Archives for Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire – TSO

Previewing the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire Freedom 90 from Lucas Oil Raceway

Posted by  on Thursday, May 24th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

After the first six races of the year have turned both left and right, the Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tire series heads to just outside Indianapolis in Brownsburg, Ind. for the first of two oval race weekends of the year, at the 0.686-mile Lucas Oil Raceway.

This will provide an intriguing test for the 13 competitors on the second rung of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires ladder, with almost half the drivers set for their first oval starts.

Add in the added weight of points – 50 percent more are on offer this race than a standard road and street race – and the importance of having a good night in the Freedom 90 at the Carb Night Classic “Race Before the 500” stands out.

Don’t rest on your laurels

Points leader Parker Thompson is one of the few experienced oval shoes in the field at this track, having competed here twice in Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda competition in 2015 and 2016.

The Red Deer, Alberta, native started seventh and finished sixth for JDC Motorsports in 2015, then started on pole, led 61 laps and finished second in 2016 driving for Cape Motorsports. The latter event stung a bit as he’d carried the momentum into Lucas Oil Raceway following a run of three wins in the previous four races, but lost the edge to teammate Anthony Martin after getting balked in traffic.

Parker Thompson leads Cape Motorsports teammate Anthony Martin in the USF2000 oval race at Lucas Oil Raceway in 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Alas, Thompson is not one to look back at the past. Racing here now with Michael Duncalfe’s Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Exclusive Autosport team in a new car and in a new series is a far different animal compared to the USF2000 days, and Thompson knows it.

“It’s a completely new adventure. You have to start from square one,” Thompson told TSO Ladder. “The old Van Diemen around that track in USF2000 will handle a lot different than this beast of a Pro Mazda. I don’t want to take too much of my past knowledge into this race.

“Just like you see veteran IndyCar drivers struggle with new IndyCar, a lot of the older USF2000 Van Diemen drivers may struggle if they try to carry over those oval traits to the new car. I’ll start from square one with (engineer) Tim Lewis.”

Thompson enters the weekend with a 22-point gap to Rinus VeeKay of Juncos Racing, 30 to VeeKay’s teammate Carlos Cunha and 34 to RP Motorsport Racing rookie Harrison Scott.

A little bit of oval experience

Besides Thompson, two other drivers in the Pro Mazda field have past Lucas Oil Raceway experience in USF2000. Robert Megennis (2016, started fifth, finished sixth) and Nikita Lastochkin (2015, started 13th, finished 12th) each have a weekend here under their belts in USF2000, both with Team Pelfrey. The Juncos Racing and Cape Motorsports drivers will add to that this weekend.

Two of their teammates – Rinus VeeKay (Juncos) and Oliver Askew (Cape) – were second and first, respectively, last July at Iowa Speedway in USF2000. They’ll be progressing from the Tatuus USF-17 to Tatuus PM-18 chassis for this oval, rather than from the previous generation Van Diemen chassis in USF2000.

Carlos Cunha (Juncos) and Sting Ray Robb (Pelfrey) made their MRTI oval debuts at Gateway Motorsports Park last year with Pelfrey and World Speed, respectively. Cunha was third and Robb seventh in that Pro Mazda race.

Heading into the oval unknown

While Thompson for Exclusive, Robb for Pelfrey, the pair of Cape and trio of Juncos Racing drivers all have some oval experience, there’s a lot of learning for the remaining six drivers in the field.

BN Racing’s pair of David Malukas and Kris Wright are both new to the discipline. Malukas has shown a wealth of speed, but the team did not run at Iowa Speedway last year so he’ll be figuring out an oval for the first time. Wright’s wealth of experience in Pro Mazda and a number of sports car series isn’t transferable here.

For RP Motorsport Racing’s Harrison Scott and Lodovico Laurini, this is a whole new ballgame for the drivers and team.

Exclusive rookie Antonio Serravalle and FatBoy Racing! driver Charles Finelli completes the 13-car field. Pelfrey is down a car with Andres Gutierrez not entered this weekend. TSO understands Gutierrez should be back for the next weekend at Road America.

Past Lucas Oil Raceway history

After a year away, Pro Mazda and USF2000 are both back at Lucas Oil Raceway for this year’s race.

Qualifying is particularly important as each of the last six Pro Mazda races here has seen the polesitter go on to win.

The previous Pro Mazda race in 2016 only had one change for a position the whole race, as Garett Grist passed Juncos Racing teammate Nico Dapero for second place. Otherwise, from winner Pato O’Ward of Team Pelfrey down to eighth place Jake Eidson, the eight-car field finished where it started.

Current Indy Lights driver Patricio O’Ward celebrates a Pro Mazda victory at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Prior to that, Andretti Autosport was the team to beat. Weiron Tan (2015), Garett Grist (2014) and Matty Brabham (2013) all won from pole for the team. That came after Connor De Phillippi won back-to-back years from pole, first for Team Pelfrey in 2011 and for Juncos Racing in 2012.

It’s been since Conor Daly won for Juncos in 2010, after starting second, that someone other than the polesitter won this race. Daly and Brabham are the two Lucas Oil Raceway race winners who’ve later gone on to win the championship.

And about the extra points…

With only two oval weekends on the Pro Mazda schedule, Andersen Promotions has worked to strengthen their importance and reduce the chances of drivers not running the ovals by increasing the points. In previous years, the car count has tended to drop for the Lucas Oil Raceway event.

A win Friday will be worth 45 points rather than 30, second place 38 rather than 25, third place 33 rather than 22, and so on and so forth. Here is the oval points table, below.

OVALS

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

One additional point is awarded for pole position and most laps led

With a 13-car grid, there’s a net swing north of 30 points between first and last, so the points standings could be jumbled.

Points standings entering the weekend

Thompson and Exclusive Autosport made lemonades out of lemons at the INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend and with fifth and first place results which bolstered their point lead.

Here are the points going in:

1          Parker Thompson     150
2          Rinus VeeKay           128
3          Carlos Cunha             120
4          Harrison Scott            116
5          David Malukas           105
6          Oliver Askew              102
7          Sting Ray Robb          88
8          Andres Gutierrez       79
9          Nikita Lastochkin     74
10       Robert Megennis       69
11       Lodovico Laurini        63
12       Kris Wright                57
13       Antonio Serravalle    48
14       Charles Finelli            47
15       Rafael Martins           45
16       Kory Enders              21
17       James Raven              17

Schedule

Before on-track running on Thursday, the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires has an Oval Clinic with Indianapolis 500 participants Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kaiser and Sage Karam from 8:20 to 10, then three groups of 20 minutes each for Cooper meetings starting at 10:15 a.m. going to 12:05 p.m.

Thursday, May 24

TIME EVENT
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM Pro Mazda Testing #1 (Includes Rookie Observation)
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM Pro Mazda Testing #2 (Includes Rookie Observation)
7 PM – 8 PM Pro Mazda Practice

Friday, May 25

TIME EVENT
3:05 PM – 3:30 PM Pro Mazda Qualifying
7:05 PM – 7:50 PM Pro Mazda Race (Freedom 90)

Don’t miss any of the action:

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Saturday – MRTI Update #9 – IMS Road Course – Thompson on top of a frenetic Pro Mazda second race

Posted by  on Saturday, May 12th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

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Thompson on top of a frenetic Pro Mazda second race

Parker Thompson and Exclusive Autosport had a chaotic Friday that ended positively with a result that backed up the team’s effort, and a potentially huge weekend from a “big picture” standpoint at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

On Saturday, the racing gods delivered a dose of good karma to the “Eh Team,” and Thompson left with his second Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires win of the season as several of his championship contenders all took hits in the chaotic race.

It meant Thompson and RP Motorsport Racing’s Harrison Scott split the weekend victories here in the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America weekend. They did this at Barber too, but in reverse order. There, Thompson won race one and Scott won race two. Here, Scott won race one and Thompson has won race two.

The 25-lap race began as the third straight Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires session of the day, one for each series. The chaos started at the start.

Once the green flag flew, 12 of the 14 drivers made it through Turns 1 and 2 cleanly. Two of the three Juncos Racing drivers did not. Pro Mazda points leader Rinus VeeKay limped past the start/finish line having caught air and then landing on the front straight with damage to his nose and front wing assembly.

Turn 1 during the second Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America race over the weekend. Parker Thompson leads as the stricken Juncos Racing No. 2 of Rinus VeeKay sits along the inside pit wall just past the start/finish line. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The Dutch driver started in fifth behind David Malukas and Robert Megennis. Apparent contact occurred between VeeKay and Megennis, while VeeKay rode over the back of Malukas’ car, which left him stranded. Megennis, meanwhile, only made it to Turn 2 before getting stuck in the gravel trap. That brought out a full-course caution. Thompson, who started sixth, backed out as he watched the incident unfold in front of him.

On Lap 5, the one remaining Juncos contender in Carlos Cunha passed polesitter Oliver Askew of Cape Motorsports for the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Askew’s race, however, went from bad to worse as he was assessed a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact.

On Lap 10 the order was Cunha, Thompson, Scott, Gutierrez, Robb, Wright, Serravalle, Lastochkin, Malukas and Finelli in the top 10 with Askew in 11th and Megennis, back running after his off course moment on the opening lap, a lapped 12th.

Scott’s day ended on Lap 11 as he slowed going down the front straight. He had been second, and fell to third as he barely passed the start/finish line under power. He retired and was classified 12th, putting a dent in his championship hopes.

At Lap 12 with Scott out, the new order was Cunha, Thompson, Gutierrez, Robb and Wright in the top five ahead of Serravalle, Lastochkin, Malukas and Finelli. Serravalle fell out of contention a lap later, going off course.

With 10 laps to go on Lap 15, the top four remained the same while Malukas and Askew made it up to fifth and sixth ahead of Wright and Lastochkin.

Thompson however was quickly closing the gap on Cunha and working to position himself for a pass attempt. He trailed by only 0.2424 of a second at the end of Lap 16.

The race complexion all changed a lap later. Thompson goes to Cunha’s inside on Lap 17, a lap after he’d set the fastest lap of the race. It puts the Canadian into the lead and denies the Brazilian the top spot after he’d led for 12 laps, once he took over from Askew on Lap 5.

At Lap 18 the order was Thompson, Cunha, Gutierrez, Robb, Askew, Finelli and Wright on the lead lap. Lastochkin pitted multiple times, Megennis was still stuck a lap down in-between the Pelfrey teammates, while all of Malukas, Serravalle, Scott, Laurini and VeeKay were out.

On Lap 21, Askew tried by Robb for fourth at Turn 7 but was unable to get past the Idaho native. Gutierrez, Robb and Askew are covered by just 1.3 seconds in the battle for the final podium position, and stuck behind the lapped Megennis.

With three to go, Thompson’s lead over Cunha is 2.7143 seconds. Finelli had been sixth, but lost the spot to Wright on Lap 22. Alas, it’s a top-seven and top-half of the field finish, for the FatBoy Racing! driver out of New York.

Thompson has a 2.3607 lead over Cunha on the final lap, while now just 0.5 of a second covers Gutierrez, Robb and Askew.

It’s checkered flag for Thompson by 1.8885 seconds over Cunha, but it’s the battle for third that writes a new chapter on the final lap.

Parker Thompson celebrates his Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The Canadian has now won at “The Brickyard” in USF2000 and Pro Mazda. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Both Robb and Askew make it past the luckless Gutierrez on the final lap, with the Idaho driver scoring his first career Pro Mazda podium, and Askew able to make something out of his day in fourth. Gutierrez scores his second top-five finish of the year but not in the spot he wanted.

Wright and Finelli finish on the lead lap in sixth and seventh, albeit a fair distance behind the top five. Megennis ends a lapped eighth and Lastochkin returned to the track to finish ninth, five laps down.

VeeKay and Scott’s demises opened up a huge opportunity for Thompson in the championship picture. Unofficially, he now leads with 133 points, while VeeKay is second on 121, with Cunha and Scott third and fourth at 109 and 107, respectively.

Next up for the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires series is a trip to Lucas Oil Raceway, one of two oval races on the calendar, on Friday, May 25.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires – Race #2 Unofficial Results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 90 Parker Thompson 25
2 1 Carlos Cunha 25 1.8885
3 82 Sting Ray Robb 25 9.3337
4 3 Oliver Askew 25 10.4064
5 81 Andres Gutierrez 25 13.0444
6 78 Kris Wright 25 44.7979
7 83 Charles Finelli 25 52.2524
8 9 Robert Megennis 24 1 LAPS
9 8 Nikita Lastochkin 20 5 LAPS
10 79 David Malukas 16 Off Course
11 91 Antonio Serravalle 12 Off Course
12 10 Harrison Scott 11 Mechanical
13 27 Lodovico Laurini 8 Off Course
14 2 Rinus VeeKay — Off Course

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After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

Don’t miss any of the action:

category: Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Friday – MRTI Update #6 – IMS Road Course – Scott beats Askew, VeeKay in chaotic Pro Mazda race one

Posted by  on Friday, May 11th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

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Scott beats Askew, VeeKay in chaotic first race

The third and final Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires race of Friday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course nearly had as many twists and turns as the 14-turn, 2.439-mile track itself.

When all was said and done, Harrison Scott secured his second straight victory in Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires competition driving for RP Motorsport Racing, after a chaotic race where he started third and ultimately got past for the final time with 10 laps to go. Today’s 25-lap race marked Round 5 of the Pro Mazda season and the first of two races in the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America.

Polesitter Oliver Askew of Cape Motorsports lost the lead on the opening lap and wound up needing to rebound from an off course excursion.

Meanwhile what looked like Rinus VeeKay’s third win of the year went away when he lost the lead prior to the second full-course caution of the race.

Askew went into the grass in Turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap and dropped from the lead down to seventh. This opened the door for VeeKay, who’d started second, to move to the lead.

At the end of the first lap, VeeKay held the lead over Juncos Racing teammate Carlos Cunha, who’d advanced from sixth to second. Scott was third, with David Malukas fourth for BN Racing and Robert Megennis fifth in another Juncos entry.

Megennis had a mechanical issue that took him out of the race on Lap 6, and brought out the first full course caution.

The race restarted shortly afterwards and Malukas passed into the lead on Lap 8.

The pass for the lead was “too” good though. On Lap 10, Malukas was assessed a drive-through penalty for exceeding track limits to advance to the lead. This took him back from the lead to 11th place, and promoted VeeKay back to the lead.

The order on the aforementioned Lap 10 was VeeKay, Scott, Askew, who’d since recovered from his opening lap, Thompson fourth and Cunha fifth.

Scott began closing the gap to VeeKay and got within 0.3697 of a second by Lap 14.

The Englishman seized the opportunity by going around the outside of VeeKay into Turn 1 and completed the takeover for the lead by the end of Lap 16.

A full-course caution flew when Andres Gutierrez suffered an engine expiration coming down the front straight, and the driver of the No. 81 Team Pelfrey car parked on driver’s right on the inside.

That put the race under yellow for four laps.

Following the restart, Askew got past VeeKay for second. Meanwhile Thompson, who’d had a chaotic day of his own with an engine expiration in the morning session and then a rapid engine change conducted by the Exclusive Autosport crew, then lost his engine cover down the front straight. A track worker cleared the debris, and Thompson was good to go to the finish.

On Lap 22, Scott led by just 0.2969 of a second from Askew. Scott feared that by being the leader on the restart he would be vulnerable to pressure, but was able to withstand the challenge.

Scott held on to take the victory by 0.3834 of a second over Askew, with VeeKay back on the podium in third after missing the podium both races at Barber Motorsports Park.

Cunha and Thompson completed the top five.

Heading into tomorrow’s second race of the weekend, it’s a really tight bunch at the top of the standings. VeeKay has 104 points, Thompson 102 and Scott 98.

Pro Mazda’s second race of the weekend goes green at 10:10 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires – Race #1 Unofficial Results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 10 Harrison Scott 25
2 3 Oliver Askew 25 0.3834
3 2 Rinus VeeKay 25 1.2131
4 1 Carlos Cunha 25 1.5950
5 90 Parker Thompson 25 5.5901
6 8 Nikita Lastochkin 25 5.8200
7 79 David Malukas 25 8.0969
8 27 Lodovico Laurini 25 9.2481
9 91 Antonio Serravalle 25 11.6602
10 78 Kris Wright 25 12.3378
11 83 Charles Finelli 25 18.9003
12 81 Andres Gutierrez 13 Mechanical
13 82 Sting Ray Robb 3 Contact
14 9 Robert Megennis 2 Mechanical

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After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

Don’t miss any of the action:

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Friday – MRTI Update #2 – IMS Road Course – USF2000 and Pro Mazda first qualifying results

Posted by  on Friday, May 11th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

Friday’s sessions from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are underway. This is a busy day for the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires, as there are eight on-track sessions – five qualifying sessions, and three races.

For a reminder, here is the schedule:

Friday, May 11th

TIME EVENT
7:30 AM Public Gates Open
8:05 AM – 8:25 AM USF2000 Qualifying #1
8:40 AM – 9 AM Pro Mazda Qualifying #1
9:15 AM – 10 AM IndyCar Practice #1
10 AM – 10:30 AM USF2000 Autograph Session (Fan Village)
10:20 AM – 10:50 AM Indy Lights Qualifying #1
11 AM – 11:45 AM IndyCar Autograph Session (Fan Village)
11:10 AM – 11:30 AM USF2000 Qualifying #2
11:50 AM – 12:10 PM Pro Mazda Qualifying #2
NOON – 12:25 PM Indy Lights Autograph Session (Fan Village)
12:30 PM – 1:15 PM IndyCar Practice #2
1 PM – 1:25 PM Pro Mazda Autograph Session (Fan Village)
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Indy Lights Race #1
2:45 PM – 3:20 PM USF2000 Race #1
3:35 PM – 4:15 PM Pro Mazda Race #1
4:30 PM – 5:45 PM IndyCar Qualifying
7:30 PM Public Gates Close

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Kirkwood grabs pole for USF2000 first race

Cape Motorsports has a six-race winning streak in Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda competition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

And they’ll enter today’s first race of the weekend in the best possible position to make it lucky number seven, courtesy of driver No. 8.

Kyle Kirkwood is on the pole for today’s first race of the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America, courtesy of a best lap of 1:24.7694 in his Tatuus USF-17 Mazda around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course. He was just shy of the qualifying record, set last year, 1:24.6831 by last year’s series champion Oliver Askew.

Showing the longevity, life and pace of the Cooper Tires, Kirkwood set his best lap on his ninth lap of the session, as all of the top three drivers did.

Kirkwood will share the front row with Alex Baron in the No. 19 Swan-RJB Motorsports car, which means the two winners from the St. Petersburg weekend and two of the top four drivers in points will be at the front of the field later today. Baron was just 0.014 of a second off the pole.

Rasmus Lindh was best of the four Pabst Racing entries, with the young Swede clocking in third in his No. 23 car, and only 0.02 of a second off.

DEForce Racing’s Jose Sierra and Kaylen Frederick, in another Pabst car, completed the top five runners.

All of the top 15 runners in qualifying, from eight teams, were within 0.9442 of a second, showcasing the competitiveness and depth of the field.

The first race of the weekend is at 2:45 p.m. ET.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – First Qualifying Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 8 Kyle Kirkwood 1:24.769 –.—- 11
2 19 Alex Baron 1:24.783 0.0140 11
3 23 Rasmus Lindh 1:24.790 0.0204 11
4 12 Jose Sierra 1:24.861 0.0914 11
5 24 Kaylen Frederick 1:24.929 0.1598 11
6 21 Calvin Ming 1:24.983 0.2140 12
7 28 Jamie Caroline 1:25.308 0.5391 11
8 11 Kory Enders 1:25.370 0.6005 12
9 22 Lucas Kohl 1:25.387 0.6176 11
10 80 Julian Van der Watt 1:25.395 0.6261 11
11 36 Darren Keane 1:25.510 0.7408 9
12 91 Igor Fraga 1:25.547 0.7775 11
13 10 Zach Holden 1:25.659 0.8892 11
14 81 Kyle Dupell 1:25.684 0.9146 11
15 20 James Roe 1:25.714 0.9442 12
16 27 Colin Kaminsky 1:25.811 1.0412 11
17 5 Mathias Soler-Obel 1:25.826 1.0566 11
18 30 Keith Donegan 1:25.908 1.1387 12
19 51 Michael d’Orlando 1:26.018 1.2485 9
20 90 Manuel Cabrera 1:26.035 1.2655 12
21 37 David Osborne 1:26.112 1.3421 12
22 14 Max Peichel 1:26.400 1.6307 13
23 29 Russell McDonough 1:26.554 1.7844 12
24 82 Bruna Tomaselli 1:26.563 1.7938 10
25 38 Oscar DeLuzuriaga 1:26.600 1.8302 12
26 31 Sabre Cook 1:26.827 2.0575 13

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Askew makes it a Cape pole sweep on Friday morning

Oliver Askew of Cape Motorsports has scored the pole for the first two Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. As expected, the new Tatuus PM-18 Mazda smashed the previous track record at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn track.

With testing times in the 1:19.8 bracket here last October, and the previous track record a 1:22.8800 by Patricio “Pato” O’Ward in 2016, today’s first qualifying was always going to see a new mark established. The question was who would do it.

Askew had an initial edge on Juncos Racing’s Rinus VeeKay by just 0.0165 of a second, thanks to a best lap of 1:19.5937. But as the session wound down, Askew went even quicker, to a best time of 1:19.3319. That time is 3.5481 seconds faster than O’Ward’s previous mark.

VeeKay looked set to qualify directly alongside his 2017 USF2000 title rival, before David Malukas pipped him right at the end of the session. Driving the No. 79 BN Racing entry, his best time was 1:19.4643. Malukas stayed out one lap past the checkered flag, though, which triggers a penalty of a loss of his fastest lap.

The remainder of the top eight qualifiers, which also included Harrison Scott (RP Motorsport Racing), Robert Megennis and Carlos Cunha (Juncos), Andres Gutierrez and Sting Ray Robb (Team Pelfrey) also dipped into the 1:19 bracket. However, both Pelfrey cars required a tow-in at the end of the session from the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team. The top 10 drivers were within 0.9309 of a second.

One driver who didn’t crack the 1:19 bracket was points leader Parker Thompson of Exclusive Autosport. The Canadian completed only two laps in the session with what sounded like a very off song engine on his second lap. He is listed 11th on the grid with a best time of 1:20.5385.

Askew and VeeKay, two Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship protagonists of a year ago haven’t yet been able to duel for Pro Mazda wins like they did in USF2000, but they have an excellent opportunity to do so today.

Askew has a winning streak to extend today, as he won both USF2000 races here last year. A win here would be his first in Pro Mazda, and would come on a weekend that is very important to him and his family – the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America event.

VeeKay, meanwhile, swept the St. Petersburg weekend to kick off the season. The Dutch driver has a rather remarkable streak of finishing no worse than where he started in 18 straight races. The Barber Motorsports Park weekend marked his first in his Mazda Road to Indy career where he did not score at least one podium finish in one of the two races. He’ll look to keep his first streak going and restart his podium run later this afternoon.

The first of two Pro Mazda races goes green at 3:35 p.m. ET and local time.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires – First Qualifying Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 3 Oliver Askew 1:19.332 –.—- 12
2 79 David Malukas 1:19.464 0.1324 11
3 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:19.559 0.2269 10
4 10 Harrison Scott 1:19.590 0.2583 12
5 9 Robert Megennis 1:19.591 0.2590 11
6 1 Carlos Cunha 1:19.712 0.3800 11
7 81 Andres Gutierrez 1:19.839 0.5068 12
8 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:19.990 0.6580 11
9 27 Lodovico Laurini 1:20.254 0.9218 12
10 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:20.263 0.9309 12
11 90 Parker Thompson 1:20.538 1.2066 2
12 78 Kris Wright 1:20.562 1.2303 11
13 91 Antonio Serravalle 1:21.578 2.2461 12
14 83 Charles Finelli 1:23.072 3.7405 13

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A stuck, then unstuck spud

One quick Pro Mazda note we have to peel away from our notebook and share with our readers (please forgive the potato puns).

Team Pelfrey’s Sting Ray Robb is from Idaho, and at every event is supported by The Famous Idaho Potato Tour. The giant potato is on a flatbed of a truck.

It turns out, getting the potato truck through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tunnel and into the facility is not an easy task.

Fellow Idaho native Davey Hamilton Jr., who will make his Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires oval debut with Team Pelfrey in the Freedom 100 later this month, posted this rather hilarious outtake of the truck trying to make it through the tunnel.

From Davey Hamilton Jr.’s Instagram Story, here is The Famous Idaho Potato Tour truck attempting to get through the IMS tunnel.

We are happy and pleased to report on Friday morning the truck is in the facility, and set up at the midway.

The Famous Idaho Potato Tour truck is in the Speedway. (TSO Photo by Tony DiZinno)

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After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

Don’t miss any of the action:

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, USF2000 News/Results
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Thursday – MRTI Update #1 – USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights – first practice sessions, and some additional notes

Posted by  on Thursday, May 10th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

Good evening, and welcome to TSO Ladder presented by Cooper Tires’ coverage of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

All three series, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, are in action together for the first time since the St. Petersburg weekend back in March. Indy Lights and Pro Mazda both completed a pair of races at Barber Motorsports Park last month, but it’s been a long stretch since the drivers and teams of the USF2000 series have been in action.

All three series race under the same race name this weekend, the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America. You can find more information on that at the bottom of this and all other TSO Ladder posts this weekend; it is a good cause.

In case you missed Steve’s comprehensive race weekend previews, they are linked here:

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Here’s some quick paddock notes before the first official practice session. There have been some car count adjustments, with only seven Indy Lights cars, 14 Pro Mazda cars (more on both of these items below) and 26 USF2000 cars entered.

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Victor’s solo act… again

It would be fair to say Victor Franzoni was not expecting to be the only Indy Lights driver at Juncos Racing this weekend, in the wake of Alfonso Celis Jr. announcing his step up to the Verizon IndyCar Series starting at Road America. Celis made his Indy Lights debut at Barber Motorsports Park.

That being said, the Mazda Motorsports scholarship driver is still focused on this weekend in Indianapolis. Franzoni kickstarted his Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires championship charge at this race weekend last year, which came after a successful test at the Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy test the previous fall.

Franzoni is hoping for a similar result this go-around in his first Indy Lights weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The ambient and track temperatures will be significantly higher in May than they were in October, and Franzoni told TSO Ladder that he hope that doesn’t significantly affect the balance of what was a really good car at the October test.

Juncos Racing won the second race of last year’s Indianapolis road course weekend with eventual champion Kyle Kaiser, who like Franzoni, used this weekend as the jump-off point to his title run.

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DEForce is strong at two venues

DEForce Racing stretches its team and resources across two places this weekend, with four USF2000 cars here at IMS and a single car for James Raven at the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda weekend at Road Atlanta.

The DEForce team expects Raven, who competed in Pro Mazda at the season opener at St. Petersburg, to focus on F4 for the rest of the year.

It remains to be seen whether DEForce’s Pro Mazda car will return this year, as after Raven was in the car at St. Petersburg, Kory Enders made his series debut at Barber Motorsports Park last month. Enders competes full-time in USF2000.

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Pelfrey down a car for the weekend

Unfortunately, Team Pelfrey will not have Rafael “Rafa” Martins in his No. 80 car for the rest of the weekend, although he was entered. A testing incident earlier this week at Putnam Park has sidelined the young Brazilian driver for the Indianapolis road course event.

Team Pelfrey and Martins will work together to restart their program after this weekend. Martins has a best finish of sixth place through four races.

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USF2000: Tight field in testing

It may only be testing, but the level of depth and tight times in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda was incredible to witness on Thursday.

Here’s an illustration from two drivers in the field, one series rookie and one series sophomore, of that point.

Swedish driver Rasmus Lindh of Pabst Racing tested here for Team BENIK in October at the Griffis test. He was seventh in the morning and third in the afternoon, just 0.0892 of a second off the fastest time of 1:25.902 set by Kyle Kirkwood.

“We were good in the morning and better in the afternoon,” Lindh told TSO Ladder, noting how small changes can make a big difference.

DEForce Racing’s Colin Kaminsky of Homer Glen, Ill., who ran here under the John Cummiskey Racing team operations last year, thought he was closer to the front than he otherwise was in the second session.

“So Peter (Dempsey) comes on the radio and says, ‘You’re half a second off,’” Kaminsky told TSO Ladder. “I’m thinking, ‘That’s great! Where are we at?’ And Peter says, ‘We’re 13th.’ That shows how deep this field is!”

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Frederick’s new driver coach

Another Pabst USF2000 driver, Kaylen Frederick, has a new driver coach this weekend. Meyer Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Verizon IndyCar Series driver Jack Harvey is assisting Frederick here at the IMS road course. Harvey’s No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda isn’t in the INDYCAR Grand Prix road course race but will be active next week in preparation for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil.

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Thursday marked the first day of running, with each series having two test sessions before first official practice late in the afternoon.

USF2000 was up first, and as Cape Motorsports goes for its seventh straight victory here at the IMS road course, its single driver Kyle Kirkwood was top of the charts all day.

The driver of the No. 8 Tatuus USF-17 Mazda was fastest in the first test at 1:26.010, and in the afternoon went slightly quicker at 1:25.902.

In the heat of the afternoon’s first and only official 30-minute practice, Kirkwood stayed on top at 1:25.969, and was the only driver in that bracket this session.

Pabst Racing has all four of its cars in hot pursuit. Lucas Kohl, Rasmus Lindh, Calvin Ming and Kaylen Frederick were second, third, fourth and sixth, all within 0.4765 of a second of Kirkwood.

The lone interloper in the Cape and Pabst top-six was Darren Keane of Newman Wachs Racing, who was fifth. Keane tested well here at the Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test in October. This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Keane’s debut in the USF2000 series, which was done with Team BENIK. He shifted to Newman Wachs Racing starting last June at Road America.

St. Petersburg race two winner Alex Baron was seventh for Swan-RJB Motorsports, ahead of Jamie Caroline (BN Racing), Julian van der Watt (Team Pelfrey) and Igor Fraga (Exclusive Autosport).

James Roe, the Irish driver, was 12th in his first official session with Swan-RJB, 0.647 of a second off the fastest time. The other series debutante – Max Peichel of ArmsUp Motorsports – was 22nd.

Times are below. Qualifying for race one is tomorrow morning at 8:05 a.m. ET and local time.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – First Practice Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 8 Kyle Kirkwood 1:25.969 –.—- 17
2 22 Lucas Kohl 1:26.203 0.2343 17
3 23 Rasmus Lindh 1:26.290 0.3213 18
4 21 Calvin Ming 1:26.373 0.4040 17
5 36 Darren Keane 1:26.400 0.4306 17
6 24 Kaylen Frederick 1:26.445 0.4765 17
7 28 Jamie Caroline 1:26.481 0.5118 14
8 19 Alex Baron 1:26.506 0.5368 15
9 80 Julian Van der Watt 1:26.526 0.5568 17
10 91 Igor Fraga 1:26.546 0.5774 17
11 12 Jose Sierra 1:26.592 0.6226 16
12 20 James Roe 1:26.643 0.6740 18
13 11 Kory Enders 1:26.654 0.6852 17
14 51 Michael d’Orlando 1:26.738 0.7689 15
15 10 Zach Holden 1:26.800 0.8310 10
16 81 Kyle Dupell 1:26.839 0.8703 15
17 82 Bruna Tomaselli 1:26.923 0.9541 16
18 30 Keith Donegan 1:26.944 0.9750 17
19 27 Colin Kaminsky 1:27.130 1.1610 11
20 37 David Osborne 1:27.294 1.3248 18
21 90 Manuel Cabrera 1:27.333 1.3640 19
22 14 Max Peichel 1:27.497 1.5284 16
23 5 Mathias Soler-Obel 1:27.517 1.5478 14
24 31 Sabre Cook 1:27.786 1.8174 16
25 29 Russell McDonough 1:27.990 2.0212 17
26 38 Oscar DeLuzuriaga 1:28.305 2.3365 19

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A changing track and changing running order told the story of the day in Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires on-track activity.

While Carlos Cunha and David Malukas led the morning and afternoon test sessions, it was Oliver Askew of Cape Motorsports that ended fastest in the 30-minute official practice session held late Thursday afternoon.

Askew’s best time of 1:20.899 in the No. 3 Tatuus PM-18 Mazda was several tenths off the best times from the morning and afternoon. Cunha took his No. 1 Juncos Racing car to 1:20.286 in the morning, with Malukas in his No. 79 BN Racing car at 1:20.303 in the afternoon.

Behind Askew, points leader Parker Thompson was second in his No. 90 Exclusive Autosport car, at 1:20.924. Malukas was third, with Sting Ray Robb (Team Pelfrey) and Robert Megennis (Juncos Racing) making it five different teams in the top five.

Two issues occurred within the final five minutes of the 30-minute practice session.

A red flag flew for Thompson’s teammate, Antonio Serravalle, going off course at Turn 1.

Megennis’ car meanwhile was brought back to the paddock on a flatbed after a suspension issue going through Turn 13. Having hit the curbs the wrong way, Megennis’ sustained damage to the left rear wishbone and needed to get picked up and towed in.

Pro Mazda qualifies for its first race of the weekend starting at 8:40 a.m. ET and local time on Friday.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires – First Practice Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 3 Oliver Askew 1:20.899 –.—- 14
2 90 Parker Thompson 1:20.924 0.0252 17
3 79 David Malukas 1:21.063 0.1640 7
4 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:21.079 0.1799 16
5 9 Robert Megennis 1:21.104 0.2050 15
6 1 Carlos Cunha 1:21.111 0.2122 15
7 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:21.157 0.2579 17
8 10 Harrison Scott 1:21.178 0.2797 15
9 81 Andres Gutierrez 1:21.209 0.3106 13
10 27 Lodovico Laurini 1:21.684 0.7853 15
11 78 Kris Wright 1:21.803 0.9045 15
12 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:21.862 0.9633 14
13 91 Antonio Serravalle 1:22.434 1.5349 10
14 83 Charles Finelli 1:23.660 2.7610 18

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In the inter-team battle shaping up at Andretti Autosport, Colton Herta led the first official 45-minute practice late Thursday afternoon over teammate Patricio “Pato” O’Ward.

Herta, in the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Dallara IL-15 Mazda, posted a best time of 1:16.603, which was just ahead of O’Ward’s time in the No. 27 car at 1:16.641.

Belardi Auto Racing teammates Aaron Telitz and Santi Urrutia were third and fourth.

Dalton Kellett, Ryan Norman and Victor Franzoni were next.

Qualifying for race one is at 10:20 a.m. ET on Friday.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – First Practice Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 98 Colton Herta 1:16.603 –.—- 18
2 27 Pato O’Ward 1:16.641 0.0383 12
3 9 Aaron Telitz 1:16.789 0.1857 20
4 5 Santi Urrutia 1:16.910 0.3075 22
5 28 Dalton Kellett 1:16.988 0.3855 21
6 48 Ryan Norman 1:17.000 0.3969 22
7 23 Victor Franzoni 1:17.028 0.4248 22

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After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

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Previewing the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire doubleheader on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

Posted by  on Thursday, May 10th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

With three different winners and the top-five drivers in the chase for the Mazda Motorsports scholarship only separated by 27 points. The first season of Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire action with the brand new Tatuus built, Mazda powered PM-18 has had a thrilling start.

Parker Thompson, a top-three championship finisher in the last two Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda seasons comes to Central Indiana and the “Month of May” with a slim four-point lead over fellow Pro Mazda rookie Rinus VeeKay.

The 20-year-old Canadian and his all-Canadian Exclusive Autosport team will be looking to continue on the momentum they built at Barber Motorsports Park. They had one win, two poles, a pair of podiums and one quickest lap of the race.

“In complete honesty, leading the championship right now at this stage doesn’t mean much to the team or me,” said the Albertan. “We’re focused on racing for wins, and the points will come secondary. What satisfies me the most is that a team on the Mazda Road to Indy gave me a shot in Pro Mazda, and I returned the favor with a solid performance in Barber. That’s a special feeling when someone puts their faith in your abilities, and you go out and prove that they made the right decision. I’ll be looking to carry that confidence through the rest of the season.

“I can’t wait to step foot on the ground of the greatest spectacle in racing,” he continues. “Indy has treated me well in the past, with a win in USF2000. On top of that, we had a very successful Chris Griffis test here last October, so I think we’re looking pretty good for the weekend.”

Thompson, who will be making his 50th Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires start in Friday’s first Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America Pro Mazda race of the weekend, has made six previous starts on the 2.439-mile, 17-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and has one win, one pole, two podiums and four top 10 finishes.

After winning both races in the season-opening event in St. Petersburg, Fla., VeeKay struggled for pace in qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park but was able to salvage top-five finishes in both races.

The 17-year-old currently has an amazing streak of 18 straight Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires starts where he has finished no worse than where he qualified. An incredible show of race-craft.

The native of Hoofddorp, Netherlands has 14 podiums in his 18 Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires starts, but his worst career finish across USF2000 and Pro Mazda came on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course when he finished sixth in the first race of the weekend.

BN Racing rookie David Malukas is still looking for his first Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires win, but a pair of podiums and two other solid finishes have put the 16-year-old in a great spot heading to the track where he made his Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires debut last year.

“We had a great test at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test back in October of last year,” adds Malukas. “I love the Indy track, and it really suits my driving style. The BN Racing car has been on point this year and I believe that this coming weekend I will be able to fight for the win.”

The winner of Sunday’s Pro Mazda race at Barber Motorsports Park shook off a rocky start in the season-opening event and matched Thompson with one win and one-second place.

The 22-year-old, who won the 2017 Euroformula Open Championship, along with team RP Motorsport are only going to get better as they learn the ins-and-outs of racing in “The States.”

Juncos Racing teammates Carlos Cunha (5th in points) and Robert Megennis (9th in points) have three podium finishes between them and have shown similar pace as teammate VeeKay, but need to make sure they finish races to move up the championship table.

Perhaps two of the most prominent surprises so far this year currently reside in sixth and seventh place.

Team Pelfrey sophomore Sting Ray Robb was one of the quickest drivers in pre-season testing, and has had decent pace during the races, but needs to improve his qualifying to jump onto the podium in the deep field.

Askew, the reigning Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda champion began the 2018 season on pole, and it appeared that he was going to attempt to repeat the dominant start he had in 2017. However, the 21-year-old pilot has not yet stood on the podium in the first four races and finds himself in an unfamiliar position.

“It’s no secret that we haven’t had the same blinding start to this season as we did last year, but there is still no reason why we can’t make the comeback and sweep the IMS Grand Prix this year as we did last year in USF2000,” said the Jupiter, Fla. resident. “It is one of my favorite tracks in the world and my team, Cape Motorsports, and I know exactly what we need out of the car to compete at the front. All we can do is focus on ourselves and continue to work hard. I believe I have the best people working around me to be successful, so it’s just a matter of putting everything together.”

Andres Gutierrez, who was devastated after throwing away a sure victory in Sunday’s wet Pro Mazda race at Barber Motorsports Park (make sure you read this excellent interview on the Motorsports Tribune site with the young Mexican https://motorsportstribune.com/andres-gutierrez-devastated-after-lost-victory-in-barber/), will have the opportunity make amends at a track he is not seeing for the first time. The 17 year-old cousin of Indy Lights driver Patricio O’Ward was the quickest USF2000 driver at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test last October.

Askew’s Cape Motorsports teammate Nikia Lastochkin will look to move up the championship table at a track he has run well on before. The Russian has finished inside the top eight on four different occasions.

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire point standings headed into the three race “Month of May”

Rank Driver TOTAL
1 Parker Thompson 102
2 Rinus VeeKay 98
3 David Malukas 79
4 Harrison Scott 77
5 Carlos Cunha 75
6 Sting Ray Robb 58
7 Oliver Askew 56
8 Andres Gutierrez 53
9 Robert Megennis 49
10 Nikia Lastochkin 47
11 Rafa Martins 45
12 Lodovico Laurini 42
13 Kris Wright 31
14 Antonio Serravalle 29
15 Charles Finelli 25
16 Kory Enders 21
17 James Raven 17

Seeing Purple

For the second straight year, Royal Purple will team up with the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires to raise money and awareness about lupus.

The difficult to diagnose chronic autoimmune disease has no cure, and the silent illness impacts the daily lives of 1.5 Million Americans, including some people close to the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock.

“My mom has lupus, and it really does impact your life,” said Pro Mazda driver Oliver Askew. “Not many people understand the disease so to use racing to raise awareness by having the Lupus Foundation of America as part of the INDYCAR GP weekend is so important. I’ll be doing my part to help spread the word. Last year was the first year that Royal Purple joined with the Foundation for this weekend to promote what they do and we saw a huge involvement, so if we can build on that and keep spreading the word about this disease, it will really help us fight it.”

Belardi Auto Racing, spearheaded by team owner Brian Belardi and team manager John Brunner, has been a staunch supporter of the Lupus Foundation of America for some years.

“It’s awesome to be able to bring the awareness of lupus to racing,” explained Brunner. “That’s how I got involved. The daughter of a friend in racing, Dave Hunt, was diagnosed and I had no idea what it was. From that moment on, I tried to educate myself. Brian (Belardi) has a connection as well, and we ran a decal for the Lupus Foundation of America on our cars years ago. To see the relationship between Royal Purple and the Lupus Foundation of America last year was great and we look forward to continuing that and growing.

“We raised over $6,000 last year, and I think we can double that this year. Our hope is that this brings awareness and needed funds – it’s a mystery disease, but it’s amazing how many friends I have who have a personal connection, with family members or friends who have been diagnosed with this disease. We’re proud to do what we can to help.”

Watch for all of the entries across the three series to have this special on the nose of their race cars this weekend.

You can show your support by using the #RaceToEndLupus hashtag this weekend, or better yet you can donate at this special page on the Lupus Foundation of America website.

 

Previous winners

The same driver has won both races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course the three times the event has included a pair of races. In 2015, the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course played host to three races, which were won by three different drivers.

Juncos Racing and Team Pelfrey are the winningest teams, with three wins apiece and Cape Motorsports trails them by a single victory.

Pro Mazda race winners on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

Year Driver Team
2017 Race #2 Victor Franzoni Juncos Racing
2017 Race #1 Victor Franzoni Juncos Racing
2016 Race #2 Pato O’Ward Team Pelfrey
2016 Race #1 Pato O’Ward Team Pelfrey
2015 Race #3 Santiago Urrutia Team Pelfrey
2015 Race #2 Timothe Buret Juncos Racing
2015 Race #1 Weiron Tan Andretti Autosport
2014 – Race #2 Scott Hargrove Cape Motorsports with /WTR
2014 – Race #1 Scott Hargrove Cape Motorsports with /WTR

Current Indy Lights driver Santi Urrutia celebrates a Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire win at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Pole sitters.

In each of the last seven races at this event, the pole sitter has gone on to end up in victory circle, and in nine races the winner has not started worse than second.

With passing prevalent in USF2000 and Indy Lights, that might have had something to do with the previous generation of Pro Mazda car. TSO will be interested to see if a driver can pull away in the PM-18 era. With more power and less drag, the Mazda powered Tatuus should provide better racing at the front of the field.

Of the active teams, Juncos Racing leads the way with five poles and Team Pelfrey has started inside the front row on three occasions.

Other nuggets of info

  • The Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America doubleheader will be the 10th and 11th visits that the Pro Mazda series has made to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Six different drivers have visited victory lane in the first nine races.
  • There was a caution on the first lap of each of the first four Pro Mazda races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, but the last five races have gone caution free.
  • All nine races have finished under green flag conditions.
  • Victor Franzoni’s 13.0798-second victory over T.J. Fisher in last year’s second race was the largest margin of victory.
  • In the first race in 2015 (a makeup race for a race canceled at NOLA Motorsports Park), Weiron Tan crossed the finish line only 0.5689 seconds ahead of Timothe Buret, the closest Pro Mazda finish on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
  • The second race in 2016 had an average speed of 104.825mph, the fastest of the nine races.
  • The first race in 2015, which had eight laps of caution, had the slowest average race speed at 70.942mph.
  • The longest Pro Mazda race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course race was 70.731 miles (29 laps), and the shortest race was 36.585 miles (15 laps).

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires schedule

Friday, May 11

TIME EVENT
8:40 AM – 9 AM Pro Mazda Qualifying #1
11:50 AM – 12:10 PM Pro Mazda Qualifying #2
1 PM – 1:25 PM Pro Mazda Autograph Session (Fan Village)
3:35 PM – 4:15 PM Pro Mazda Race #1

Sautrday, May 12

TIME EVENT
10:10 AM – 11 AM Pro Mazda Race #2

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Pro Mazda at Barber Motorsports Park – Sunday at 10:40am – Scott wins rainy race as Pro Mazda field puts on a show

Posted by  on Sunday, April 22nd 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

Harrison Scott and Andres Gutierrez put on a show in the second Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Cooper Tires races at Barber Motorsports Park, with Scott and RP Motorsport Racing prevailing for their first Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires victories as Gutierrez fell victim to the treacherous conditions in Birmingham. On the whole, the field put on a very impressive show in tough weather.

Rain fell consistently throughout the 25-lap race, Round 4 of the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires season, but its intensity varied. Sometimes light, sometimes heavy, this forced the 14 drivers that started the race to be on their toes all the time. And for good measure, the field all started on Cooper Tire slick tires, which provided the young stars of this series an opportunity to learn how to race with dry weather tires on a damp track.

The second Pro Mazda race of the weekend begins with a single lap under yellow flag to give the drivers a quick overview of the Barber Motorsports Park circuit under damp conditions, as they had not been on the track prior to the race this morning. As noted, drivers are running slicks, even though it’s wet out. Serravalle and Finelli are scratches, so this will only be a 14-car race.

The race went green on Lap 2. At the end of the lap, Thompson led but Scott climbed up to second after starting fourth, getting past Malukas and Cunha.

Scott made it past Thompson at Turn 5 for the lead on Lap 3, and as Thompson lost momentum on the drive off, Gutierrez was able to get past as well for second place.

Scott and VeeKay are the two fastest drivers on the track, with VeeKay running laps 0.6 of a second faster at a 1:24.9 to the leaders’ 1:25.5.

On Lap 5, the order is Scott, Gutierrez, Thompson, Martins and Malukas in the top five with VeeKay sixth, Cunha seventh, Megennis eighth, Askew ninth and Laurini 10th.

Track conditions are improving by Lap 6 as Scott, then Cunha go quicker than VeeKay at 1:24.1 and 1:23.9, respectively. Cunha is down to 1:23.1 by Lap 7.

Laurini is assessed a drive-through penalty for contact with Lastochkin, taking the second RP Motorsport driver out of a top-10 position.

Scott only leads Gutierrez by 0.5 of a second. Meanwhile just 0.6 of a second covers Martins, Malukas and VeeKay in fourth, fifth and sixth.

Times continue to drop by Lap 8 as the leaders get into the 1:22 bracket for the first time this race. It is still about six seconds off the qualifying pace, but they’ve picked up several seconds since start of race.

Gutierrez is within just 0.2 of a second now on Lap 10. He then tried to outside exiting Turn 5, which set him up to be on the inside for the following straight. Gutierrez is able to power past for the lead going into Turn 7, at the chicane.

The Juncos teammates of VeeKay and Cunha close on the top batch of cars on Lap 11. Fourth placed Martins leads Malukas by just two tenths, with VeeKay and Cunha only just behind.

Gutierrez gaps his lead from 0.6 to 1 second on Lap 11 over Scott. Malukas is by Martins for fourth on Lap 12, and Martins falls into the clutches of the Juncos drivers.

At the halfway point, Gutierrez leads Scott by 1.1759, with Thompson third, Malukas fourth, Martins fifth, then VeeKay and Cunha.

Thompson meanwhile tries outside of Scott at Turn 5, but unlike Gutierrez is unable to complete the move on the exit down to the inside at Turn 7. It’s so close, but the Canadian is unable to pass the Englishman into the slowest portion of the track.

The Martins/VeeKay/Cunha battle takes a turn on Lap 14, with Cunha able to leapfrog past both his teammate VeeKay and his former team, Pelfrey’s, new driver Martins up to fifth. Martins falls to sixth and VeeKay down to seventh.

On Lap 15 with 10 laps to go, the revised order is Gutierrez, Scott, Thompson, Malukas, Cunha, VeeKay now past Martins, then Megennis, Askew and Robb completing the top-10.

Scott closes the gap from 1.7 down to 1.1 on Lap 16 on Gutierrez, and pulls out four tenths on Thompson for second.

On Lap 17 though the gaps change again, as Gutierrez loses another half second and is only 0.6 clear of Scott. Thompson is down to just 1.1 behind Gutierrez. Malukas, Cunha, VeeKay and Martins meanwhile all run 1:21 laps to close down even further on the top three.

Gutierrez answers with a 1:21.1407 lap on Lap 18, and builds another two tenths on Scott. Cunha and VeeKay, meanwhile, continue their quick laps with the first two laps in the 1:20.9 bracket at 1:20.9141 and 1:20.9387, respectively. Just 3.2725 cover the top six.

Malukas goes quicker then everyone else on Lap 19 with a 1:20.6521, the new fastest race lap.

The rain has now intensified with just five laps to go, and it’s still anyone’s guess who will win or podium in these conditions.

Gutierrez exits on Lap 20 with only a 0.3646 gap to Scott, Thompson right behind, Cunha now past Malukas for fourth and VeeKay in sixth, just 2.0630 seconds back of the overall lead.

Within one lap, at the end of Lap 20, lap times drop by four to five seconds from a 1:20 lap to 1:24 or 1:25

On Lap 21 the race complexion changes drastically at Turn 7, as Gutierrez goes off from the lead at this corner. He resumes, but has lost his first career win following this excursion. Race officials throw the second full course caution of the race.

The new leader is Scott, ahead of Thompson, Cunha, VeeKay, Malukas, Megennis and Gutierrez now down to seventh. Martins is eighth with Askew and Robb completing the top 10.

Askew and Robb both pit on Lap 21, with lap times of 1:58.1 and 2:01.3, respectively, indicating that they may have issues. The public address system indicates Askew has changed onto wet weather Cooper Tires and if this race restarts, he could leapfrog up the order. Askew leaves the pits on the wet-weather tires.

Under yellow at the end of Lap 22, the order is Scott, Thompson, Cunha, VeeKay, Malukas, Megennis, Gutierrez, Martins, Laurini and Robb. Lastochkin is 11th, with Askew 12th. Enders pits for wets at the DEForce Racing pits, and Wright runs 14th, a lap down.

As the pace car brings the field past start/finish at the end of Lap 23, there are only two laps remaining, which means the only chance to finish under green flag conditions will be a one-lap green and white flag run.

The pace car stays out at the end of Lap 24, so it will be yellow and white flags simultaneously to ensure this race ends under caution.

This means Scott will win from Thompson, Cunha in third after a rollercoaster day, then VeeKay and Malukas completing the top five.

Scott led twice for 12 laps, Gutierrez once for 11 and Thompson once for two as this race had three leaders and three lead changes.

Scott and RP Motorsport win their first race on the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. Thompson takes his third podium finish in four races this season with Exclusive Autosport, and Cunha is on the podium for the second time this year (third in St. Petersburg race two) with Juncos Racing.

Unoffically Thompson moves into the points lead. He was down three to VeeKay after Saturday, 62-59, and now is ahead 85-81 heading to the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Scott is third on points on 68, Malukas fourth on 65 and Cunha fifth on 64. This means four different teams are represented within the top five in Pro Mazda points.

Scott reflected on what was a “crazy race” that he told TSO Ladder was “absolute chaos.” He said the RP Motorsport Racing team went “middle of the road” on setup between wet and dry. They struggled when it was wetter out and Gutierrez got ahead, but the track came to them as it dried out. The first wins, Scott called “a great capper to the weekend.”

Thompson didn’t like a couple of Scott’s defenses during the race but hailed an important weekend for both he and the Exclusive Autosport team.

“This was an important weekend for us to not throw a championship away. Just don’t be stupid and bank valuable points. We did that,” he told TSO Ladder.

Cunha had a crazy race where he started third, fell back to sixth, and ultimately recovered back to third. He described his race.

“Man it was good. This start today didn’t go well. I went off twice off the start in race one so I took it easy today, and relaxed, but a bit too much,” Cunha told TSO Ladder.

“But the relaxing helped though in the rain because it got crazy. We had really good pace when it got wet. I saw the guys get close ahead of me which brought me even closer. I tried to make space.

“At one point I made a move on two drivers in one pass. I still don’t know how I did it! Because I had to be careful to not take out my teammate Rinus when I passed him.

“If we had more green laps, I think we would have got them.”

Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires Race #2 Results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 10 Harrison Scott 25
2 90 Parker Thompson 25 0.7409
3 1 Carlos Cunha 25 1.4877
4 2 Rinus VeeKay 25 1.9073
5 79 David Malukas 25 2.3453
6 9 Robert Megennis 25 3.7769
7 81 Andres Gutierrez 25 5.2850
8 80 Rafael Martins 25 6.5860
9 27 Lodovico Laurini 25 8.9966
10 82 Sting Ray Robb 25 9.8971
11 8 Nikita Lastochkin 25 10.8822
12 3 Oliver Askew 25 11.6401
13 11 Kory Enders 25 12.3771
14 78 Kris Wright 24 1 LAPS
15 91 Antonio Serravalle — DNS
16 83 Charles Finelli — DNS
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Pro Mazda at Barber Motorsports Park – Saturday at 1:40pm – Thompson dominates first Pro Mazda race, closes title gap

Posted by  on Saturday, April 21st 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

Saturday marked a perfect day at the office for Red Deer, Alberta’s Parker Thompson and Michael Duncalfe’s Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Exclusive Autosport team, in the first of two Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires races at Barber Motorsports Park.

From pole, Thompson took his first career Pro Mazda win – and eighth overall in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires – in Saturday’s first Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Cooper Tires races. Thompson led flag-to-flag in the 25-lap race in his No. 90 Tatuus PM-18 Mazda.

The race went green, with the front five or six rows able to get going but contact further back as two cars collided, with one catching a bit of air.

Apparent contact on Lap 2 took Megennis out of play, with the Juncos Racing driver falling from fifth at the end of Lap 1 to the rear of the field. This brought out the first full course caution of the race.

On Lap 4, the race restarted with Thompson leading Scott, Malukas, Gutierrez, and VeeKay. On the same lap, Enders passed Cunha for eighth.

Thompson and Scott are pulling away from the rest of the field on Lap 7. Only seven-tenths of a second separates them, but they have more than two seconds on Malukas in third.

VeeKay is up from seventh to fifth, and Askew is up from ninth to seventh, at this point in the race.

Thompson extends the gap from 0.7 to 1.4 seconds over Scott by Lap 9, with Malukas now 3.7 seconds back. Thompson’s gap is even bigger by the end of Lap 12, with 2.5 seconds to Scott and 6.2 seconds to Malukas. Malukas has 0.6 of a second on Gutierrez for third.

On Lap 15 of the 25-lap race, Thompson leads Scott by 3.3 seconds while Malukas only has 0.3 of a second on Gutierrez for third. VeeKay is fifth ahead of Martins, Askew, Enders, Cunha, and Robb in the top 10.

The final podium position came up for grabs with BN Racing’s Malukas needing to defend against Team Pelfrey’s Gutierrez, and their scrap allowing VeeKay to get closer in his Juncos car. At the end of Lap 18, just 1.2 seconds covered all three drivers.

With just five laps to go, Thompson led Scott by 4.2 seconds. The battle for third stabilized without anyone able to make a passing attempt.

Thompson took the white flag at the end of Lap 24 with a 5.2-second lead over Scott.

The Canadian driver then took the checkered flag a lap later, by 5.2269 seconds over Scott.

Malukas was third, just 0.3 of a second ahead of Gutierrez with VeeKay fifth.

This marks Thompson’s eighth MRTI win (seven in USF2000 between 2016 and 2017) and 20th career podium, and he’s set to make his 50th MRTI start on Sunday. Scott and RP Motorsport visit the MRTI podium for the first time, while Malukas has his third MRTI podium, second this season.

Unofficially this moves Thompson to within three points of VeeKay in the championship. The Dutchman swept St. Petersburg and now has 62 points, while the Canadian is second with 59. Malukas moves into third with 47.

An emotional Thompson could not hide his excitement and exuberance with this victory. He also noted the importance of what he and Exclusive Autosport have been able to do to pay tribute to the Humboldt Broncos hockey team, who lost 16 members of its team in a bus accident.

“The Exclusive Autosport team has done an amazing job to get this car set up. It’s on rails on both short and long runs,” Thompson told TSO Ladder.

“For us to wear the shirts on podium, and be Humboldt strong… there are a lot emotions for my team owner as he’s from Saskatchewan, and with me being from Alberta one province over. It’s in our hearts. Hockey is a huge part of Canada and any way we can support the team, we are. Having the sticker on car, helmet and shirts is our contribution. It’s awesome to get to a win with it.”

Scott said this would be a better track for RP Motorsport compared to St. Petersburg, but there is still a lot of learning as they grow in their first season in North America.

“I suppose it’s a little bit more of what we’re used to, but it’s all new,” Scott said. “The car is new. The Cooper Tires are new. The race distances are all new. It’s about managing that all. We’re all improving. That’s all we can do is keep doing so every time on track.”

Scott laughed that because he’s British, he’s used to the rain provided it arrives tomorrow for the second race.

Malukas’ team set up his car to not struggle with understeer. He was able to defend throughout the race.

Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires Race #1 Results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 90 Parker Thompson 25
2 10 Harrison Scott 25 5.2269
3 79 David Malukas 25 18.1164
4 81 Andres Gutierrez 25 18.4710
5 2 Rinus VeeKay 25 19.4015
6 80 Rafael Martins 25 21.0324
7 3 Oliver Askew 25 21.4820
8 11 Kory Enders 25 23.6772
9 82 Sting Ray Robb 25 28.6204
10 1 Carlos Cunha 25 30.0744
11 8 Nikita Lastochkin 25 31.7215
12 27 Lodovico Laurini 25 37.5259
13 78 Kris Wright 25 38.2420
14 9 Robert Megennis 25 44.3324
15 83 Charles Finelli 19 Active
16 91 Antonio Serravalle 5 Mechanical
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Pro Mazda at Barber Motorsports Park – Saturday 9:15 am – Thompson on pole again – PM-18 sets another track record

Posted by  on Saturday, April 21st 2018     

By Steve Wittich

Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire rookie Parker Thompson will be making his 50th career Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires start and will start on the pole for the eighth time.

The 20-year-old’s lap of 66.297 seconds lowered the track record that he set yesterday, and is his first Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires track record.

“It feels unbelievable. I’ve been on the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires for some time now, and I’ve yet to put my name beside a track record,” said Thompson with a huge smile on his face. “So, hopefully, that holds up for the rest of the weekend. That’s pretty cool to etch my name into Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires record books until next year.”

The four quickest drivers in the second qualifying session were the same as the first session Friday, but Thompson is the only driver to qualify in the same position.

David Malukas, a BN Racing rookie, will start outside of Thompson, his third straight race with a top three qualifying effort

Sophomore Carlos Cunha (Juncos Racing) and rookie Harrison Scott (RP Motorsport) will start on the second row of the 25 lap race.

The second Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire qualifying session began at 8:30 am and followed a Porsche GT3 Cup qualifying session.

With the chilly morning temperatures, it took the drivers about three laps to get up to speed, and the first driver to top the timing screen was yesterday’s pole sitter Thompson. Thompson and fellow rookie Harrison Scott traded the quickest lap in the first 10 minutes of the session.

The top ten drivers at the halfway point of the 20-minute session were: Parker Thompson, Harrison Scott, David Malukas, Oliver Askew, Rinus VeeKay, Andres Gutierrez, Rafa Martins, Robert Megennis, Carlos Cunha and Sting Ray Robb.

Before that halfway point of the session, drivers started to come to pit road to the attention of their crews. A few adjustments for the changing track and fresh set of stick Cooper Tire slicks was the call for most of the 15 cars.

The only driver to not take to the track in the first half of the session was Cape Motorsports veteran Nikia Lastochkin, who’s No. 8 Cape Motorsports sat on pit road with the engine cover off. The team was able to get the car started and ended up with the 12th quickest lap.

It took a number laps for the drivers to get their tires up to temperature, and the first driver to go quicker was Juncos Racing rookie Robert Megennis, who snagged the provisional pole.

With six minutes left, Scott was the first driver to turn a sub 77-second lap, besting the track record. The next driver to go to the top of the timing screen was Carlos Cunha.

The Brazilian’s spot as the provisional pole sitter didn’t last long. Thompson was able to go almost four-tenths of a second quicker than Cunha and lower his track record from Friday’s qualifying session.

The session ended just under a minute early when the No. 2 Juncos Racing machine of current championship leader Rinus VeeKay came to a stop on the side of the track at the exit of the Museum Corner (Turn 9). VeeKay will start Sunday’s second race on the inside of the fifth row.

Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires Qualifying #2

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE
1 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 1:16.297 –.—-
2 79 David Malukas BN Racing 1:16.661 0.3639
3 1 Carlos Cunha Juncos Racing 1:16.661 0.3644
4 10 Harrison Scott RP Motorsport Racing 1:16.689 0.3925
5 80 Rafael Martins Team Pelfrey 1:16.874 0.5767
6 81 Andres Gutierrez Team Pelfrey 1:16.993 0.6963
7 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 1:17.039 0.7419
8 9 Robert Megennis Juncos Racing 1:17.069 0.7718
9 2 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing 1:17.171 0.874
10 82 Sting Ray Robb Team Pelfrey 1:17.172 0.8748
11 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 1:17.622 1.3256
12 8 Nikita Lastochkin Cape Motorsports 1:17.795 1.4979
13 27 Lodovico Laurini RP Motorsport Racing 1:17.902 1.6055
14 78 Kris Wright BN Racing 1:18.185 1.8884
15 91 Antonio Serravalle Exclusive Autosport 1:18.915 2.6183
16 83 Charles Finelli BN Racing/Fatboy Racing 1:23.826 7.5289

The first of two 45 minute races at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend will roll off at 12:50 pm.

Don’t miss any of the action:
• live timing – Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, USF2000, and IndyCar Race Control
• on twitter –Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, USF2000, Cooper Tire, Mazda Racing and TSO Ladder
• via the Road To Indy TV app – Android or Apple iOS
• on all social media channels via the #TeamCooperTire and #MRTI hashtags

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Pro Mazda at Barber Motorsports Park – Friday – Qualifying – Thompson and Exclusive Autosport lead a trio of rookie teams and drivers at the head of the field

Posted by  on Friday, April 20th 2018     

\

By Steve Wittich

It will be rookie Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire driver, Parker Thompson, and team Exclusive Autosport, that leads Saturday’s Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires to the green flag.

Parker Thompson gets a thumbs up from an Exclusive Autosport teammate before Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The pole is the Canadian driver’s first Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire and seventh career Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires pole.

Fellow Pro Mazda rookies Harrison Scott and RP Motorsport will start outside of the front row after the 2017 Euroformula Open champion used a last-lap flyer to move with three-tenths of Thompson.

A third pair of rookies, BN Racing and David Malukas, will begin behind Thompson on the second row and will be joined on the second row by Carlos Cunha (Juncos Racing)

The 16 entries for the doubleheader took to the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park natural terrain road course.

All 16 Mazda powered Tatuss PM-18’s immediately took to the beautiful undulating race track when the green flag came out. Most drivers ran three or four reconnaissance laps on scuffed Cooper Tire slicks to determine the what changes need to made to their race cars in the warmer conditions.

At the half-way point of the 20-minute session, Parker Thompson, who led the Thursday test session, and Friday morning practice session, held the provisional pole with a lap of 77.1571. He was followed by David Malukas, Rafa Martins, Rinus VeeKay and Harrison Scott.

At this point of the session, pit road was busy with teams and making adjustments and bolting on sticker Cooper Tires.

With six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the session, the red flag came out for the No. 83 Fat Boy! Racing of Charles Finelli, who got stuck in the gravel trap on the outside of the right-hand Turn 9.

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to get him extracted, and the green flag came out with just over three minutes left in the qualifying session.

The majority of the drivers were able to get two flying laps in, and all but David Malukas and Rafa Martins were able to go quicker.

Championship leader VeeKay, who had too much understeer in his No. 2 Juncos Racing machine during the morning session when he finished a disappointing eighth, did not find a cure for that problem, qualifying on the inside of the fourth row for Saturday’s first Pro Mazda race.

Kory Enders, a USF2000 regular, is making his Pro Mazda debut with DEForce Racing. Enders missed the first practice session after having an issue with the driveshaft on the No. 11, qualified 12th.

The top nine drivers were separated by one second, with the positions three through nine separated by only three-tenths of a second.

Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires Qualifying #1

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE
1 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 1:16.895 –.—-
2 10 Harrison Scott RP Motorsport Racing 1:17.159 0.2639
3 79 David Malukas BN Racing 1:17.318 0.4233
4 1 Carlos Cunha Juncos Racing 1:17.485 0.5901
5 9 Robert Megennis Juncos Racing 1:17.542 0.6478
6 81 Andres Gutierrez Team Pelfrey 1:17.566 0.6714
7 2 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing 1:17.597 0.7028
8 80 Rafael Martins Team Pelfrey 1:17.616 0.7211
9 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 1:17.636 0.7414
10 8 Nikita Lastochkin Cape Motorsports 1:18.034 1.1399
11 82 Sting Ray Robb Team Pelfrey 1:18.132 1.2374
12 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 1:18.214 1.3193
13 27 Lodovico Laurini RP Motorsport Racing 1:18.329 1.4343
14 78 Kris Wright BN Racing 1:18.543 1.6487
15 91 Antonio Serravalle Exclusive Autosport 1:18.909 2.0144
16 83 Charles Finelli BN Racing/Fatboy Racing 1:23.311 6.4167

the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire drivers will be back on track Saturday at 8:30 am for their second qualifying session, and 12:50 pm for the first half of their weekend double-header.

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