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Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire at Watkins Glen International – practice #2

Posted by  on Friday, September 2nd 2016     

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Santiago Urrutia told Rob Howden of IndyCar Radio during the first practice session that they were happy with the car during testing at Watkins Glen International on Tuesday. The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie explained that they would do a couple of qualifying simulations in the the second practice, and get then get prepared for a busy Saturday. True to his word, the current Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire champion did just that.

Urrutia only ran 10 laps in the 45 minutes session, the fewest of any of the 12 drivers in the field. The reigning Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire turned a scorching lap of 1:33.434 in only his third lap of the session.

That quick lap held until the last few minutes of the session when Kyle Kaiser turned a lap 6/100th of a second quicker than Urrutia.

Andre Negrao and Zachary Claman de Melo joined their teammates in the top five as the only other drivers to break the 1:34 barrier. Zach Veach joined them in the top five.

Kaiser was also the quickest car through the speed trap just before the “Bus Stop”. The Mazda powered No. 18 Juncos Racing Dallara reached a top speed of 174.014mph

Combined time-sheet from the two 45-minute Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire practice sessions:

RANK DRIVER QUICK LAP TOTAL LAPS
1 Kyle Kaiser 1:33.4343 28
2 Santiago Urrutia 1:33.4911 12
3 Andre Negrao 1:33.8031 15
4 Ed Jones 1:33.9594 22
5 Zachary Claman de Melo 1:33.9616 28
6 Zach Veach 1:34.2868 22
7 Dean Stoneman 1:34.3749 30
8 Neil Alberico 1:34.3794 24
9 Garett Grist 1:34.5010 31
10 Felix Serralles 1:34.5157 31
11 Dalton Kellett 1:35.0883 33
12 Shelby Blackstock 1:35.1229 32

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire teams and drivers are back on track tomorrow (Saturday) morning for a 45-minute qualifying session at 10am.

You can find previous weekend reports here —>

Don’t miss any of the action

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The race will air on NBCSN on Sunday, September 4, 2016 at 1pm (et) – right before the IndyCar race.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire at Watkins Glen International – practice #1

Posted by  on Friday, September 2nd 2016     

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Ed Jones, who ended his last race unconscious and in the tire barrier at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and gave up his ten ten race championship lead at the same time, began the single race weekend at Watkins Glen International on the right foot. Jones topped fellow championship contenders Zach Veach, Dean Stoneman, and Felix Serralles who were joined by Zachary Clamant de Melo in the top five.

The Juncos Racing duo of Zachary Claman de Melo and Kyle Kaiser were the early leaders during the first Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire practice session. But, it was championship contender Jones who jumped to the top of the timing screen with 18 minutes left in the session. The sophomore driver was the first driver to break both the 1:35 and 1:34 mark. Jones was the only driver in the 1:33s and his lap of 1:33.959 is 2.8 seconds under the Watkins Glen International track record of 1:36.742, that was set in qualifying by Wade Cunningham during the 2007 event.

The 12 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire drivers took to the 3.37 mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course at 10am under sunny skies and crisp 60 degree temperatures. The entire 45-minute session ran green.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports drivers Santiago Urrutia and Andre Negrao only went out for two installation laps before packing up for the morning.

Team manager Dave Higuera told IndyCar radio that because they have two 45-minute practice sessions instead of two 30-minute sessions, they decided to do most of their running in the afternoon session.

Urrutia explained to IndyCar Radio’s Rob Howden that because the team got through their test calendar on Tuesday they wanted to spend today working on qualifying simulations and would do that this afternoon.

One-third of the way through the 45 minute practice session and the running order was: Zachary Claman de Melo, Kyle Kaiser, Garett Grist, Zach Veach, Dean Stoneman, Shelby Blackstock, Dalton Kellett, Ed Jones, Neil Alberico, Santiago Urrutia, Andre Negrao, Felix Serralles.

Veach, who ended up with the second quickest time, told IndyCar radio that they had some unexpected tire wear during testing on Tuesday and that the unknown going into the race will make it challenging. The race #1 winner at Road America said that since the new track surface has so much grip, qualifying will come down to who trust their set-up and who can hang it out the most in one lap.

The No. 4 Carlin machine of Felix Serralles is sporting an exciting new livery this weekend, as SAP Software Solutions has joined. SAP is a E20+ billion business applications and technology, and we’ll have a picture of the car in our next update.

The full practice # 1 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire time-sheet

RANK DRIVER QUICK LAP
1 Ed Jones 1:33.959
2 Zach Veach 1:34.287
3 Dean Stoneman 1:34.375
4 Felix Serralles 1:34.584
5 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:34.856
6 Neil Alberico 1:34.927
7 Kyle Kaiser 1:34.970
8 Shelby Blackstock 1:35.123
9 Dalton Kellett 1:35.485
10 Garett Grist 1:35.904
11 Santiago Urrutia 4:04.383
12 Andre Negrao 4:10.679

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire teams and drivers are back on track for their second 45 minute practice session at 2:30pm.

You can find previous reports here —>
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire at Watkins Glen International – preview 

Don’t miss any of the action

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The race will air on NBCSN on Sunday, September 4, 2016 at 1pm (et) – right before the IndyCar race

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire at Watkins Glen International – preview

Posted by  on Thursday, September 1st 2016     

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Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire preview

There are six very hungry drivers who have three races left to sort out who will be the big winner of the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship and a partial season Verizon IndyCar Series ride.

With only 52 points separating the top six drivers and a scant 25 points separating the top 3, the pressure being felt by Santiago Urrutia, Ed Jones, Dean Stoneman, Felix Serralles, Kyle Kaiser, and Zach Veach is unimaginable.

Urrutia is the first to admit that he was inconsistent and somewhat erratic to start the season, but ever since the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie picked up his second avoidable contact penalty in the first race at Road America he has been on an incredible run.

“I can’t afford to make any mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning of the season that cost us a lot of points,” admitted Urrutia. “Ed Jones is very consistent, he’s always there so I have to be in a position to take points away from him.”

A five week, six race span of three wins and six top fives since the first race at Road America has put an IndyCar ride firmly within Urrutia’s crosshairs. The pilot of the Soul Red No. 55 clearly understands the magnitude of the next thee races, and is taking it one race at a time.

The Mazda/SPM with Curb-Agajanian sponsored No. 55 of Santiago Urrutia (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian) (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The Mazda/SPM with Curb-Agajanian sponsored No. 55 of Santiago Urrutia (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian) (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

“Every race is going to feel like the final one of the season because the championship points are so close. We’re definitely going to fight to win and if we don’t win, or be on the podium at least so that we can take the maximum points and bring it on to Laguna Seca. Right now we have a 16-point lead so we have to make it a really good weekend to carry that advantage to the season finale weekend.”

Jones will hope that having the month off helps him regain his early season mojo. The Dubai, United Arab Emirates native strung together an impressive run of two wins, five podiums and seven top fours in the seven races between Phoenix and Road America race #2. However, in the last six races, Jones has only managed one podium (Iowa) and has an average finish of only 7.3.

“The championship is the goal, but I have to go very strong in the last three races,” said Jones. “If I can be the best in those races, that’s all I can control.

Since suffering from a mechanical issue in the first race at Barber Motorsports Park in April, Andretti Autosport’s Stoneman has been the most consistent driver in the series. In that eleven race span, the 25 year-old European veteran has two wins, seven podiums, nine top fives, 10 top 10s, and one finish of 14th when he did not start the second race in Toronto due to contaminated fuel. That equates to an average finish of 4.4, but, if you take away Toronto race #2 the Cancer survivor’s average finish falls to 3.3

Serralles, Kaiser, and Veach are currently sitting in spots four through six and with so many drivers to leap frog, they will likely need some help in the form of attrition from the top three to have a chance at taking home the big prize.

Serralles has been bit by an inconsistent streak all season, the Puerto Rico native has won two races, but also has four race results of 10th or worse.

Kaiser, who started the season with three straight podiums, led the championship after his win at Phoenix International Raceway, but since that early April race, the 20 year-old has only managed to stand on the podium three times (all third place finishes) in the following 12 races.

Belardi Auto Racing veteran Veach has also had a tale of two seasons. In the first eight races of the year, the 21 year-old could only manage an average finish of 8.1. Ever since the calendar turned to summer in June, the Zionsville, Indiana resident has one win, three podiums, five top fives, and seven top 10’s in a seven race span.

Since leaving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the “Month of May” behind, Urrutia has easily outscored his closest competitors. His 163 points since May are 55 points clear of second place Jones and 35 points clear of third place Stoneman.

Points scored since the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire began their summer stretch at Road America in late June.

RANK DRIVER POINTS
1 Santiago Urrutia – R 163
2 Zach Veach 143
3 Dean Stoneman – R 128
4 Felix Serralles 127
5 Andre Negrao – R 126
6 Kyle Kaiser 116
7 Ed Jones 108
8 Zachary Claman de Melo – R 94
9 Shelby Blackstock 87
10 Neil Alberico – R 74
11 Dalton Kellett – R 73
12 Garett Grist – R 73
13 Felix Rosenqvist – R 65
14 Juan Piedrahita 53
15 James French – R 26
16 Heamin Choi – R 11

 

Saturday’s race will be the 9th time that the Indy Lights series visits Watkins Glen International and the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Four previous winners of Indy Lights races at the 3.37 mile, 11-turn road course have gone on to win the championship. Alex Lloyd in 2007; Raphael Matos in 2008; J.R. Hildebrand in 2009; and JK Vernay in 2010.

Marco Andretti lead 25 laps and finished second in the 2005 Indy Lights race at Watkins Glen International - it was the third generations final ride before embarking on an IndyCar career the following year. (Photo Courtesy of IndyCar)

Marco Andretti lead 25 laps and finished second in the 2005 Indy Lights race at Watkins Glen International – it was the third generations final ride before embarking on an IndyCar career the following year. (Photo Courtesy of IndyCar)

 

Indy Lights winners at Watkins Glen International

Year Driver Team
2010 J.K. Vernay Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2009 J.R. Hildebrand Andretti Autosport
2008 Race #2 Raphael Matos Andretti Autosport
2008 Race #1 Richard Antinucci Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2007 Race #2 Alex Lloyd Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2007 Race #1 Wade Cunningham Andretti Autosport
2006 Bobby Wilson Ken Hardley Racing
2005 Jeff Simmons Ken Hardley Racing

How the championship contenders have fared in the eight previous natural terrain road course races.

The Indy Lights championship will be decided on two historic natural terrain road courses that are separated by almost 3000 miles. So far in 2016, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series has contested eight races on natural terrain road courses (two at Barber Motorsports Park, two at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, two at Road America, and two at Road America)

Urrutia, the winner of the Mazda Scholarship for taking home the Pro Mazda crown in 2015, has won the last three road course races, and four of the eight. “Santi”, who just turned 20, also has two second place finishes, meaning the Uruguayan driver has stood on the podium in seven of eight natural terrain road course races.

Jones, who was also a championship contender in 2015, has two wins on natural terrain road courses, but the 21 year-old has only managed an average finish of 8.5 in the last four races at Road America and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Stoneman is the third member of our championship trio and the Croydon, England native also has a road course win and a total six podiums in the eight road course races.

The top three in points have accounted for seven of eight victories on natural terrain road courses, and they are joined by Berardi Auto Racing’s Zach Veach, who scored at win at another historic road course, Road America.

Road course points scored by the 12 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire entrants at Watkins Glen International

Rank Driver Road Course Points
1 Santiago Urrutia – R 201
2 Dean Stoneman – R 165
3 Ed Jones 163
4 Zach Veach 151
5 Andre Negrao – R 123
6 Felix Serralles 122
7 Shelby Blackstock 116
8 Kyle Kaiser 115
9 Zachary Claman de Melo 112
10 Dalton Kellett 76
11 Neil Alberico 76
12 Garett Grist 45

Notes and other things we’ll be watching

  • The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire teams and drivers tested at Watkins Glen International this past Tuesday. Times for the test were not official, but we’ve heard from a couple of sources that Urrutia, Jones, Stoneman and Veach were all within 0.1 seconds.
  • We’ll be closely watching tire wear. We won’t delve too deeply into what we’ve heard since TSO has found differing opinions within the Indy Lights paddock on this subject, but don’t be surprised that the driver standing on the podium on Saturday afternoon is the one that did the best job of looking after their Cooper Tire slicks.
  • Expect the Mazda powered IL-15 to set another track record. The track record for the 3.37 mile 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course is 1:36.7418, and was set by Wade Cunningham in qualifying on July 6, 2007. TSO was told that drivers were running over three seconds quicker then that during testing on Tuesday.
  • TSO believes that Andre Negrao could play the spoiler in the championship fight. The GP2 veteran has three straight natural terrain road course podiums. With the way he’s driven lately, the 24 year-old Schmidt Peterson Motorsports pilot is due for a win. Negrao could be a strong asset to his SPM teammate Urrutia, by stealing points from the other championship contenders, but the hungry Brazilian could also play spoiler by taking away points from the championship leader.

Weekend Schedule

Friday, September 2nd

TIME EVENT
10am – 10:45am Indy Lights practice #1
2:30pm – 3:15pm Indy Lights practice #2

Saturday, September 3rd

TIME EVENT
10am – 10:45am Indy Lights qualifying
1:35pm – 2:45pm Indy Lights race

Don’t miss any of the action

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The race will air on NBCSN on Sunday, September 4, 2016 at 1pm (et) – right before the IndyCar race

 

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Mid-Ohio – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – Race #2

Posted by  on Sunday, July 31st 2016     

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A note first before the second of two Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio races for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series, because there was one nugget revealed after Saturday’s first race with regards to the championship.

In the official series post-race release, this bit caught our eyes:

“The championship chase has tightened considerably, with Jones now just six points clear of Urrutia and 24 points ahead of Stoneman, who upon review of the Toronto event, today was credited with an additional seven points from Race Two. Four races now remain this season, including one more tomorrow, starting at 12:25 p.m. EDT.”

We checked with Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires series officials after this release and got this clarification:

Rule 7.3.4.2a, lap credit for a non-starting car, was assessed. Here’s that rule from the 2016 Indy Lights rulebook:

A Car shall be considered the first Car out of the Race and shall be awarded the final finishing position based on the following order:

a) The Car is a non-starting Car

So here’s what this means in layman’s terms: Stoneman was initially credited with a DNS (Did Not Start) and not awarded any points.

But upon this review, he’s been awarded 14th place points, so 7 points added to his tally.

He was planning to start the race, it just goes down as first DNF (Did Not Finish) of 14th place, rather than a DNS, and that’s why the points were added.

So, that as a preamble, here’s the recap of today’s second Indy Lights race of the weekend, and forgive us if it’s a bit scatterbrained – there’s a lot going on this weekend and this was the lucky number seven of seven Mazda Road to Indy races this weekend.

—

Here was the grid, with Santiago Urrutia in the No. 55 Soul Red Mazda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports on pole for the second time in as many days.

Rank Car Driver Time Session
1 55 Santiago Urrutia 01:11.1604 Quals
2 4 Felix Serralles 01:11.6638 Quals
3 17 Andre Negrao 01:11.7605 Quals
4 27 Dean Stoneman 01:11.8792 Quals
5 11 Ed Jones 01:11.9110 Quals
6 51 Shelby Blackstock 01:11.9830 Quals
7 5 Zach Veach 01:12.1636 Quals
8 22 Neil Alberico 01:12.1669 Quals
9 3 Garett Grist 01:12.3723 Quals
10 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 01:12.5390 Quals
11 18 Kyle Kaiser 01:12.6419 Quals
12 28 Dalton Kellett 01:12.6727 Quals

Urrutia then launched to another solid lead over Felix Serralles, Dean Stoneman, Andre Negrao, Zach Veach and Ed Jones, with Stoneman moving up a spot and Jones losing a spot as Veach again gained two spots.

Things more or less settled into a rhythm before Lap 11, when Garett Grist, who’s had a tougher than expected weekend in the No. 3 Buy Gap Guard/Lander Property Management/Mac Tools Dallara IL-15 Mazda, went into the gravel at Turn 4.

That brought out the first full course caution of the race and things changed a bit during that yellow. Serralles, who was running second in the No. 4 Carlin entry, spun under yellow from second place at Turn 6 before the crest of the hill.

The restart from that yellow came on Lap 16 with Urrutia leading Stoneman, Negrao, Veach and Jones, who was having defend from Shelby Blackstock.

Carlin’s day went from bad to worse shortly thereafter. Contact occurred between the restarted Serralles, who’d fallen to seventh, and his teammate Jones, in the No. 11 Jebel Ali Resorts & Hotels entry, on the backstraight on the run to Turn 4.

And then by Lap 21, it all fell apart for Jones, the championship leader, at Turn 2. Jones locked up and went deep into the gravel at Turn 2, and into the tire barrier. While it looked like a possible brake, steering column or throttle issue, the team is yet to diagnose exactly what happened.

It was a heavy impact and fortunately the Dubai-based Brit was able to get out of his car, cleared from the medical center after a check up.

That being said, the points impact would be a tougher one for the erstwhile consistent driver, who’d only finished outside the top-10 once all season.

The restart came a few laps later on Lap 26, with Urrutia still leading Stoneman, Negrao, Veach and Blackstock, who’d moved into the top-five position in his No. 51 Starstruck Andretti Autosport entry following Jones’ demise.

After Lap 30 in the 38-lap race, Serralles had more contact, this time with Dalton Kellett in his No. 28 K-LINE Andretti Autosport car, at the Keyhole when battling over seventh place. Both drivers dropped down the order as a result.

Up front Urrutia continued unchallenged in a pole-to-win romp, leading all 38 laps, and beating Stoneman’s No. 27 Stellrecht Andretti car by 1.5270 seconds.

Negrao, in third, banked his second podium of the weekend and fourth of the year in the No. 17 Lucas Oil car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Results are below:
P No Name Laps
1 55 Santiago Urrutia 38
2 27 Dean Stoneman 38
3 17 Andre Negrao 38
4 5 Zach Veach 38
5 51 Shelby Blackstock 38
6 18 Kyle Kaiser 38
7 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 38
8 22 Neil Alberico 38
9 28 Dalton Kellett 38
10 4 Felix Serralles 34
11 11 Ed Jones 20
12 3 Garett Grist 10

Post-race, Urrutia noted how important track position was en route to his win – pole position helped propel him into this double win and his fourth triumph of the season.

Stoneman finished second courtesy of a strong actual start, but struggled on restarts.

Negrao was thankful to keep his podium streak rolling.

Unofficially Urrutia is at 309 points with Jones on 293, Stoneman on 284, Serralles 267, Kaiser 260 and Veach 257.

Entering the race, Jones was at 283 with Urrutia on 277, Stoneman on 259, Serralles 255, Kaiser 245 and Veach 238.

Indy Lights is off until Watkins Glen on Labor Day weekend.

With that, it wraps our TSO Ladder coverage for the weekend from Mid-Ohio – we thank you for your reads and your support.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
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Mid-Ohio – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – Race #1

Posted by  on Saturday, July 30th 2016     

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The Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio first race of the weekend for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the top rung of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, had a two word and two word-only story line:

Santiago Urrutia.

The Uruguayan, who started from pole by nearly seven tenths of a second over the rest of the field, utterly controlled the 30-lap race en route to his third win of the season – all of which have come on permanent road courses.

The driver of the Soul Red No. 55 Dallara IL-15 Mazda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports also won at the second races at both Barber Motorsports Park and Road America. He also won at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires championship.

From pole, Urrutia led but there was a change for second and third on the opening lap.

Andre Negrao, Urrutia’s teammate in the No. 17 Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry, got around the No. 4 Carlin car driven by Felix Serralles at Turn 4. Then Dean Stoneman, in the No. 27 Stellrecht backed car for Andretti Autosport, followed him through, courtesy of being outside by Turn 5, and then the inside at Turn 6 before powering past.

By the end of the first lap, Urrutia’s lead was 1.6599 seconds clear of Negrao, with Stoneman ahead of Serralles and Zach Veach of Belardi Auto Racing – the latter of whom had gained two spots in the opening lap from seventh place on the grid.

Ed Jones was sixth ahead of Zachary Claman De Melo, Kyle Kaiser, Garett Grist, Shelby Blackstock, Dalton Kellett and Neil Alberico. Blackstock started sixth but fell to 10th on the opening lap.

Veach passed Serralles for fourth a lap later.

By Lap 5 Urrutia’s gap to Negrao was 2.6599 seconds. By Lap 10, it was 4.0941 seconds.

There weren’t many other changes by the halfway point, only Serralles having got back around Veach on Lap 8 at Turn 4.

The lead was stretched to 5.8639 on Lap 20. There was an intense battle occurring between De Melo and Blackstock for seventh, but De Melo held off Blackstock for the position.

Urrutia got the lead to north of 8 seconds before it fell back to 6.4947 seconds at the finish, ahead of Negrao and Stoneman, with Serralles fourth and Veach fifth.

With Jones sixth, this unofficially brings Jones’ lead from 24 points in the championship down to six points. Jones has 283 to Urrutia’s 277, with Stoneman at 259 and Serralles at 255.

For all intents and purposes, the title hopes of Kaiser (245) and Veach (238) appear to be dashed with this result, barring a remarkable string of results that will bring the top two back to the field.

Urruita said afterwards “our strategy is to win” following a dominant performance at a track that suits him well, similar to European tracks.

Negrao fought off the Serralles attack on the opening lap, then emerged clear of the rest of the field behind his teammate. This is his third podium of the season (Road America race two, Toronto race two).

Stoneman got a really good start and then thanked Serralles for the clean battle through Turns 4 through 8.

Results are below:

P No Name Laps
1 55 Santiago Urrutia 30
2 17 Andre Negrao 30
3 27 Dean Stoneman 30
4 4 Felix Serralles 30
5 5 Zach Veach 30
6 11 Ed Jones 30
7 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 30
8 51 Shelby Blackstock 30
9 18 Kyle Kaiser 30
10 3 Garett Grist 30
11 28 Dalton Kellett 30
12 22 Neil Alberico 30

The second Indy Lights race of the weekend slots in the 12:20 to 1:25 p.m. ET slot on Sunday, the featured race of the weekend.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
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Mid-Ohio – Saturday – Indy Lights Qualifying, Pro Mazda Race #1

Posted by  on Saturday, July 30th 2016     

Doing a double dip of quick hitters this morning after a pair of sessions to kick off the day here at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, on the Saturday for the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires kicked off the day with a 30-minute qualifying session from 7:50 to 8:20 a.m. ET and local time, followed shortly by the first of two Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires 40-minute races – both of which will run on the same day.

Notes and tidbits to follow:

—

Indy Lights Logo

Prior to Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying for the Cooper Tire Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, TSO caught up with Zach Veach of Belardi Auto Racing, who languished in 12th in Friday’s lone practice session through no fault of his own.

As it turned out, Veach noted a significant horsepower loss caused by his turbo issue. The team diagnosed and fixed the issue and Veach would be higher up the grid in qualifying, albeit not quite in pole contention.

The thus far dominant driver of the weekend has been Uruguayan Santiago Urrutia, who led Friday’s lone official practice session and was also a Pro Mazda race winner here last year for Team Pelfrey.

The Pro Mazda champion, who now drives the Soul Red No. 55 Dallara IL-15 Mazda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, improved more than a second from his practice time on Friday (1:11.9530) to a new best time of 1:10.9428 in qualifying.

To wit, he was also nearly seven tenths quicker on the field following his first pole position of the season for the first of two races this weekend.

Urrutia enters the race in second in points, 24 behind points leader Ed Jones of Carlin.

Another Carlin driver, third-placed in points Felix Serralles, will line up second on the grid.

Andre Negrao made it two SPM cars in the top five in third, ahead of Dean Stoneman and Jones. Shelby Blackstock is a respectable sixth ahead of Veach and Neil Alberico. Past Mid-Ohio Pro Mazda and USF2000 race winner Garett Grist slots into ninth, while Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser had an off session and was 12th.

Times are below.

P No Name FTime Diff
1 55 Santiago Urrutia 1:10.943 0.000
2 4 Felix Serralles 1:11.622 0.6795
3 17 Andre Negrao 1:11.735 0.7925
4 27 Dean Stoneman 1:11.821 0.8784
5 11 Ed Jones 1:11.851 0.9084
6 51 Shelby Blackstock 1:11.944 1.0012
7 5 Zach Veach 1:12.082 1.1394
8 22 Neil Alberico 1:12.135 1.1919
9 3 Garett Grist 1:12.330 1.3870
10 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:12.407 1.4638
11 28 Dalton Kellett 1:12.434 1.4915
12 18 Kyle Kaiser 1:12.467 1.5244

The first Indy Lights race is scheduled for later this afternoon, slotted between 3:30 p.m. and 4:20 p.m. on the schedule.

—

Pro Mazda Logo

In the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, TSO caught up with Aaron Telitz, who entered this weekend’s Royal Purple Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, after he qualified second.

The Birchwood, Wis. native indicated he felt he did have an extra tenth available in the bank in qualifying, but ran to a plan for Team Pelfrey in terms of the number of laps completed. He pitted after completing that amount of scheduled laps, but at the same moment when Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s Nico Jamin pipped him for pole and the track record that went with it.

With the start – like yesterday’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda race – moved from the backstraight into Turn 4 to the frontstraight, passing was always going to be difficult and so whoever emerged ahead from Turn 1 was likely going to have the edge.

That driver on this occasion was Jamin, who took the lead from the green flag ahead of Telitz and Owen.

Jamin was running at a ridiculously quick clip throughout the race, with a new race lap record of 1:18.598 nearly a full 1.2 seconds quicker than the previous lap record of 1:19.773, set last year by Neil Alberico.

And that actually works as a perfect segue to note that Jamin dominated the race, winning by 5.0917 seconds over Telitz, for Cape’s first Pro Mazda win since Alberico pulled off a victory here last year. The 40-minute race lasted 23 laps, and ran without a full-course caution.

For Jamin, it also adds him to the list of Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda champions who’ve now won a race in Pro Mazda as well. It’s his fourth straight victory at Mid-Ohio, having also won all three USF2000 races here last year.

Telitz, thinking more of the championship than the race win, was fully content with second place with Owen leading Juncos Racing’s efforts in third.

Jake Parsons (Juncos) ran an untroubled race to fourth while the battle on the day was for fifth.

With Nico Dapero and TJ Fischer both getting around Pato O’Ward – Fischer being the more notable driver to do so considering he’s the third member of Team Pelfrey and not in the championship fight – the Mexican driver finished seventh, and has thus lost the points lead for the first time this season.

Although O’Ward won six of the first seven races, he’s now finished off the podium in four of the last five races. And that’s swung the title lead to Telitz for the first time.

After the race TSO caught up with all top three drivers.

Jamin said quite simply, “I just love this track!” He added that with the medium speed corners and challenge in passing, if you get on the pole, chances are very good that you’ll win the race.

That might put Telitz in the catbird’s seat for this evening’s second race of the day, set from 6 to 6:50 p.m. If it rains, Telitz said being on the pole will allow for clear vision without any spray.

Telitz focused on defending from Will Owen at the start, rather than attacking Jamin. He said he’s more or less racing O’Ward only in terms of the title, so finishing ahead of him first is most important.

Owen noted that the impressive pace throughout the field speaks to how well the Cooper Tires are coming in and gelling with the track. He’s focused on beating his teammates.

Race results for this race are below, followed by the grid for the second race.

P No Name Laps
1 2 Nico Jamin 23
2 82 Aaron Telitz 23
3 23 Will Owen 23
4 00 Jake Parsons 23
5 31 Nicolas Dapero 23
6 81 TJ Fischer 23
7 80 Pato O’Ward 23
8 13 Bobby Eberle 23
9 57 Bob Kaminsky 23

Qualifying for second race:

Rank Car Driver Time Session
1 82 Aaron Telitz 1:18.2545 Quals
2 2 Nico Jamin 1:18.3482 Quals
3 23 Will Owen 1:18.5858 Quals
4 00 Jake Parsons 1:18.5909 Quals
5 80 Pato O’Ward 1:18.8675 Quals
6 31 Nicolas Dapero 1:18.8737 Quals
7 81 TJ Fischer 1:19.3821 Race 1
8 57 Bob Kaminsky 1:20.6877 Quals
9 13 Bobby Eberle 1:20.9510 Quals

There’s three other Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires events today. The second of three USF2000 races is slotted from 1 to 1:45 p.m. ET.

Then the first Indy Lights race is at 3:30, and the second Pro Mazda race is at 6.

And there might be rain later today, which could make things even more interesting.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda News/Results
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Mid-Ohio – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – Day #1 Recap

Posted by  on Friday, July 29th 2016     

Indy Lights Logo

In a nutshell, the hope for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend is that the title battle between the three primary protagonists – and the three others who’ve worked their way into contention in recent weeks – doesn’t end in tears for any of them.

Last year proved a hugely pivotal weekend with the Ed Jones and Jack Harvey battle and contact, while Spencer Pigot kept his calm and cool throughout the weekend and moved into position to capture the Mazda advancement scholarship that came with winning the top rung of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder.

RC Enerson (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) and Sean Rayhall (8Star Motorsports) were the two race winners after the chaos.

Heading into Mid-Ohio this year, series sophomore Jones of Carlin holds a 24-point lead (268-244) on 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires champion Santiago Urrutia, of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

A further eight points back is one of Jones’ two Carlin teammates, Felix Serralles, who is three points clear of the stealthily lurking Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) and a further three clear of Dean Stoneman (Andretti Autosport).

After those three, who sit at 236, 233 and 230 points respectively, Zach Veach still has hope alive at 221 points for Belardi Auto Racing. The Stockdale, Ohio native, who will have local support from John Deere this weekend, needs a big one if he’s to stay in the fray.

The grid is reduced to a season-low 12 cars beyond the top half of the field, with the temporary absence of Felix Rosenqvist and the perhaps longer one of Juan Piedrahita after Toronto.

Rosenqvist is racing with past Indy Lights champion Tristan Vautier (2012) and Renger van der Zande in a Mercedes AMG GT3 at the Spa 24 Hours and Belardi is down to one car.

Meanwhile Team Pelfrey, the winning entrant here last year as 8Star, is down to just Garett Grist. Still though, the talented driver out of Grimsby, Ontario is something of a Mid-Ohio specialist – he has won here in both Pro Mazda and USF2000 previously and has five Mid-Ohio poles, including both at Mid-Ohio last year. TSO would not be surprised to see Grist secure his first top-five, or perhaps his first podium, in Indy Lights in one of the two races here this weekend.

TSO thinks we could see the second Belardi car back this year with Rosenqvist, who starred in testing an IndyCar for Target Chip Ganassi Racing last week, but it remains to be seen whether the second Pelfrey car comes back.

Andretti’s other two drivers, Shelby Blackstock and Dalton Kellett, are both hugely experienced at Mid-Ohio and enter this weekend on the heels of being announced to test an Andretti IndyCar next month at Watkins Glen (along with Stoneman).

Neil Alberico is also hugely experienced and a past Mid-Ohio winner for Carlin; it’s only Andre Negrao of Schmidt Peterson who’s down on Mid-Ohio experience by comparison. But the talented young Brazilian has scored podiums at both Road America and Toronto and could be poised to do likewise again this weekend.

—

Practice 1 Recap:

Times dropped as the 30-minute opening practice, run from 9:15 to 9:45 a.m., went on this morning. It makes sense given how much the high grip, 2.258-mile road course rubbers in over the course of a session.

By the end of it, Santiago Urrutia – who won one of the two Pro Mazda races here last year – was the top car as the only driver in the 1:11 bracket at 1:11.953 in the Soul Red No. 55 Dallara IL-15 Mazda for Schmidt Peterson.

Shelby Blackstock, who traditionally runs well at Mid-Ohio and scored his first career Indy Lights podium here a year ago, was second in the session in his No. 51 Starstruck entry for Andretti Autosport. He was lowest in the 1:12s at 1:12.177.

Felix Serralles, Kyle Kaiser and Andre Negrao completed the top five in the first practice.

As for the other championship contenders? Points leader Ed Jones was only sixth, with Dean Stoneman in eighth.

Zach Veach later tweeted he had a turbo issue.

Times are below:

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 55 Santiago Urrutia 1:11.953 0.000 16
2 51 Shelby Blackstock 1:12.177 0.2238 16
3 4 Felix Serralles 1:12.403 0.4504 18
4 18 Kyle Kaiser 1:12.549 0.5959 16
5 17 Andre Negrao 1:12.560 0.6072 20
6 11 Ed Jones 1:12.565 0.6123 14
7 28 Dalton Kellett 1:12.595 0.6418 20
8 27 Dean Stoneman 1:12.621 0.6684 19
9 22 Neil Alberico 1:12.869 0.9161 16
10 3 Garett Grist 1:13.190 1.2372 21
11 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:13.510 1.5566 19
12 5 Zach Veach 1:13.551 1.5984 18

Practice 2 Recap:

We’d offer a practice two recap except for one slight problem: it didn’t happen.

Heavy rains that came down during the tail end of second IndyCar practice continued into the scheduled second Indy Lights session of the day, which was supposed to run from 3:30 to 4 p.m. ET and local time.

The one thing we did discover on Friday was that the Andretti Autosport team did diagnose the mechanical issue that sidelined Stoneman’s No. 27 Stellrecht Dallara IL-15 Mazda before it even got to run at Toronto’s second race.

The next session for Indy Lights is qualifying, which is scheduled from 7:50 to 8:20 a.m. ET and local time Saturday morning.

If it rains, the grid would be set by points – a situation which occurred at Iowa Speedway earlier this month.

We’ll check back in with more tomorrow from the Indy Lights paddock, as they qualify and have their first race.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
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Exhibition Place – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire day #3 – race #2 recap and results

Posted by  on Sunday, July 17th 2016     

Indy Lights Logo

Felix Rosenqvist certainly has a knack for unique street circuits. The reigning FIA Formula 3 champion added a second winners trophy on the bumpy 11-turn, 1.786-mile Exhibition Place temporary street course to trophies from: the street/airport circuit in St. Petersburg, the street circuit in Pau France, and the Guia Circuit in Macau.

Felix Rosenqvist crosses the finish line first. The second day in a row the Swedish driver won in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Spencer Easton of Open Wheel World)

Felix Rosenqvist crosses the finish line first. The second day in a row the Swedish driver won in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Spencer Easton of Open Wheel World)

When the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series headed “North of the Border” to Toronto, Carlin sophomore Ed Jones held a 23 point lead over Dean Stoneman, and despite a sixth and fifth place finish and no road or street course podiums since the first race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May, the 21 year-old Jones heads to the next event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a larger 24 point lead.

After a fifth place finish on Saturday, Andretti Autosport’s Stoneman was not able to start Sunday’s race and was only able to score seven points.

Andretti Autosport told TSO that the crew is still trying to determine the cause of the issue and they might not know what the problem was until getting the car back to the shop in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Stoneman, the 25 year-old, has fallen to third in the standings, 31 points behind Jones.

Moving into the second spot behind Jones is the reigning Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire champion Santiago Urrutia.

Kyle Kaiser, the Juncos Racing sophomore scored his third straight podium moved back into championship contention and is one of five drivers within 35 points to leader Jones. The Santa Clara, California based driver told TSO that he’s not thinking about the championship and is only concentrating on finishing as high as he can each weekend.

With two podium finishes in Toronto, Kyle Kaiser moved within only 35 points of the championship lead (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

With two podium finishes in Toronto, Kyle Kaiser moved within only 35 points of the championship lead (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

For the second straight race in Toronto, Belardi Auto Racing rookie Rosenqvist took the field of turbo-charged Mazda 2.0L powered Dallaras to the green flag to begin the 45 lap Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto.

Behind Rosenqvist, chaos ensued.

Yesterday’s second place finisher Felix Serralles was able to move ahead of outside front row starter Andre Negrao in Turn 1, but Negrao was able retake second place with a pass into Turn 3.

Further back in the field, Ed Jones, Juan Piedrahita, and Zachary Claman de Melo jostled for position with the drivers bouncing off each other through the Turn 4 and Turn 5 complex. Claman de Melo was the biggest loser after being forced to pit for a front wing. Piedrahita was also a big loser, falling all the way back to 13th from his ninth place starting spot.

On Lap 2, Shelby Blackstock nosed into the tire barriers at Turn 3, but he was able to re-fire his Mazda engine and continued. The 26 year-old Andretti Autosport driver recovered to claim a top 10.

After the chaotic opening five laps, the drivers settled down into a rhythm. The best battle on track was for second, third and fourth between Negrao, Kaiser and Santiago Urrutia.

Going into Turn 3 on Lap 11, Urrutia took a look on the outside of Kaiser and almost misses the corner and hits the tire barriers on the outside of the slowest corner on the track and fell back to regroup.

Meanwhile, Kaiser was able to make headway and put pressure on Negrao for second. That threesome of Negrao, Kaiser, and Urrutia continued a race long back-and-forth battle. For a few laps Kaiser would pressure Negrao, and for the next few laps the action would shift to Urrutia pressuring Kaiser.

With only 3 laps to go Urrutia was really pressuring Kaiser through Turn 10 and Turn 11. The No. 18 Juncos Racing of Kaiser had the rear-end get loose and almost made contact with end of the concrete wall at the end of Turn 11. Kaiser was able to hold on for his second straight podium of the weekend, and sixth of the 2016 season.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian's Andre Negrao scored his second podium of the season in Sunday's race at Toronto (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian’s Andre Negrao scored his second podium of the season in Sunday’s race at Toronto (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Negrao was able to hold onto second place, matching his best finish of the year from the Sunday race at Road America.

Mid-way through the race, Zach Veach and Canadian Garett Grist were fighting for sixth when the Team Pelfrey No. 3 brushed the wall at the exit of Turn 1. Grist fell further behind Veach, but was able to match his seventh place finish from Saturday, once again carrying the Maple Leaf as the top Canadian finisher.

With only five laps left in the race, Neil Alberico was pressuring Canadian Dalton Kellett for eighth when the Toronto, Ontario native

Rosenqvist’s final gap to Negrao was 7.6 seconds.

TSO did ask Rosenqvist if he has any other Indy Lights scheduled for this year, and at this point he is not scheduled to be back in the Belardi Auto Racing No. 14 for any of the final five races.

However, the Stefan Johansson mentored and managed 24 year-old will be sharing a Verizon IndyCar Series test with Scott Dixon in the Target Chip Ganassi Racing No. 9 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto – Sunday Race #2 results

RANK DRIVER GAP
1 Felix Rosenqvist 45 Laps
2 Andre Negrao -7.2614
3 Kyle Kaiser -9.431
4 Santiago Urrutia -10.0098
5 Ed Jones -30.1368
6 Zach Veach -33.778
7 Garett Grist -51.2215
8 Neil Alberico -56.5379
9 Shelby Blackstock – 1 lap
10 Felix Serralles -1 lap
11 Dalton Kellett -2 laps
12 Juan Piedrahita -3 laps
13 Zachary Claman De Melo -11 laps
14 Dean Stoneman -45 laps

Unofficial Top 5 in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire points after Toronto Race #2

1 – Ed Jones —> 268
2. Santiago Urrutia —> 244
3. Dean Stoneman —> 237
4. Felix Serralles —> 236
5. Kyle Kaiser —> 233

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Exhibition Place – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire day #2 – Race #1

Posted by  on Saturday, July 16th 2016     

Indy Lights Logo

Felix Rosenqvist explained that he was nervous coming back to the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series on such a difficult track. Well, it certainly didn’t look like it as the Swedish driver won his second race of the series after missing the last two events.

Saturday's Indy Lights winner Felix Rosenqvist is congratulated by his manager and mentor, former IndyCar and F1 driver Stefan Johansson (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Saturday’s Indy Lights winner Felix Rosenqvist is congratulated by his manager and mentor, former IndyCar and F1 driver Stefan Johansson (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

However, the biggest winner of the day was second place finisher Felix Serralles. The 24 year-old, who gained 10 points on championship leading teammate Jones, will begin Sunday’s race only 26 points out of the championship lead.

The Ponce, Puerto Rico native told us after the race that settling for second place isn’t in his nature, but he did understand that because Rosenqvist isn’t in the battle for the $1million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship and finishing behind him would not hurt him.

After three podiums in the first three races of the year, Juncos Racing sophomore Kyle Kaiser was only able to finish in the top three once in the last eight races. The 20 year-old thought that they would have qualified on the front-row without the red flag, but was very happy that he was able to end up on the podium from his seventh place starting spot.

Saturday’s 35 lap Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race began at 12:25 pm under perfect Canadian blue skies.

Pole sitter Rosenqvist got a great start and was able to get to Turn 1 ahead of an angry pack of 13 2.0L Mazda turbo-charged Dallara’s that spread out two and three wide.

Indy Lights toronto saturday start

The iconic Prince’s Gate is the backdrop while the Indy Lights field fan out as they head into Turn 1 at the start of Saturday’s race in Toronto (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Serralles, who started second lost two spots after he was pushed by Santiago Urrutia at the exit of Turn 1.

Zach Veach who started fourth was able to take advantage of the contact between Serralles and Urrutia and make it a Belardi Auto Racing one-two exiting the first corner of the first lap.

On Lap 2, Andre Negrao who started fifth suffered a flat rear Cooper tire and was forced to pit to replace the tire.

After being passed by Urrutia in the first turn of the race, Serralles hounded the reigning Pro Mazda Champion for the next seven laps before getting around him on Turn 1.

On Lap 10, Kyle Kaiser, Zachary Claman de Melo, Dean Stoneman, and Juan Piedrahita, were involved in tight fight for sixth through ninth.

While taking a look on the inside of Stoneman for the eighth spot on the run down to Turn 3, Piedrahita misjudged the distance between his No. 2 and Stoneman’s No. 27 and the Piedrahita’s left front rode over the right rear of Stoneman, launching the Colombian up and over the Englishman.

The bright yellow Juncos Racing No. 2 then continued straight towards the Turn 3 run-off and collected the No. 13 Juncos Racing machine of Zachary Claman de Melo, who was an unfortunate innocent bystander.

Piedrahita and Claman de Melo both suffered significant damage and were unable to continue. Piedrahita was taking to the infield care center and was checked, released and cleared to drive.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Stellrecht sponsored white and blue No. 27 of Stoneman was able to continue, although with a broken right rear wishbone, and finish in fifth place. The 25 year-old, who entered the race in second place in the championship, 23 points behind leader Jones, starts Sunday’s race 21 points out of the championship lead.

The running order under caution was: Rosenqvist, Veach, Serralles, Urrutia, Kaiser, Jones, Stoneman, Grist, Kellett, Alberico, Blackstock, Claman de Melo, Piedrahita and Negrao.

The race went back to green on Lap 13 with the rear-end of leader Rosenqvist stepping out. The reigning FIA Formula 3 champion was able to gather it back up and got through Turn 1 ahead of teammate Veach.

Further back in the field, Stoneman was able to get under Jones in Turn 1 for sixth place.

Even further back, Neil Alberico and Dalton Kellett got together and it was the Rising Star Racing sponsored No. 22 of Alberico that ended up in the Turn 2 wall with heavy damage on the right hand side of the Carlin machine. The contact meant the yellow flag reappeared.

The race went back to green on Lap 17 and Serralles was able to get around the outside of Veach in Turn 3, and set off after former Formula 3 rival Rosenqvist.

With 15 minutes (13 laps) remaining in the race, the top five were: Rosenqvist, Serralles, Veach, Urrutia, and Kaiser.

Not long after, Kaiser was able to get by Urrutia for fourth and Stoneman immediately began to hound Urrutia for fifth.

Behind those battles, local driver Garett Grist was pressuring championship leader Jones for the seventh spot. That tussle remained close throughout the final third of the race, but Grist was not able to get by Jones. Grist, from nearby Grimsby, Ontario ended up in seventh after the last lap mistake by Veach and was the highest place Canadian in the field.

Garret Grist and his Mac Tools/Lander Property Management sponsored No. 3 was the highest of the three Canadians in the first Indy Lights race in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Garret Grist and his Mac Tools/Lander Property Management sponsored No. 3 was the highest of the three Canadians in the first Indy Lights race in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

With six laps left in the race the battle for final spot on the podium became the one to watch when Kasier caught up to Veach. Kaiser, the Santa Clara, California native was able to put a lot of pressure on Veach, and was able to finally get by him by out-braking Veach into Turn 3.

Kaiser told IndyCar Radio that he had saved one push-to-pass and that Veach defended well, but left him just enough room to get beside him and Kasier broke at deep as he could.

Veach continued to push, and made a mistake in the Turn 9 clobbering the wall and dropping to the ninth spot.

Rosenqvist was able to gap Serralles after the final restart and pulled away to a 7.3 second victory.

The victory for Rosenqvist was his second of the year and his second on a street circuit.

Indy Lights race #1 results

RANK DRIVER GAP
1 Felix Rosenqvist 35 laps
2 Felix Serralles 7.3433
3 Kyle Kaiser 11.9393
4 Santiago Urrutia 15.8913
5 Dean Stoneman 19.2259
6 Ed Jones 24.4726
7 Garett Grist 26.1752
8 Dalton Kellett 40.2590
9 Zach Veach -1 laps
10 Shelby Blackstock -1 laps
11 Andre Negrao -4 laps
12 Neil Alberico -22 laps
13 Zachary Claman De Melo -26 laps
14 Juan Piedrahita -26 laps
category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Exhibition Place – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire day #2 – qualifying

Posted by  on Saturday, July 16th 2016     

Indy Lights Logo

Felix Serralles and Felix Rosenqvist led the two Friday practice sessions and also spent the majority of the qualifying session trading quickest laps. So it should come as no surprise that the Felix show in Toronto continued in qualifying. It was Belardi Auto Racing’s Felix, the rookie Rosenqvist, that will lead the field to green for the second time this year.

Half-way through the half-hour session and the top five were: Felix Rosenqvist, Santiago Urrutia, Felix Serralles, Ed Jones, and Zach Veach.

With four minutes left in the session, the No. 55 of Santiago Urrutia had just turned the quickest lap of qualifying and immediately after tripping the timing line, the 19 year-old made hard contact in Turn 9. The Mazda sponsored Soul Red car from the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian stable sustained heavy damage on the left front, while also tagging the wall lightly with the left rear. The reigning Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire champion lost his two quickest lap for causing a red flag and will start the race in third.

A number of drivers, including Jones and Dean Stoneman, the top two in the championship were on flying laps when Urrutia’s red flag ended the session. Points leader Jones will start the race in fifth and his closest competitor Stoneman will have to work hard to make up ground from his 11th place starting spot.

Serralles told us that he was disappointed that he ran into traffic on his second set of tires, and thought that a sub-66 second lap would have been possible without the red flag.

Rosenqvist explained that because of the cold temperatures it took longer for the tires to come in and that on their second set of sticker tires they raised the air pressure to compensate. The Belardi Auto Racing

Indy Ligths Qualifying results:

RANK DRIVER QUICKEST LAP GAP
1 Felix Rosenqvist 1:06.011 0.000
2 Felix Serralles 1:06.477 0.4659
3 Santiago Urrutia 1:06.621 0.6099
4 Zach Veach 1:06.835 0.8249
5 Ed Jones 1:06.839 0.8282
6 Andre Negrao 1:06.863 0.8523
7 Kyle Kaiser 1:06.999 0.9887
8 Juan Piedrahita 1:07.053 1.0424
9 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:07.103 1.0929
10 Garett Grist 1:07.158 1.1472
11 Dean Stoneman 1:07.309 1.2981
12 Neil Alberico 1:07.433 1.4220
13 Dalton Kellett 1:07.606 1.5955
14 Shelby Blackstock 1:07.965 1.9543
8 Bobby Eberle 1:13.607 2.8434
9 TJ Fischer 2:06.754 55.9903

The teams and drivers will have just over three hours to get prepared for the first of two Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto races on Saturday afternoon at 12:25pm.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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