Archives for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Jamin Wins for Andretti at Indianapolis to Tighten Indy Lights Points Chase

Posted by  on Friday, May 12th 2017     
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – An enthralling 30-lap Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America this evening on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course saw Nico Jamin claim an impressive win for Andretti Autosport. The 21-year-old Frenchman’s second victory of the season enabled him to close to within three points of series leader Colton Herta (Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing), who could manage only a distant 12th-place finish after an unscheduled pit stop.
Fellow Californian Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) also is now tied on points with Jamin following his third consecutive podium finish, although on this day he had to give best to Carlin’s Zachary Claman De Melo, who overcame a poor start to earn a career-best second-place result.
After securing the pole position in qualifying this morning, Jamin capitalized by holding the lead into Turn One. In his wake, a bold maneuver around the outside at Turn One from Herta, who had qualified a disappointing sixth, saw the 17-year-old from Valencia, Calif., vault all the way up into second place ahead of Kaiser, an equally fast-starting Aaron Telitz, who had started eighth for Belardi Auto Racing, Neil Alberico (Carlin) and surprise front row qualifier Claman De Melo.
Herta placed teammate Jamin under intense pressure for the opening couple of laps before settling into second place. A remarkably consistent series of fast laps enabled Jamin to stretch his lead to almost two seconds by Lap 11, whereupon Herta suddenly began to come under attack from a train of cars comprising Kaiser, Claman De Melo and Alberico, who lost a position to his teammate on that same lap but remained firmly in contention.
On Lap 14, Herta lost a couple of positions before realizing that his car had lost its balance. A slow puncture was quickly diagnosed, forcing Herta to head for the pits for a replacement left-rear tire.
By this time Jamin held a comfortable lead of 3.7 seconds over a battling Kaiser and Claman De Melo, but that margin was gradually whittled down until, on Lap 22, the two leaders were separated by less than two seconds. Next time around, Staubli Award winner Claman De Melo squeezed past Kaiser on the run toward Turn One. Even though the pass cost him a little bit of ground to the ultra-consistent race leader, the young Canadian kept on turning fast laps to take the checkered flag just 0.8405 seconds adrift of Jamin.
Alberico claimed his fourth top-four finish of the year, while rookie teammate Matheus Leist recorded the fastest lap of the race as he climbed from ninth on the grid to fifth for his best finish of the young season. Leist, from Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, also earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award.
Qualifying for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Round 6 will take place tomorrow morning at 9:20 a.m. EDT, followed by the race itself at 1:15 p.m., immediately prior to the Verizon IndyCar Series headline event. Live timing and live streaming will be available on indylights.com, as well as on indycar.com, the Road To Indy TV App and RoadToIndy.TV.
Nico Jamin (#27 DuraMAX Powered by RelaDyne Mazda-Andretti Autosport ): “It is amazing emotions – I don’t think it gets any better than winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I was nervous starting on pole. You’re always happy to get the pole and the check but I saw in USF2000 here two years ago that the guys behind you can really get a good run into Turn One. I knew I had to get a good jump and I did, though I didn’t want to look in my mirror because I knew it would be a mess. I broke really late into Turn One but Colton was close behind me and I had to defend. We made it clean so it was alright in the end. I pushed hard in the beginning to get away from Colton, who was on his push-to-pass, but then Zach was a rocketship at the end and was catching up. The guys were yelling on the radio for me to push harder, but I couldn’t. But I’m very happy to have gotten the pole and the win for the DuraMAX guys, who have joined me this month.”
Zachary Claman De Melo (#13 ZCD Montreal/Zoological Wildlife Foundation-Carlin): “I knew I had really good race pace so my plan at the start was just to stay calm and stay on the track. My plan was also to have a good start, but that didn’t go my way so I had to try and pass as many guys as possible. I didn’t think about much, just that each and every guy in front of me was my target. I had some lapped traffic as I got near to Nico otherwise I think I could have challenged him. The car never dropped off. It gives me good confidence going into qualifying and the race tomorrow.”
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Herta Grasps His Chance to Win Milestone 400th Indy Lights Race

Posted by  on Sunday, April 23rd 2017     

LEEDS, Ala. – The 400th race in the history of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires might not be remembered as a classic but it will likely never be forgotten by Colton Herta. The 17-year-old son of 1993 Indy Lights champion Bryan Herta made the most of an advantageous opportunity as he led from flag-to-flag…

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category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Jamin Scores at Barber to Become Third Different Indy Lights Winner

Posted by  on Friday, April 21st 2017     
LEEDS, Ala. – Nico Jamin made a textbook pass for the lead in the early stages of this afternoon’s opening leg of the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires at Barber Motorsports Park, then edged away to become the third different winner in as many races this year in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.
The 21-year-old Frenchman, driving for Andretti Autosport, who also won at Barber in 2015 en route to winning the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, became the 132nd different winner in the 31-year history of Indy Lights, which tomorrow will celebrate its milestone 400th race. With the win, Jamin joins Sage Karam, Spencer Pigot, Matthew Brabham and Aaron Telitz as drivers to win on all three rungs.
Californians Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) and Neil Alberico (Carlin) completed the podium.
Kaiser had claimed the pole position this morning, with series leader Colton Herta lining up second for Andretti Steinbrenner Racing. But there was drama even before the green flag as Aaron Telitz, who started a lowly 13th after experiencing a mechanical problem in qualifying, inadvertently clipped the rear of Belardi Auto Racing teammate Shelby Blackstock.
The start was immediately waved off, only for Herta to then clip the rear of Kaiser’s car as the leaders, who were already anticipating the green flag, began to slow for Turn One. A little farther back in the pack, pre-season title favorite Santi Urrutia’s misfortune continued when his Belardi car was assaulted from behind by Pato O’Ward (Team Pelfrey) in Turn One. Both made pit stops for repairs, along with Herta and Telitz.
After three laps behind the pace car, the race was green-flagged properly with Kaiser still leading from Jamin, who had qualified third, then Alberico and his Carlin teammates Matheus Leist and Zachary Claman de Melo, who had qualified seventh and ninth, respectively.
But Kaiser held the lead only as far as Turn Five, where Jamin made an incisive move to the inside, then left his braking until the last possible moment before scything into the lead.
Jamin quickly established himself out front, posting the fastest lap of the race as early as the sixth lap as he left Kaiser to hold off the attentions of Alberico.
Jamin gradually extended his advantage to more than three seconds before easing off on the final lap to take the checkered flag 2.6525 seconds head of Kaiser, who remained under pressure throughout from Alberico.
Leist, from Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, and Tilton Hard Charger Award winner De Melo, from Montreal, Que., Canada, also were closely matched in fourth and fifth, with another Canadian, Dalton Kellett, claiming a relatively lonely sixth for Andretti Autosport.
Blackstock finished seventh, narrowly ahead of O’Ward, who had found a way past his own teammate, Juan Piedrahita, midway through the race but was unable to usurp the Tennessean.
Jamin, who jumped from 11th in the points table to fourth following his maiden Indy Lights win, also earned the Staubli Award. Herta still leads the points by a 10-point margin over Kaiser, 70-60, prior to tomorrow’s 400th Indy Lights race, for which the green flag will wave at 12:00 noon CDT, following another qualifying session at 8:00 am.
Live timing and live streaming will be available on indylights.com, as well as on indycar.com and the Road To Indy TV App. The race will air on NBCSN at 12:00 am on April 26.
Nico Jamin (#27 Andretti Autosport Mazda): “It was just incredible – when I got to Victory Lane and everyone wanted to talk to me, I didn’t know what to say! I was so emotional. It was a good thing I had good reflexes and put on the brakes in time to not break the front wing like my teammate did. Here, you can start on pole and get away or you have to get it done early, so I was in attack mode right away. I went on push-to-pass, broke late and made the pass stick. The Cooper Tires were very consistent through the whole race so that made it easy. So I’ll go cool down now, have a little celebration tonight, and try to put it on pole tomorrow morning. We had room for that this morning, but I got caught in traffic. Everyone wants to win the 400th Indy Lights race.”
Kyle Kaiser (#18 Juncos Racing): “I saw the start was waved off so I slowed up and I felt a little nudge from behind. I feel bad for Colton but these things happen. I know it’s tough to run close behind someone here because of the aero wash, so when Nico got by me I thought I would settle in and hope he would make a mistake or something would go wrong. With the field this tight, it’s very difficult to pass here once things settle in. But overall, I ran a pretty decent race except for the beginning. So until qualifying tomorrow morning, we’ll keep an eye on the forecast. We’re expecting it to be wet in the morning so we’ll put on rain tires and hope to be quick again.”
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Set to Celebrate 400th Race

Posted by  on Wednesday, April 19th 2017     

Top Tier of Mazda Road to Indy Development Ladder Will Reach New Milestone at Barber PALMETTO, Fla. – Now in its 32nd season and firmly established as the final stepping stone for drivers who aspire to compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires will celebrate its…

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category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Rookie Colton Herta Romps to Indy Lights Championship Lead 

Posted by  on Sunday, March 12th 2017     
Second-Generation Racer Becomes Youngest Ever Indy Lights Race Winner
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Colton Herta impressed everyone yesterday on his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires debut by charging through from sixth to second. But that was nothing compared to this morning on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The 16-year-old from Valencia, Calif., started from the pole and displayed remarkable poise as he outpaced the field to win the Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires in convincing style for Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing.
The son of 1993 Indy Lights champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 car owner Bryan Herta also put his name in the record books as the youngest ever winner in the 31-year history of Indy Lights dating back to 1985.
Last year’s championship runner-up, Santi Urrutia, from Uruguay, finished second for Belardi Auto Racing ahead of another impressive teenager, Mexico’s Pato O’Ward (Team Pelfrey).
After qualifying on pole position yesterday morning, Herta maintained his advantage at Turn One, only for the caution flags to wave almost immediately due to an incident in the midfield involving Nico Jamin (Andretti Autosport), winner of the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, and one of podium finishers from yesterday, Neil Alberico (Carlin). Both cars sustained substantial damage but neither driver was hurt.
The restart again proved no problem for Herta, who soon began to edge clear of fellow front row qualifier Urrutia. Behind, after restarting fifth, O’Ward made quick work of passing Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport) before charging around the outside of Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) at Turn One and finally completing the pass in Turn Two after a brief clash of wheels. Next in O’Ward’s sights was Urrutia, who proved to be a tougher nut to crack. He tried a couple of times, only to be firmly rebuffed.
A couple of mid-race caution periods (due to single-car incidents involving Kellett and, later, Carlin’s Garth Rickards) negated what had been a comfortable advantage of almost three seconds for Herta, but the youngster again proved up to the challenge as he kept his cool – and his lead – before taking the checkered flag 1.7797 seconds clear of Urrutia.
O’Ward battled his way to third after relinquishing the position to Kaiser and then repassing him soon after the final restart. Kaiser had to settle for fourth ahead of yesterday’s winner, Aaron Telitz (Belardi Auto Racing), who battled his way from 10th on the grid to earn the Tilton Hard Charger Award.
After the first two of 16 races which will determine the winner of a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1 million to guarantee the Indy Lights series champion an opportunity to contest at least three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2018, including the Indianapolis 500, Herta (who also secured today’s Staubli Award) holds a 10-point advantage, 59-49, over Telitz. O’Ward, on 39 points, ensured three rookies atop the point standings following the opening weekend.
This weekend’s racing action will air March 18 on NBCSN. The next two Indy Lights races will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala., on April 22-23.
Colton Herta (#98 Deltro Energy Mazda/Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing): “All the yellows we were looking for yesterday happened today. It was a good race and we came away with the win so we’re super happy. My first feeling was relief that the race was over, because that was a hectic one. I was always checking the mirrors on the restarts for Santi and learning how to do the best job on cold tires. It was a tough race, because Santi’s been in this position before – and he’s one of the toughest competitors I’ve come against in this situation. Coming away from this weekend with the championship lead puts me a little bit ahead of schedule.”
George Michael Steinbrenner IV, Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Team President: “It was definitely a good start to the season, leaving the first two races in the points lead, but it’s a tough field this year. As you saw, Urrutia was really quick behind Colton, and Aaron was super-fast yesterday. We’re not booking the championship but it was a good start! Knowing Colton for so long and knowing how good he can be, it was great to see how quickly he got out there.”
Santi Urrutia (#5 Belardi Auto Racing): “It was a tough race but a good one. I was trying to get to Colton but I had Pato right behind me. He was my teammate in 2015 in Pro Mazda, so I knew he was going to try to pass me. I tried to get Colton on the restarts but his car was really quick and he defended really well. I didn’t really get a clear chance to get by. Everyone is so quick in the series – both races this weekend were won by rookies. It’s so competitive, so I am happy with second place today and the points toward the championship.”
Pato O’Ward (#3 Gap Guard/Topo Chico-Team Pelfrey): “The weekend went really well, in the end. I lost my quick time in the first qualifying session and started from the back, which was not what we were looking for. But my goal was to finish fifth in the first race and get on the podium for the second, and we accomplished that so I’m satisfied. I’m going to go home and work on putting something together for the next race at Barber!”
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Telitz Dominates but Indy Lights Thrills in St. Petersburg

Posted by  on Saturday, March 11th 2017     
New Push-to-Pass System Leads to Multiple Overtaking Moves on Tricky Streets
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Aaron Telitz tried his utmost to turn the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season opener into a procession, but fortunately his fellow protagonists failed to follow his script during an otherwise action-packed Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires. As Telitz, 25, from Birchwood, Wis., romped to an impressive debut victory from the pole for Belardi Auto Racing, the remainder of the 15-car field staged a thrilling contest which ended with fellow Americans Colton Herta (Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing) and Neil Alberico (Carlin) completing the podium.
The Mazda turbo-powered Dallara IL-15 package has provided some excellent racing action since its introduction two years ago, but the advent in 2017 of a new and innovative “push-to-pass” system, which allows up to 10 seconds of increased turbo boost to deliver an additional 50 horsepower – and, unlike in many series, can only be employed as a tool to assist overtaking, rather than as a defense mechanism – proved its worth with a host of spectacular overtaking maneuvers during the 35-lap race.
There was action almost literally from start to finish. It began just seconds after the green flag when the field narrowly averted disaster at the first corner as Colombian Juan Piedrahita, who had qualified a career-best third for Team Pelfrey, left his braking a tad too late at Turn One while making a move for the lead. Cars were seemingly scattered in all directions as many contenders took evasive action, but thankfully, once the dust had settled, Telitz had managed to maintain his lead. Brazilian rookie Matheus Leist emerged in second, after starting fourth, while Carlin teammate Neil Alberico followed in third after a disappointing qualifying run with a lack of straightline speed left him seventh on the starting grid.
Shelby Blackstock (Belardi Auto Racing), Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) and Herta ran next at the completion of the first lap, followed by the recovering Piedrahita and his teammate Pato O’Ward.
The biggest casualties from the opening contretemps were Santi Urrutia (Belardi), who picked up some damage and required a lengthy pit stop for repairs, and Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport), who resumed well in arrears of the remaining runners.
Telitz took full advantage of a fresh set of Cooper tires to pull out more than a second over his pursuers to ensure he was not within range of attack by anyone using their push-to-pass, and indeed a series of quick laps allowed him to extend his lead to move than five seconds inside just eight laps.
The most significant pass for position came on Lap Six when Alberico found a way past Leist for second. It was the first of many. And the young man who really made an impression was Herta, still a few weeks shy of his 17th birthday, who used his push-to-pass to excellent effect on the main straightaway, then displayed fearless form under braking as he gradually made his way toward the front. Telitz was already too far up the road to be under threat by the time Herta executed his final pass – for second on Alberico with only five laps remaining – but it was still a mightily impressive performance.
Alberico was rightly delighted with third after a disappointing 2016 campaign, while Blackstock also enjoyed a strong run to fourth ahead of O’Ward, who scrabbled past Kaiser under braking for Turn One with just a couple of laps remaining.
Leist, unfortunately, suffered a mechanical problem which eventually forced his retirement.
The field will be back in action tomorrow morning for a second installment. This time, though, Telitz will have a harder time, since he qualified only 10th in this morning’s second session of qualifying. Instead, Herta will start from the pole when the race gets under way at 9:45 a.m.
Live timing and live streaming will be available on indylights.com, as well as on indycar.com and the Road To Indy TV App. The race will air on NBCSN on March 18.
Aaron Telitz (#9 Mazda/Rice Lake Weighing Systems/Belardi Auto Racing): “I was expecting to do well this year but I had no idea coming in that I would be on pole and win the first race of the year, especially with such a deep field. It feels really good to be on the top spot. I had a good jump at the start and survived the pack-up at the start. Once I was out ahead, I just kept on doing consistent lap times through the race and hitting my marks. But honestly, my first feeling at the checkered flag was relief. To be here with Belardi, to be in the Soul Red car and wearing a Mazda driver’s suit, it all just feels a little unreal. When I started in car racing, I had no idea I’d ever be in Indy Lights, let alone win a race in my first go. I can’t thank Mazda enough for creating this ladder system and giving drivers like me a chance.”
Colton Herta (#98 Deltro Energy Mazda – Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing): “I knew that I had 15 push-to-pass uses so I was trying to be conservative. I would only use it when I knew I could overtake. It took a few tries to get adjusted and it will take a few more to nail it perfectly but it’s a great feature. I love how you have to be within a second of the other driver, so it eliminates defending. I used it when I tried to get around Neil the first time, but I ran out. The dash doesn’t tell you, so I kept pushing it and didn’t feel anything! I got a good run on the inside and he left me room. It was good, hard racing. Everyone left each other room.”
Neil Alberico (#2 Rising Star Racing-Carlin): “I had a tough year last year, battling gremlins and struggling as a rookie coming from Pro Mazda, so it’s great to come back and redeem myself. To get my first Indy Lights podium in the first race of the year is great. The Carlin guys have really worked with me and I appreciate that Carlin and Rising Star Racing had faith in my ability, which allowed me to come back this year. Geoff Fickling is my engineer this year, and he worked with Ed Jones last year and has won numerous championships through the years, and that has worked really well. He’s been a great asset for me.”
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Starting Grids Set for Four of Six Mazda Road to Indy Season-Opening Races

Posted by  on Friday, March 10th 2017     
Starting Grids Set for Four of Six Mazda Road to Indy Season-Opening Races
Mazda Scholarship Driver Telitz Captures Pole for Indy Lights Debut
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg kicked off today with practice and qualifying for four of the six races which comprise the start of a new campaign for the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires.
A dramatic qualifying session for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the highest rung on the acclaimed open-wheel development ladder which offers Mazda Scholarships to enable talented drivers to reach all the way from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series, ended with Aaron Telitz marking his first Indy Lights start with pole position for Belardi Auto Racing.
Telitz, 25, from Birchwood, Wis., who is stepping up after winning last year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, jumped to the top of the timing charts moments before young Mexican Pato O’Ward ended his session in the barriers at Turn Eight. Ironically, Telitz and O’Ward had been teammates last year in Pro Mazda – and had shared one victory apiece on the streets of St. Petersburg.
O’Ward, 17, from Monterrey, Mexico, had posted the fastest time in practice this morning for Team Pelfrey and also set the pace prior to Telitz’s fine lap of 1:07.5844. Even worse, as a penalty for causing a red flag stoppage, O’Ward was penalized with the loss of his fastest time, dropping him from second on the grid to ninth in the closely packed field.
Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing), from Santa Clara, who won the pole in 2016, will start second for the opening race of the weekend, the Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires, which will start at 5:10 p.m. EDT tomorrow afternoon.
Juan Piedrahita (Team Pelfrey), from Bogota, Colombia, will line up third ahead of rookies Matheus Leist (Carlin), from Brazil, and Colton Herta (Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing), from Valencia, Calif.
Qualifying for Race Two will take place at 7:55 a.m. tomorrow.
USF2000 Champ Martin Fastest in Pro Mazda 
Anthony Martin, from Kalgoorlie, Australia, will start on pole for the Hi-Tide Kids on Track Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Round One of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Martin, 22, who is stepping up to Pro Mazda after winning last year’s USF2000 championship, set the fastest time at 1:13.6718 for Cape Motorsports, edging out Brazilian Victor Franzoni (Juncos Racing) by a scant 0.012 second.
Franzoni had been fastest in the first practice session this morning at 1:14.1486.
TJ Fischer, based in Los Angeles, will start third for Team Pelfrey ahead of teammate Carlos Cunha, from Campinas, Brazil, and Californian teenager Phillippe Denes for World Speed Motorsports.
The race will start tomorrow at 11:50 a.m.
Qualifying for Race Two, the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, will take place at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, with the green flag slated for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Megennis, Thompson Earn Poles for USF2000 Double-Header 
A new era for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda kicked off today with qualifying for the first two races of the new season which will take place tomorrow on the streets of St. Petersburg.
The brand-new Tatuus USF-17 looks set to provide some sensational action this year, as evidenced by the closeness of the times in each of the two 20-minute sessions.
Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Robert Megennis, was first out of the blocks yesterday for Team Pelfrey, posting the fastest time during a 30-minute period of practice that was punctuated by a variety of incidents. The teenager from New York, N.Y., maintained that form this morning on a slightly reconfigured race track, stopping the clocks in 1:15.3708 (85.975 mph) to secure pole position for the Hi-Tide Boats Lifts Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – and the first championship point of the 2017 campaign.
Calvin Ming (Pabst Racing), from Guyana, will start second for the opening race ahead of Oliver Askew, from Jupiter, Fla., representing the defending champion Cape Motorsports team. Askew, 20, is commencing his very first full season of car racing after winning the inaugural Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout last fall.
Dakota Dickerson (Newman Wachs Racing), from San Diego, Calif., and Kaylen Frederick (Team Pelfrey), from Potomac, Md., will round out the top five starters. The top 11 qualifiers were all blanketed by less than one second.
The race is set for 8:40 a.m. tomorrow, with the green flag due to be waved by Tatuus Race Cars Director Gianfranco DeBellis.
Qualifying for Race Two, the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which is slated for a 2:00 p.m. start tomorrow, ended with Parker Thompson, from Red Deer, Alb., Canada, atop the charts for the new Exclusive Autosport team. Thompson, who finished a close second in the 2016 title-chase, set an identical time – 1:15.3708 – to that set earlier by Megennis.
Askew, who bounced back impressively from an incident on Thursday afternoon which caused damage to his Soul Red Tatuus, will start second for Race Two ahead of Dutch teenager Rinus VeeKay (Pabst Racing), Dickerson and Megennis.
Live timing and live streaming of all sessions will be available on the respective series websites, indylights.com, promazda.com and usf2000.com, as well as on indycar.com and the Road To Indy TV App.
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Mazda Road To Indy PR, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires

Mid-Ohio – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – Race #2

Posted by  on Sunday, July 31st 2016     

Indy Lights Logo

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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Urrutia Wins at Mid-Ohio to Move into Indy Lights Title Contention

Posted by  on Saturday, July 30th 2016     

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Santiago “Santi” Urrutia claimed an emphatic victory for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/ Curb-Agajanian in this afternoon’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. The Uruguayan rising star’s third win in his rookie campaign moved him to close within just six points of the lead in this year’s Indy Lights Presented by…

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category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Mid-Ohio – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – Race #1

Posted by  on Saturday, July 30th 2016     

Indy Lights Logo

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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