Archives for Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire – TSO

MRTI at Portland International Raceway – Friday – Pro Mazda (VeeKay clinches title) and Indy Lights (O’Ward leads) practices

Posted by  on Friday, August 31st 2018     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Portland International Raceway – Pro Mazda Practice Session #1 results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Portland International Raceway – Pro Mazda Practice Session #1 results

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

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

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

Posted by  on Friday, August 31st 2018     

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

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

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

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

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

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire combined timesheet.

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

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

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

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

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

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda combined timesheet.

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

MRTI Finale at Portland International Raceway – VeeKay is presumptive Pro Mazda champ – battle for third between Askew, Malukas and Megennis is a good one

Posted by  on Thursday, August 30th 2018     

Pro (Star) Mazda has contested nine previous races at Portland International Raceway with a pair of factory IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM drivers winning the first and last races on the 12-turn natural terrain course. Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT pilot Joey Hand won in 1999, with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing BMW M8 driver John Edwards winning in 2008.

Current Verizon IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal won his first professional race at Portland International Raceway as a 16-year-old in 2005. Rahal, who was driving for Andersen Walko Racing, beat 35 other drivers, including fellow active IndyCar drivers James Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti.

Previous Pro Mazda winners at Portland International Raceway

YEAR DRIVER TEAM
2008 Race #2 John Edwards AIM Autosport
2008 Race #1 Tom Gladdis Andersen Racing
2007 Devin Cunningham AIM Autosport
2006 Mike Potekhen Apex Racing
2005 Graham Rahal Andersen Walko Racing
2004 Michael Potekhen Eurosports Racing
2001 Marc De Vellis De Vellis Racing
2000 Alex Figge World Speed Motorsports
1999 Joey Hand S3

All Rinus VeeKay has to do is start, and the $790,300 scholarship is his.

When the series headed North of the Border for a pair of races in Toronto, Canadian Parker Thompson had a 46 point championship lead over Rinus VeeKay. But, a string of bad luck for the Exclusive Autosport driver and stellar driving by the Dutchman that resulted in five straight trips to victory lane and the title of presumptive champion.

Also, due to mechanical issues with the power plants early in the season, each driver will have one race that will be dropped. That drop means that VeeKay effectively leads by 53 points.

All rookie VeeKay needs to do to clinch the almost $800,000 Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship is start Saturday’s first race.

Third place, some extra prize money and an Indy Lights test at stake.

With Carlos Cunha dropping out of the championship with three rounds remaining, the fight for third place became a scrap between a trio of American drivers that are separated by only 15 points and only 11 points with drops.

It’s not only pride at stake for the third-place finisher. The top three in Pro Mazda points after Sunday finale will be awarded an Indy Lights test and also $20,000.

Reigning USF2000 champion Oliver Askew has used a steady run of results, including two podiums and four top fives since the series left Road America in June to move from sixth to third.

A disappointing trip “north of the border” for David Malukas followed a pair of wins at Road America. The 16-year—old got back on track at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a second place in the first race, but a mechanical failure while leading the second race combined with ten penalty points and a mediocre effort at Gateway Motorsports Park leave Malukas six points behind Askew.

Four straight podiums on three disparate tracks (street circuit, natural terrain road course, and oval) have moved New Yorker Robert Megennis to within 15 points (11 points with drops) of Malukas.

Two-time winner Harrison Scott is also mathematically eligible, but the RP Motorsport team is not present at Portland International Raceway this weekend.

So who has the advantage?

It appears a toss-up. Malukas has scored more natural terrain road course points than his competitors. Robert Megennis has been the most prolific points scorer of the trio over the last five races. And, Askew has been the most consistent, completing all but one lap and finishing all 14 races to date. In comparison, Meggenis had three DNFs and completed 83.6% of the possible laps, and Malukas has only completed 77.5% of the possible laps and has not been running at the end of five races.

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire natural terrain road course points with two races left.

RANK DRIVER POINTS
1 Parker Thompson 178
2 Rinus VeeKay 164
3 David Malukas 164
4 Harrison Scott 139
5 Carlos Cunha 136
6 Oliver Askew 131
7 Robert Megennis 114
8 Sting Ray Robb 106
9 Andres Gutierrez 97
10 Nikia Lastochkin 89
11 Charles Finelli 65
12 Kris Wright 63
13 Toby Sowery 51
14 Antonio Serravalle 47
15 Lodovico Laurini 42
16 Felipe Drugovich 31
17 Rafa Martins 28
18 Mathias Soler-Obel 27
19 Raul Guzman 21
20 Kory Enders 21
21 Moisés de la Vara 20

Juncos Racing doubles up in the team championship

The Ricardo Juncos led, Speedway, Ind. based Pro Mazda squad was able to wrestle the team title way from Team Pelfrey after a two year run for the Dale Pelfrey owned team.

One of the two teams has held the team title in seven of the last eight seasons with only a strong run by Andretti Autosport and Matthew Brabham interrupting the two team dance in 2012.

The battle for second place in the team championship is a tight one. Exclusive Autosport currently has a four-point gap to BN Racing and a six-point cushion to a charging Cape Motorsports. Freshman RP Motorsport squad is only 12 points back, but are not planning on contesting the Portland International Raceway doubleheader.

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire team points.

RANK TEAM POINTS
1 Juncos Racing 425
2 Exclusive Autosport 208
3 BN Racing 204
4 Cape Motorsports 202
5 RP Motorsport 196
6 Team Pelfrey 146
7 Fatboy Racing! 76
8 DEForce Racing 44
category: Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI at Gateway Motorsports Park – Saturday – VeeKay wins fifth Pro Mazda race in the row, extending championship lead

Posted by  on Saturday, August 25th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

Rinus VeeKay is making a case to claim ownership of the top step of the Pro Mazda podium. The Juncos Racing rookie climbed to the top perch for the fifth race in a row and seventh time in 2018.

Today’s victory was VeeKay’s tenth Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires win and his first on an oval.

VeeKay’s win combined with a sixth-place finish by Parker Thompson gives the Dutch driver a 54 point lead in the championship headed to the doubleheader at Portland International Raceway in one week.

This *might* be enough for VeeKay to become champion, but that will depend on how many cars show up in the Pacific Northwest.

For the fourth straight race and fifth time this season, Robert Megennis joined his teammate on the podium.

The 11 Mazda 2.0L Tatuus machines took the green flag seven minutes early.

Scott started on pole, but it was VeeKay who got the great jump, going around the outside of the pole-sitter Scott.

VeeKay’s teammate Megennis was also able to get by the pole sitter and settle into second.

The running order at the end the first lap was VeeKay, Megennis, Scott, Moisés de la Vara, Oliver Askew, Sting Ray Robb, David Malukas, Parker Thompson, Mathias Soler-Obel, Nikia Lastochkin and Charles Finelli.

The field settled after a few laps of dicing, with Thompson moving up the most spots from 11th to 8th.

VeeKay was still leading when the cars crossed the start-finish line to start the 10th lap. VeeKay had a 1.4830 second lead over Megennis. Scott had settled into third with Moisés de la Vara in fourth and Oliver Askew in fifth.

At Lap 20, VeeKay’s lead was a thin 0.6295 seconds over Megennis with Scott, de la Vera, and Askew making up the remainder of the top five.

On Lap 25, VeeKay began to catch lapped traffic but was able to make a quick pass of Lastochkin around the outside of Turn 4.

It took the American two laps to get around the Russian (cue Cold Ward puns), and that allowed VeeKay to pull out to a 2.103 second lead over his teammate.

Further back, Thompson was pressuring Malukas for 7th but was not able to get around him until lap 35 when he went to the inside of the BN Racing rookie in Turn 1.

It didn’t take long before Thompson was putting pressure on Soler-Obel for sixth. The pair went side-by-side for most of Lap 39. The Colombian driving for RP Motorsport was able to hold off the Canadian.

The trio battling for sixth encountered a lapped car getting checked up before Lastochkin moved out of the way but that allowed Thompson to get around Soler-Obel for sixth.

With ten laps to go, VeeKay’s lead was 4.8 his teammate Megennis.

With only four laps left Thompson turned a race lap over 140mph, taking one bonus point and went even quicker on

With a five second lead, VeeKay came upon Malukas and Soler-Obel to put the seventh and eighth place driver a lap down.

VeeKay crossed the line 8.55 seconds ahead of his teammate.

Mazda St. Louis Pro Mazda Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires Unofficial Race Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 2 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing 55 laps
2 9 Robert Megennis Juncos Racing 8.5507
3 10 Harrison Scott RP Motorsport Racing 16.5154
4 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 17.2029
5 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 26.3206
6 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 27.0249
7 27 Mathias Soler-Obel RP Motorsport Racing -1 LAP
8 79 David Malukas BN Racing -1 LAP
9 82 Sting Ray Robb Team Pelfrey -1 LAP
10 83 Charles Finelli Fatboy Racing -1 LAP
11 8 Nikita Lastochkin Cape Motorsports -2 LAPS

The Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire series will be back on track on Thursday, August 30 for testing before the final two races of the year at Gateway Motorsports Park.

category: Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI Revised Tentative schedule for Saturday at Gateway Motorsports Park

Posted by  on Friday, August 24th 2018     

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire

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

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires

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

 

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

Posted by  on Friday, August 24th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Herta starts pivitol championship weekend off on the right foot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Pro Mazda News/Results
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Pro Mazda at Gateway Motorsports Park – turning left for the second time – VeeKay looking to clinch

Posted by  on Thursday, August 23rd 2018     

Much like USF2000, which saw Kyle Kirkwood clinch the title at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course a month ago, and Indy Lights, where Patricio O’Ward can secure the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire title at Gateway Motorsports Park this weekend. The chase for the $790,300 Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship can be clinched at Gateway.

Five races ago, when the series took the green flag for a Sunday race at Road America, Parker Thompson held 48 point lead over 2017 USF2000 vice-champion Rinus VeeKay. Much like Patricio O’Ward in Indy Lights, VeeKay has won four of the last five races. Meanwhile, Thompson had a miserable trip home to Canada that began when he was taken out of the first race while running second and chasing VeeKay for first. A mediocre trip to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course puts Thompson on the brink of elimination.

Rinus VeeKay will attempting to celebrate his fifth straight Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire win at Gateway Motorsports Park this weekend (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

If VeeKay extends his win streak to five, the Exclusive Autosport rookie will need to finish on the podium to push the championship to the Pacific Northwest next weekend at Portland International Raceway.

Thompson did score max points for the first oval race of the PM-18 era, the Cooper Tires Freedom 90 at Lucas Oil Raceway in May. The 20-year-old started on pole, led all 90 laps and had the quickest lap of the race (by a significant margin).

Dutchman VeeKay finished that race in fourth, over 10 seconds behind Thompson.

The 50% more points on offer (see chart below) for the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires oval races this year provide a boost that both drivers could utilize. If VeeKay wins and Thompson finishes fourth, VeeKay clinches the title. If Thompson were to win and VeeKay finish fourth, Thompson would only trail by six points headed to next weekends finale.

Phew, got all that? Oh yeah, don’t forget that because of early-season issues with the Mazda 2.0L power plants, each driver’s worst points scoring result will be dropped.

A 10th place finish after contact in the second race at Toronto and a 12th place finish due to a mechanical issue in the Sunday’s race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has left Carlos Cunha under attack for third place in the championship. The Juncos Racing sophomore has an impressive 11 podiums but is still looking for his first Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires victory. Could this be the weekend? The 19-year-old Brazilian finished third at Gateway last year and was a scant 0.2213 seconds behind Thompson in the first oval race of the season.

Nipping at the heals of Cunha both 20 points in arrears are Oliver Askew and David Malukas.

Outside of VeeKay, 2017 USF2000 champion Askew is the hottest driver in the series, scoring the second most points over the last five races, and moving from sixth in points to tie for fourth. The pilot of the Soul Red No. 8 lost spots in five of the first six races in 2018. But, beginning at Lucas Oil Raceway, the 21-year-old has gained spots in six of seven races. Askew has completed 99.7% of the 377 laps contested so far, the most of any Pro Mazda driver.

If you want to read more about Askew’s up and down season, check out Joey Barnes article on Motorsports Tribune —> Oliver Askew Taking Valuable Lessons from Rookie Pro Mazda Campaign 

There is a good chance that 16-year-old BN Racing rookie David Malukas would already have overhauled Cunha for third place, but a mechanical failure in the final race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course cost him valuable points. Malukas only finished half of his first ever oval start at Lucas Oil Raceway, and completing all 55 scheduled laps in the Mazda St. Louis Pro Mazda Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires.

Bonus points

With close battles in the top five, bonus points could play an essential role in deciding the champion. Three bonus points are available each race – one each for winning the pole, leading the most laps, and turning the fastest race lap.

Bonus points scored with three laps remaining in the 2018 Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire season.

RANK TEAM PTS
1 Rinus VeeKay 12
2 Parker Thompson 10
3 David Malukas 7
4 Carlos Cunha 4
5 Oliver Askew 3
6 Robert Megennis 1
7 Harrison Scott 1
8 Sting Ray Robb 1

With the absence of Harrison Scott and three straight podium finishes, Juncos Racing rookie pilot Robert Megennis has moved from eighth to sixth in the title chase. The New Yorker had a podium in the first oval race of the season, giving him a great shot of extending his podium streak.

Team Pelfrey sophomore Sting Ray Robb is only 14 points behind Megennis and is coming off one his best performances of the year a month ago at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Harrison Scott, who stepped out of the No. 10 RP Motorsport machine for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course double-header returns to the Italian team for this weekends race at Gateway Motorsports Park. The 22-year-old had an impressive oval debut in May, starting sixth and moving to fourth before being taken out on Lap 45.

Returning to RP Motorsport for the second weekend of action is Mathias Soler-Obel, who finished 12th after starting 14th at his first ever oval race in USF2000 at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Moisés de la Vara is back for a second weekend with DEForce Racing. The Mexican driver started and finished tenth in his first Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires oval race in USF2000 at Iowa Speedway.

Nikia Lastochkin for Cape Motorsports and FatBoy Racing’s Charles Finelli round out the dozen car field.

Anthony Martin (front) and Victor Franzoni (back) fight for the lead at Gateway Motorsports Park during the 2017 Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire races (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Points available for the pair of Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire oval races in 2018

POSITION POINTS POSITION POINTS POSITION POINTS
1 45 10 17 19 4
2 38 11 15 20+ 2
3 33 12 14
4 29 13 12
5 26 14 11
6 23 15 9
7 21 16 8
8 20 17 6
9 18 18 5

The lone 30-minute practice session runs from 11:30 AM to Noon on Friday, with qualifying at 6:45 PM. The 55-lap race is scheduled to roll off at 3:45 PM.

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category: Pro Mazda News/Results
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MRTI Update #14 from Mid-Ohio – Sunday – VeeKay wins after Malukas falters – extends his points lead

Posted by  on Sunday, July 29th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

A masterful display of driving and little good luck for Rinus VeeKay and some bad fortune for Parker Thompson over the past two events mean a 46 point lead for Thompson over VeeKay flipped to a 25 point deficit.

The good luck came during today’s race when VeeKay inherited the lead when leader David Malukas had to retire with mechanical issues only seven laps into the race.

“I was really happy,” said VeeKay regarding seeing Malukas pull over. “It was a free place that I got. I do feel very sorry for him because he had a great pace. He deserved to win. But, I’ll take my sixth win.”

It’s the fourth race win for a row for the 17-year-old and sixth of the season.

It the second straight podium for Megennis and his fourth of the season.

Rounding out the podium was the driver of the No. 3 Soul Red machine, Oliver Askew. It was the second podium in the last three races for the reigning USF2000 champion.

Much warmer temperatures and higher humidity met the baker’s dozen Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire pilots for their second race of the weekend. The air temperature was 76F, the track temperature was 94F and the humidity was 57%.

Andres Gutierrez, who was scheduled to start on the outside of the fifth row, was a scratch. The team told us that the Mexican driver should be back in action at the next event.

The front row of Malukas and VeeKay brought the field to the green flag. The No. 79 BN Racing machine of Malukas got a great jump and the field made it cleanly through Turn 1.

Thompson, who started behind VeeKay on the second row, was stuck on the outside of Carlos Cunha and Megennis through Turn 3. The Canadian dropped all four wheels at the exit of the turn and lost five spots, dropping back to tenth.

Cunha moved up to fourth but had an off-track excursion in Turn 4, driving through China Beach and knocking off his front wing. The Brazilian was forced to pit road for repairs.

At the end of the first lap, the running order was: Malukas, VeeKay, Megennis, Askew, Drugovich, Soler-Obel, Robb, Lastochkin, Thompson, Wright, de la Vera, Finelli, and Cunha.

On Lap 3, Thompson was able to gain two spots, getting by Lastochkin and Soler-Obel and moving up to seventh.

The field settled in for the next few laps when surprisingly, Malukas’ machine slowed going into Turn 4 and came to a stop in the grass on the outside of Turn 5 with a mechanical issue. The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to clear the BN Racing machine utilizing local yellow flags.

When the 16-year-old got out of the car he entertained the fan in the busy Turn 5 seating area.

After 10 of 25 laps, VeeKay had a 1.2 second lead over his teammate Megennis. Askew was a further four seconds adrift in the final podium spot. Drugovich, Robb, and Thompson were all within two seconds of the final step on the podium.

As the cross flags were shown, Megennis turned the fastest lap of the race and moved to within a second of his teammate for the lead.

Further back Drugovich was driving defensively to keep Robb and Thompson behind him, allowing Askew to pull away from the battle for fourth.

Over the course of the next three laps, Megennis pulled to within half a second of VeeKay, but on Lap 17 the Dutchman turned the fastest lap to pull out to almost a second lead.

On Lap 18, Drugovich, Robb and Thompson went three-wide into Turn 4. Thompson backed out of the low percentage move. Robb and Drugovich went side by side through Turn 4 and Turn 5 before the 16-year-old from Idaho was able to complete the pass.

As VeeKay crossed the flag 0.9 seconds ahead of Megennis to start Lap 19, the first and only full course caution of the race came out as the No. 1 Cunha came to a stop at the exit of the final turn. It appeared to be a mechanical issue and it only took a lap for the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team to get the car cleared.

When the field went back to green with four to go the running order was VeeKay, Megennis, Askew, Robb, Drugovich, Thompson, Soler-Obel, Lastochkin, de la Vera, Wright and Finelli.

VeeKay got through the first four corners with a comfortable margin over Megennis. Behind the Juncos Racing teammates, Robb tried an outside pass of Askew for the final spot on the podium. The No. 82 bright yellow machine of Robb got to the corner first but the front end washed out and Askew was able to hold him off.

With three laps remaining VeeKay had a half-second lead and when the white flag came out the gap had grown to 0.8 seconds.

Thompson was putting pressure on Drugovich for fifth, but couldn’t get by the RP Motorsport newcomer and had to settle for sixth.

Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race #2 Unofficial Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 2 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing 25 LAPS
2 9 Robert Megennis Juncos Racing 1.3635
3 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 2.7723
4 82 Sting Ray Robb Team Pelfrey 3.2129
5 10 Felipe Drugovich RP Motorsport Racing 4.2535
6 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 5.0116
7 27 Mathias Soler-Obel RP Motorsport Racing 5.9405
8 8 Nikita Lastochkin Cape Motorsports 7.1475
9 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 7.9360
10 78 Kris Wright BN Racing 10.0176
11 83 Charles Finelli Fatboy Racing – 1 LAPS
12 1 Carlos Cunha Juncos Racing -8 LAPS
13 79 David Malukas BN Racing -18 LAPS

The Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire will be back on track Aug. 24-25, 2018 at Gateway Motorsports Park for the second oval race of the season.

category: Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI Update #13 from Mid-Ohio – VeeKay goes wire to wire to extend his Pro Mazda points lead

Posted by  on Saturday, July 28th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

After two qualifying sessions and one race the answer the question we asked in our Pro Mazda preview about which driver, Parker Thompson or Rinus VeeKay, would be hot this weekend. The answer after Race #1 is VeeKay.

The 17-year-old won his fifth race of the season and third straight to take over the points lead from Thompson. The Juncos Racing rookie won the pole, led the most laps and turned the quickest lap in the race to score a maximum of 33 points and take a nine-point lead from Thompson.

Rinus VeeKay celebrates the Pro Mazda Race #1 win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

“The first half of the race, David got pretty close,” explained VeeKay after leading all 25 laps. “I had to adapt a bit because I didn’t want to be quick and hurt the tires and damage my chances in the second race. I got into a good rhythm and was able to push hard at the end of the race to get the quickest race lap as well, so I’m happy with my points from today. Leading the championship doesn’t change anything: every race I try to win and get everything out of the car and myself. I just have to focus as much as possible. But towards the end of the race, my spotter Charles Crews told me to bring it home which just reminded me not to push too hard. I’m really happy to get my third consecutive win.”

TSO Ladder was reminded that due to issues with the engines earlier in the season, each driver would be allowed to drop their lowest points scoring finish. With the drops, VeeKay has a 15 point lead.

ProMazda Race #2 got off to a clean start, with Rinus VeeKay and David Malukus running side by side across the start-finish line. But just behind them, the other green and white race cars from Juncos Racing (Robert Megennis and Carlos Cunha) were the first to pop out of line and start looking to make a move.

It was Robert Megennis that was best able to get something done and when they completed the first lap, the order up front was Veekay, Malukas, and then Robert Megennis, who jumped from his fifth starting spot to the third spot, dropping Parker Thompson to fourth.

On lap three, Thompson would lose another spot as Carlos Cunha fought by through Turns 4 and 5 before sealing the deal at Turn 6.

Malukas would initially drop back a little from VeeKay, but on Lap 6 he had closed the gap down to 0.5889. Megennis was almost 2 seconds further back as the lead duo had gotten clear.

By Lap 7, the order was VeeKay, Malukas, Megennis, Cunha, Thompson, Askew, Drugowich, Soler-Obel, Wright, Lastochkin, Gutierrez, Robb, de la Vara, and Finelli.

Malukas kept closing and the gap behind the leader was 0.5252 on Lap 8, about six car lengths down the front straight. The next time by though, it was 0.6145.

At halfway VeeKay’s slightly stretches his lead to 0.7019, with the rest of the Top 5 staying in order as Megennis, Cunha, and Thompson continued to give chase.

The running order at the halfway mark of the 25 lap race was: VeeKay by 0.9 seconds over Malukas, who had a 2.2 second lead over third place Megennis.

With ten laps remaining the top seven were all within 10 seconds of VeeKay. Megennis, Drugovich, Lastochkin had gained two spots from where they started, the biggest gainers. Thompson and Robb had each lost two places, the biggest losers.

With eight laps remaining VeeKay turned his quickest lap of the race to that point and the lead had grown to 1.7 seconds. Behind the pair out front, most gaps were steady with the best battle being between Kris Wright and Sting Ray Robb for ninth.

The 16-year-old Robb was able to make the pass on the BN Racing driver with two laps remaining.

VeeKay began the final lap with a 2.7-second lead. The closest pair on the track on that last lap was Cunha and Thompson, but the Brazilian was able to hold off the Canadian by just over a half-second as they crossed under the twin checkered flags.

VeeKay now has eight Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires wins from 26 races starts and 18 podiums. That equates to an incredible podium percentage of 69.2%.

Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race #1 Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 2 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing 25 LAPS
2 79 David Malukas BN Racing 2.8753
3 9 Robert Megennis Juncos Racing 4.1795
4 1 Carlos Cunha Juncos Racing 8.8756
5 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 9.4736
6 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 10.5738
7 10 Felipe Drugovich RP Motorsport Racing 13.2566
8 27 Mathias Soler-Obel RP Motorsport Racing 18.8568
9 82 Sting Ray Robb Team Pelfrey 29.0019
10 78 Kris Wright BN Racing 34.2774
11 8 Nikita Lastochkin Cape Motorsports 35.0174
12 81 Andres Gutierrez Team Pelfrey 37.0652
13 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 42.3389
14 83 Charles Finelli Fatboy Racing -2 LAPS
category: Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI Update #10 from Mid-Ohio – Saturday – Malukas sets track record on the way to his third Pro Mazda pole of the season

Posted by  on Saturday, July 28th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

David Malukas will start on the pole for a Pro Mazda race for the third time this season. Flipping the script from yesterday’s qualifying, it will be Rinus VeeKay that starts outside the young American.

Championship leader Parker Thompson will start on the outside of row two with Robert Megennis on his inside.

A total of nine drivers turned laps under the track record set in qualifying yesterday by VeeKay. All nine of those drivers were within a half-second of Malukas. The top ten drivers were all within one-second of Malukas.

During the first half of the qualifying session, it was Oliver Askew and David Malukas who held the provisional pole.

At the halfway mark it was David Malukas with a lap of 75.673 that was at the top of the timesheet. Megennis, Askew, Robb, Cunha, Drugovich, Soler-Obel, Thompson, VeeKay and Gutierrez were in the top ten.

The entire field came in for fresh Cooper Tire rubber and adjustments before heading out to try and improve their lap times.

With eight minutes left, Thompson was the first driver to improve. That time of 75.136 held for three minutes before Malukas jumped the Canadian.

Megennis was the first driver to make a run at the BN Racing rookie, falling only three-hundredths shy of the Chicago, Ill. native.

With just over two minutes remaining, Malukas upped the ante, turning a lap under 75 seconds.

Once again, the field came after the 16-year-old. But, the only driver that came close was VeeKay.

Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Unofficial Qualifying Race #2

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER QUICK LAP TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 79 David Malukas 1:14.858 BN Racing –.—-
2 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:14.939 Juncos Racing 0.0811
3 9 Robert Megennis 1:15.082 Juncos Racing 0.2240
4 90 Parker Thompson 1:15.136 Exclusive Autosport 0.2784
5 1 Carlos Cunha 1:15.174 Juncos Racing 0.3167
6 3 Oliver Askew 1:15.299 Cape Motorsports 0.4419
7 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:15.355 Team Pelfrey 0.4978
8 27 Mathias Soler-Obel 1:15.400 RP Motorsport Racing 0.5425
9 10 Felipe Drugovich 1:15.403 RP Motorsport Racing 0.5455
10 81 Andres Gutierrez 1:15.844 Team Pelfrey 0.9867
11 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:16.112 Cape Motorsports 1.2544
12 78 Kris Wright 1:16.183 BN Racing 1.3257
13 12 Moises de la Vara 1:16.500 DEForce Racing 1.6425
14 83 Charles Finelli 1:19.729 Fatboy Racing 4.8710

The first of two Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Grand Prix races of the weekend is scheduled to get the green flag at 4:10 PM this afternoon. Juncos Racing rookie Rinus VeeKay will start on the pole with David Malukas starting on the outside.

category: Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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