.0885 15
3 90 Parker Thompson 1:06.421 0.0893 14
4 79 David Malukas 1:06.536 0.2044 15
5 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:06.735 0.4031 15
6 9 Robert Megennis 1:06.843 0.5111 15
7 12 Moises de la Vara 1:07.859 1.5276 10
8 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:08.130 1.7986 13
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MRTI at Portland International Raceway – Friday – Pro Mazda (VeeKay clinches title) and Indy Lights (O’Ward leads) practices

Posted by  on Friday, August 31st 2018     

Pro Mazda Practice Session #1 – Rinus VeeKay leads the way and clinches the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire Championship.

The first open-wheel series on the 1.964-mile, 12-turn Portland International Raceway natural terrain course were the Mazda powered Tatuus PM-18 of the Pro Mazda series.

The 25-minute practice session was the fourth and most crucial practice session that Rinus VeeKay has led during the 2018 season.

By taking the green flag on the first official practice session of the race weekend, the Juncos Racing rookie goes from the presumptive Pro Mazda Champion to the official winner of an almost $800,000 Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship.

VeeKay’s lap of 1:06.543 is well below the track record of 1:08.466 set by Pablo Donoso in 2005.

The three drivers that are in contention for third place (a $20,000 prize and Indy Lights test), David Malukas, Oliver Askew, and Robert Megennis were the second, third and fourth quickest drivers, all within 2/10ths of VeeKay.

The top six drivers were all within 4/10ths.

The entire session was run under green conditions, and the eight drivers turned a total of 143 laps.

Portland International Raceway – Pro Mazda Practice Session #1 results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER FASTEST LAP GAP TOTAL LAPS
1 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:06.543 –.—- 20
2 79 David Malukas 1:06.700 0.1567 17
3 3 Oliver Askew 1:06.714 0.1713 19
4 9 Robert Megennis 1:06.799 0.2563 15
5 90 Parker Thompson 1:06.893 0.3504 19
6 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:06.941 0.3981 20
7 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:07.440 0.8975 18
8 12 Moises de la Vara 1:08.327 1.7840 15

The Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire series is back on track for qualifying at 1:15 PM.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practice session #1 – O’Ward pips Herta in a tight practice session.

Indy Lights points leader Patricio O’Ward spent much of the first and only practice session of the weekend behind fellow championship rival and teammate Colton Herta on the timing screens.

However, a last-second lap 1:03.933 seconds moved the Mexican driver to the point, only 0.086 seconds ahead of Herta.

O’Ward’s quickest lap is full second under the track record set by Townsend Bell in 2001.

It’s the fourth practice session that the 19-year-old has led this season.

The eight Indy Lights entries followed the Pro Mazda cars on the track, and when their practice session began it was 74F, and there was just the slightest mist in the air.

The 40-minute session was only green for nine minutes before the red flag came out for the first and only time.

Series returnee Heamin Choi was the cause of the red flag when his No.7 Juncos Racing Mazda/Dallara came to a stop in the bypass of the Festival Curves with left front suspension damage. The car of the South Korean turned left into the concrete wall under braking for Turn 1. Choi was only able to complete three laps.

At the half-way point of the session, Colton Herta had the quickest lap, followed by the championship leader Patricio O’Ward, Victor Franzoni, Ryan Norman, Santi Urrutia, Aaron Telitz, Dalton Kellett and Heamin Choi.

The top five drivers all set their quickest laps of the session on their final laps.

Portland International Raceway – Pro Mazda Practice Session #1 results

RANK CAR NO. NAME QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 27 Patricio O’Ward 1:03.933 –.—- 25
2 98 Colton Herta 1:04.019 0.0859 22
3 9 Aaron Telitz 1:04.235 0.3012 24
4 23 Victor Franzoni 1:04.263 0.3295 24
5 48 Ryan Norman 1:04.445 0.5111 23
6 5 Santi Urrutia 1:04.692 0.7591 24
7 28 Dalton Kellett 1:05.185 1.2512 27
8 7 Heamin Choi 1:28.168 24.2347 3

The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires drivers are back on track at 1:50 PM for their first qualifying session of the weekend.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Pro Mazda News/Results
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MRTI at Portland International Raceway – Recapping Pro Mazda and USF2000 testing

Posted by  on Friday, August 31st 2018     

The Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda series both had 100 minutes of test time on the 1.964-mile, 12-turn Portland International Raceway natural terrain road course on Thursday.

A total of nine Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire cars took part in Thursday’s test session. Championship points leader Rinus VeeKay led the morning session and ended up at the top of the combined timesheet. Oliver Askew who is fighting for third in the championship led the afternoon session.

Rinus VeeKay on track at Portland International Raceway, the presumptive Pro Mazda champion led the Thursday testing timesheet. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Indy Lights regular Aaron Telitz was a surprise addition to the Pro Mazda test, taking an opportunity to help Team Pelfrey and also learn a new track before official practice begins.

The eight entries will be on track twice today. At 9:10 AM for practice and again at 1:15 PM for their first qualifying session of the weekend.

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire combined timesheet.

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:06.848 –.—- 65
2 3 Oliver Askew 1:06.952 0.1042 63
3 79 David Malukas 1:07.038 0.1897 58
4 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:07.094 0.2457 55
5 9 Robert Megennis 1:07.302 0.454 63
6 90 Parker Thompson 1:07.382 0.5344 65
7 81 Aaron Telitz 1:07.504 0.6564 54
8 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:07.557 0.709 70
9 12 Moises de la Vara 1:07.796 0.9481 42

In USF2000, it was Pabst Racing sophomore Kaylen Frederick that led the first practice and the combined timesheet. Unfortunately, the 16-year-old ended the second session in the tire barriers. The No. 24 Mazda powered Dallara sustained moderate damage for the crew to repair.

Kaylen Frederick led all Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda testing sessions at Portland International Raceway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The 18 entries turned a total of 1,082 laps, and Frederick was the only incident of note.

The lowest rung on the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder is on track at 11:45 AM for a 30-minute practice, and they will qualify at 4:15 PM.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda combined timesheet.

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 24 Kaylen Frederick 1:11.278 –.—- 64
2 23 Rasmus Lindh 1:11.342 0.0649 64
3 80 Julian Van der Watt 1:11.549 0.2713 64
4 22 Lucas Kohl 1:11.670 0.3925 71
5 8 Kyle Kirkwood 1:11.780 0.5028 54
6 81 Kyle Dupell 1:11.793 0.5157 68
7 21 Calvin Ming 1:11.851 0.5737 66
8 9 Dakota Dickerson 1:11.880 0.6028 54
9 27 Colin Kaminsky 1:11.930 0.6525 54
10 41 Braden Eves 1:11.984 0.7062 48
11 91 Igor Fraga 1:12.022 0.7446 57
12 11 Kory Enders 1:12.144 0.8666 53
13 82 Bruna Tomaselli 1:12.179 0.9012 64
14 12 Jose Sierra 1:12.494 1.2163 51
15 14 Max Peichel 1:12.594 1.3163 56
16 90 Kellen Ritter 1:12.597 1.3195 62
17 29 Russell McDonough 1:12.679 1.4012 63
18 38 Oscar DeLuzuriaga 1:13.656 2.3787 69
category: Pro Mazda News/Results, USF2000 News/Results

MRTI Revised Tentative schedule for Saturday at Gateway Motorsports Park

Posted by  on Friday, August 24th 2018     

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire

10:50 AM – 11:05 AM – Pro Mazda practice
11:30 AM – Pro Mazda qualifying
3:40 PM – Mazda St. Louis Pro Mazda Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires

11:10 AM – 11:25 AM – Indy Lights practice
immediately following Pro Mazda qualifying – Indy Lights qualifying
4:40 PM – Mazda St. Louis Indy Lights Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires

 

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Pro Mazda News/Results
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MRTI action from Gateway Motorsports Park – Friday – VeeKay leads Pro Mazda practice – Herta leads Indy Lights practice – both drivers below the track record

Posted by  on Friday, August 24th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

 

VeeKay is quicker than Pro Mazda track record at Gateway Motorsports Park

After a season-long battle in USF2000 last year, current Pro Mazda points leader Rinus VeeKay, and reigning USF2000 champion Oliver Askew should are used to trading quick laps. The pair swapped the fastest lap a number of times during the session, but it was VeeKay with a lap of 142.186 mph that ended with the quickest lap. Askew, Parker Thompson, Robert Megennis and David Malukas rounded out the top five.

VeeKay’s quick lap is almost 2mph faster than the Pro Mazda track record.

After a slight six hour and fifteen-minute delay, the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tires series was able to get on track for practice at 5:45 pm. Off and on (more on) rain threw a wrench into Friday proceedings at Gateway Motorsports Park. The session began under cloudy skies, but by the end of the session at 6:15 pm, the sun was starting to peak out.

At the half-way mark of the 30-minute session, Askew with a lap at 139.270mph was the quickest driver. He was followed in the top five by VeeKay, Thompson, Megennis, and Scott.

With just over 10 minutes left in the session Askew was the first driver to go over the 140mph mark, and on the next lap, the reigning USF2000 champion broke 141mph., well quicker than the track record of 140.370mph set last year by Victor Franzoni.

Drivers came in for fresh Cooper Tires at varying times and it Juncos Racing sophomore VeeKay that was the first driver to go quicker than Askew, but by just seven-thousandths of a second. That’s 0.0007 seconds.

The entire session ran under green conditions and the 11 car field turned a total of 439 laps with 55-year-old Charles Finelli turning 50-laps.

Mazda St. Louis Pro Mazda Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires practice #1

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM FAST LAP (mph) TOTAL LAPS
1 2 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing –.—- 37
2 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 0.2009 41
3 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 0.6723 45
4 9 Robert Megennis Juncos Racing 0.8057 35
5 79 David Malukas BN Racing 0.8188 35
6 8 Nikita Lastochkin Cape Motorsports 0.9613 49
7 10 Harrison Scott RP Motorsport Racing 1.0153 34
8 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 1.0756 36
9 83 Charles Finelli Fatboy Racing 1.2706 50
10 82 Sting Ray Robb Team Pelfrey 1.4100 38
11 27 Mathias Soler-Obel RP Motorsport Racing 1.8385 39

 

Herta starts pivitol championship weekend off on the right foot

Colton Herta, who desperately needs to finish ahead of his teammate Patricio O’Ward started the race weekend off on the right foot by leading Friday’s Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practice session with a quick lap of 161.432mph.

Like VeeKay in Pro Mazda, that lap was below the track record.

After the slightest break for some more deceleration lane drying efforts, the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires drivers took to the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval for a 30-minute practice. After a mostly grey day, the clouds over the St. Louis area began to part, and the sun started to come out.

Championship contenders Herta and O’Ward were the drivers at the head of the timesheet for the first half of the session. At the halfway point, the majority of the field was on pit road making adjustments. Herta, with a lap of 161.359mph, was the quickest driver at the half-way point. The second generation was joined in the top five by O’Ward, Ryan Norman, Santi Urrutia and Victor Franzoni.

That top 10 remained the same for the second half of the session.

Like the Pro Mazda practice, the entire 30 minutes were run under the green flag. The drivers turned a total of 293 laps. Belardi Auto Racing veteran Urrutia turned 46 laps, the most in the field.

Mazda St. Louis Indy Lights Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires practice #1

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM FASTEST LAP TOTAL LAPS
1 98 Colton Herta Andretti Steinbrenner Racing 161.432 43
2 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport 161.032 45
3 27 Patricio O’Ward Andretti Autosport 160.616 36
4 23 Victor Franzoni Juncos Racing 159.841 40
5 5 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing 159.432 46
6 28 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport 158.788 40
7 9 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing 158.737 43

In our understanding, the track time situation for the top two rungs of the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is fluid. There is the possibility that they will practice, qualifying or might go straight into the race. We don’t expect that decision to come until tomorrow morning.

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