IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

The Sports Roundtable and Bar
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Racer’s Marshall Pruett and Sebastien Bourdais discuss COTA…

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The writer and the driver are once again getting together to give us some insight into the happenings in IndyCar at Circuit of the Americas. First, on Monday they speak of the track and the series latest news.

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Take a look:

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Then on Tuesday they get together again after two test sessions. Seb is struggling, at this point ad a bit of his frustration is showing.:

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And let’s follow that up with some on-board video of Champion Scott Dixon at COTA:

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More video from Circuit of the Americas…

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First, Racer’s Marshall Pruett speaks to Marcus Ericsson of Arrow Schmidt Peterson. Marcus is one of the few here who has driven both IndyCars and Formula 1 cars at the track. (Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport is another).

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Next, Marshall speaks to Colton Herta following his impressive Tuesday dominance of the test and also about the recent troubles at Harding Steinbrenner with regard to Pato O’Ward leaving the team:

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Wednesday morning in Austin - the Indy Lights hold their 3rd test session…

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Following two sessions at Circuit of the Americas at Austin, Texas on Tuesday, (see post # 447), the Lights came out again this morning for their third and final test, and the result was that Oliver Askew for Andretti Autosport improved on his Tuesday performance, setting the best time and TOPPING the two-day test.

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy Lights T-3 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Oliver Askew [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:53.8017s for a speed of 107.872mph

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2 - Julien Falchero [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:53.8441s for a speed of 107.832mph

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3 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:53.9314s for a speed of 107.749mph

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4 - Ryan Norman, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:53.9342s for a speed of 107.746mph

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5 - Zachary Claman DeMelo, Belardi Auto Racing - time of 01:54.7865s for a speed of 106.946mph

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6 - Rob Megennis [R], Andretti Autosport
7 - David Malukas [R], BN Racing
8 - Logan Sargeant [R], Carlin
9 - Dalton Kellett, Carlin
10 - Lucas Kohl [R], Belardi Auto Racing

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Notable:

  • Julien Falchero TOPPED one session on Tuesday and Oliver TOPPED the other, so an Andretti car has been the best in all three sessions, which shows the team is continuing its 2018 dominance of the series.

  • Rinus VeeKay, the current points-leader in the Asian F3 Winter Series, improved to make the TOP THREE for the first time, overcoming some braking issues on Tuesday.

  • All ten drivers improved on their Tuesday times.

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Making the day even sweeter for Askew, he and Andretti Autosport finally CONFIRMED the 2017 USF2000 Champion as an Andretti Lights driver for 2019, driving the # 28 IL-15 for the full season.

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Andretti President J-F Thormann welcomes Oliver

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Said Oliver, “Joining Andretti Autosport is an extremely huge opportunity for me. There is such a wealth of experience between Indy Lights, IndyCar, Formula E and all their other racing programs – there are so many years of experience within the team. I am really looking forward to transferring that wealth and experience into my rookie season with the team and anticipate a successful season.”

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No word yet on whether or not Julien Falchero will also join the 2019 Andretti squad, already populated with veteran Ryan Norman and rookie Robert Megennis.

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Wednesday morning in Austin - He’s done it again!..

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With about 13 minutes to go in the T-3 IndyCar test session at Circuit of the Americas, Colton Herta for Harding Steinbrenner found another gear and popped to the top of the time charts in the # 88 Honda to take the TOP SPOT of a test session for the third time in a row. He beat Andretti’s Alexander Rossi by a healthy 0.3 seconds and was more than half a second faster than the best Chevrolet, driven by Simon Pagenaud for Team Penske.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCar T-3 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:46.6401s for a speed of 115.116mph

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2 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:47.0132s for a speed of 114.715mph

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3 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske - time of 01:47.2116s for a speed of 114.503mph

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4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:47.7899s for a speed of 113.888mph

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5 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 01:47.8136s for a speed of 113.863mph

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6 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM
7 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
8 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w / Vasser Sullivan
10 - RC Enerson [R], Carlin

11 - Helio Castroneves, Team Penske
12 - Will Power, Team Penske
13 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
14 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport
15 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises
16 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
17 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
18 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
19 - Max Chilton, Carlin
20 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - Ed Jones, Ed Carpenter Racing
22 - Kyle Kaiser, Juncos Racing
23 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
24 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
25 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

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Notable:

  • We are well into the testing now, and it is impossible to know what each driver is doing - going for outright speed or testing for other situations - So, Graham Rahal might be much more comfortable than teammate Takuma Sato OR Sato may be testing other things for the team. We cannot know… But the TOP guys are going for outright speed.

  • Five cars had spins - Scott Dixon, Jack Harvey, Spencer Pigot, Kyle Kaiser and James Hinchcliffe. All returned to the fray except Hinchcliffe, when it was discovered he had a fluid leak and was garaged for repairs. He only put in 7 laps on the session.

  • Much improved was Sebastien Bourdais for Dale Coyne w/ Vasser Sullivan, while teammate Santino Ferrucci went the other way. Again, we cannot know why Santino went backwards.

  • Also much improved were Matheus Leist and Tony Kannan, both for AJ Foyt. Those guys finally found something to get them out of the cellar and into mid-pack territory.

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left to right, Colton Herta, Matheus Leist and Santino Ferrucci

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The weather is cooler and cloudy for the final session this afternoon. That may mean even more speed, but the wind is also picking up slightly, making it easier to get loose.

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Wednesday afternoon in Austin - the T-4 session finally produces a new driver on top…

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With 2 minutes left in the session Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi stole the TOP SPOT on the time charts away from Colton Herta for Harding Steinbrenner who had held it for more than an hour, looking poised to take his fourth test session in a row. The young rookie Herta tried to regain the spot, and whittled the difference down from 0.2 seconds to only 0.1466 seconds on his final lap, but it wasn’t enough. Rossi was the only guy to break into the 01:46-second bracket this session. Another rookie, Felix Rosenqvist for Chip Ganassi Racing, also put teams on notice by making TOP FIVE for the 2nd time this week.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCar T-4 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:46.8535s for a speed of 114.886mph
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2 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:47.0001s for a speed of 114.729mph

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3 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:47.1757s for a speed of 114.541mph

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4 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:47.2941s for a speed of 114.414mph

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5 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:47.3662s for a speed of 114.338mph

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6 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
7 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
8 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
9 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
10 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske

11 - Will Power, Team Penske
12 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
14 - RC Enerson [R], Carlin
15 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
16 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises
17 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM
18 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport
19 - Ed Jones, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w / Vasser Sullivan

21 - Max Chilton, Carlin
22 - Helio Castroneves, Team Penske
23 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
24 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
25 - Kyle Kaiser, Juncos Racing

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Notable:

  • The only Chevrolets in the TOP TEN were Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud in P7 and Josef Newgarden in P10, with Will Power just missing in P11. The Hondas are strong at COTA.

  • Andretti Autosport has continuously put guys in the TOP FIVE and TOP TEN all the way through. In addition, Harding Steinbrenner has benefited from their relationship with Andretti, as a satellite team.

  • Rahal Letterman Lanigan has improved in every session to cap off the test with this P5 for Graham Rahal, while teammate Takuma Sato has his best run, by far, with a solid P12.

  • Whatever Sebastien Bourdais found in the T-3 session, he lost it, as he slipped back into P20, while young teammate Santino Ferrucci regained his mojo to finish in P9.

  • Rookie Marcus Ericsson has been impressive for Arrow SPM but once his car was repaired, teammate and veteran James Hinchcliffe ended the testing with the better time in the T-4 session.

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left to right, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato and James Hinchcliffe

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That’s it from Circuit of the Americas. Almost to a man, the drivers loved the track and expect it to produce great racing in March, when they return. The next big series test will be in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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There’s lots of series news to catch up on…

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While our attention was on Spring Training at Circuit of the Americas a lot of other news was happening in IndyCars - Especially in the Road to Indy, where a lot of driver CONFIRMATIONS cascaded down.

Let’s start with perhaps the most important, as just today Sweden’s wunderkind and the 2018 Vice-Champion of USF2000, Rasmus Lindh, has made his choice for his seat in his rookie season of Indy Pro 2000 (formerly “Pro Mazda”) and it will be with Juncos Racing.

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Rasmus Lindh

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Rasmus drove impressively for Juncos at the Chris Griffis Memorial test last September, but has since driven equally impressively at an Indy Pro 2000 test for Pabst Racing, his USF2000 squad. His decision really comes down to the Juncos recent record in Indy Pro 2000 - a championship for Rinus VeeKay in 2018, a championship for Victor Franzoni in 2017.

Said the 17-year-old, “I’m very happy to have the opportunity to go to the next step in the Road to Indy program with a championship winning team. I really enjoyed working with Juncos Racing this past fall, so I am happy that we are back together for the 2019 season. “

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Perhaps equally important is the next Indy Pro 2000 CONFIRM, as Singapore’s Danial Frost is signing to return to Exclusive Autosport, for which he drove 7 rounds in USF2000, last season. It was a very impressive test in a PM-18 at the Chris Griffis Memorial test last September that convinced Exclusive Autosport’s Michael Duncalfe to let Danial leap up into Indy Pro 2000 for 2019.

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Danial Frost

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The 17-year-old started in karts at the late age of 15, but has been WINNING races in both karts and cars ever since. In 2016 he competed in the F4 South East Asia Championship, taking 9 WINS and 18 podiums. In the off-season following his 2018 USF2000 outings, Danial competed in the MRF Challenge series, taking a win and 6 TOP FIVES.

Said Frost, “I’m super stoked to have been given the opportunity to be working with Exclusive Autosport for this season. I’ll be working harder than ever to get the results and I’m ready for the next step in Indy Pro 2000!”

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Lindh and Frost join already-confirmed Indy Pro 2000 drivers Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports, Moises de la Vara and Kory Enders for DEForce Racing and Nikita Lastochkin, who will also drive for Exclusive Autosport.

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continued…

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There’s lots of series news to catch up on…(part 2)…

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Next, we have two CONFIRMS in USF2000 for 2019, starting with the news that young Nolan Siegel will be the first confirmation for Newman Wachs Racing in USF2000 for 2019.

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Nolan (left) with NWR driver coach Tom Dyer
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The 14-year-old will use the year as a learning year, focusing on learning the Tatuus USF-17 car and the tracks, but he’s no slouch. Karting since the age of 8, Siegel WON the ROK Junior Championship in the ROK Sonoma Series in 2017, and he also competed against some of the best karters at the Superkarts! USA California ProKart Challenge. In 2018 he decided to go to cars and competed in the Sonoma Raceway Formula 3 Series, where he was crowned the 2018 champion at the age of 13!

Said Nolan, “I am very excited to step up to a new level of competition. Especially with such a well-known and established team like Newman Wachs Racing. It is going to be a big challenge, but I am ready and itching to get out on track in St. Pete.”

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Next, Denmark’s Christian Rasmussen will be the second get for Jay Howard Driver Development in USF2000. It was an easy get as Christan drove for JHDD in the F4 United States series in 2018, going to 3rd in the points, with 5 WINS and 8 podiums. The 18-year-old was previously the 2016 Vice-Champion of Formula Ford Denmark and in 2017 Christian was named Demark’s “Motorsport Talent of the Year”.

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Christian Rasmussen

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Said Christian, “I like it very much over here, and Jay (Howard) and his team is the right place for me to grow as a race driver. Both mentally and technically. Taking this next step will be very exciting. We (are looking) at eight race weekends with 15 rounds – and a lot of testing in between – so I should get to know the car very well.”

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Christan and Nolan will join already confirmed…

Anthony Famularo [R], BN Racing
Reece Gold [R], Cape Motorsports
Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing
Christian Bogle [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Alex Baron, Legacy Autosport
Jason Reichert [R], Marotti Racing
Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Eduardo Barrichello [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing

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The USF2000 field is filling up fast and there are some real ponies in there. More to come!

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Newman Wachs Racing has a big, big “get” in USF2000 for 2019…

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Today, the team headed by Brian Halahan has announced that for 2019 they have acquired Australia’s Cameron Shields for their 2nd CONFIRMED seat for the 2019 season of USF2000.

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Cameron Shields

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The 17-year-old from Toowoomba, Queensland brings a truly impressive resume to NWR. Shields started out ar the age of 4 as a junior motocross rider, amassing 21 WINS before deciding to switch to karting at the age of 9, where he collected 42 WINS with 73 podiums during his six years in the sport. At the age of 14 he added in formula cars and by the age of 15 he was the Australian Formula 3 series Champion. He has since also added Vice-Championships in Australian Formula Ford and the Formula 3 Premiere Series. Shields holds a WIN percentage of 34% and podium percentage of 71%. That means he has WON every 3rd race he has entered - remarkable.

Cameron tested in an Indy Pro 2000 PM-18 for Juncos Racing at the Chris Griffis Memorial test, last September, but also tested a Tatuus USF-17 for Cape Motorsports at the Homestead test in December and decided that the USF2000 car was a better fit. We detailed that test in posts # 302 and # 303 and declared Shields to have the TOP performance at the test in USF2000.

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Cam in the Cape’s Tatuus USF-17 at Homestead-Miami last December
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Said Cameron, “I am very pleased to announce that I will be joining with Newman Wachs Racing ahead of the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. Newman Wachs Racing is a very professional team, with a long history of results to back that up and I am full of confidence that together this season we can continue that trend of success with the ultimate goal of becoming the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 champions!"
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Shields joins already CONFIRMED teammate Nolan Siegel and…

Anthony Famularo [R], BN Racing
Reece Gold [R], Cape Motorsports
Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing
Christian Bogle [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howerd Driver Development
Alex Baron, Legacy Autosport
Jason Reichert [R], Marotti Racing
Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Eduardo Barrichello [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing
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Shields is the protege of fellow Toowoomba native and IndyCar driver Will Power and credits him among the reasons he will be racing in the United States in 2019. More to come!

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Another CONFIRM for Exclusive Autosport for 2019…

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Team principal Michael Duncalfe has announced that San Antonian Parker Locke will join the team’s Indy Pro 2000 (formerly “Pro Mazda”) squad for 2019.

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Parker Locke

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Coming off a full year in the US F4 Championship and a trio of races in the F3 Americas Championship, the 17-year-old is surely jumping into the deep end of the pool by going right into Indy Pro 2000 but he isn’t without talent. Parker also competed in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand in January and February, where was presented with the Most Improved Driver of the Year award. More importantly, Locke tested a PM-18 at the Homestead-Miami test in December and impressively TOPPED the T-4 session for Exclusive Autosport, beating several veterans (see post # 301).

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Parker in the Exclusive Autosport PM-18 at Homestead-Miami

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Said Parker, “I’m very excited to be joining Exclusive Autosport for the 2019 Indy Pro 2000 season. I am looking forward to the competition and to try proving myself in such an accomplished field of drivers. Exclusive Autosport has proven in the past to be a top tier team producing great results throughout the season. I can’t wait to see how much I improve over the course of the season under their guidance.”

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Parker joins already CONFIRMED teammates Nikita Lastochkin and Danial Frost and …

Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
Moises de la Vara [R], DEForce Racing
Kory Enders [R], DEForce Racing
Rasmus Lindh [R], Juncos Racing

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More to come!

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Kat crosses first! …IndyCar driver Katherine Legge has WON in Mexico…

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The British former Champ Car driver took the WIN in Season Round 2 of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series in Mexico City to take the championship lead, following her P6 at Ad Diriyah, last month (see post # 333). Making it even sweeter for her team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, her teammate Bryan Sellers posted P2.

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Katherine and Bryan for the boss, Bobby Rahal
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Kat qualified P1 and stayed that way all the way through the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Sellers, starting P2, did all he could to pass Legge, even putting in Fastest Lap, but couldn’t find a way around. He finished 0.404 seconds off Katherine. Sérgio Jimenez completed the podium for Jaguar Brazil Racing.

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Katherine wheels the Jaguar to the WIN

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The Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY is the first series for battery electric production-based cars and is a support series for the ABB Formula E series. The next round will be in Hong Kong, March 10th.

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Way to go, Kat!..Proud of you!

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Cape Motorsports grabs one for USF2000, and its a good one…

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The king-makers at Cape Motorsports have acquired the services of Braden Eves for the 2019 season of USF2000, joining already CONFIRMED Reece Gold (see post # 421).

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Braden Eves

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Braden has a great resume, starting with a stellar karting career that garnered several championships, establishing himself as one of the top karters in North America. In 2017 the New Albany, Ohio native graduated to cars by driving in F4 United States for only 8 races of the 20-race season, yet he managed to finish the the season 6th, with 1 WIN and six podium finishes. In 2018 Braden ran the first three F4 weekends of the year and then made a single weekend appearance in the F1600 Championship Series, scoring a pair of WINS and three podium finishes in the 3 races. He also ran in USF2000 for the first time at Portland, scoring a P6 in his series debut.

He was then chosen as one of the two Team USA Scholarship WINNERS, but a hand injury forced him to bow out and be replaced in England for the Walter Hayes Trophy and the Formula Ford Festival. Nevertheless, following surgery, he was able to appear at the 2018 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout and was one of the 6 finalists.

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Braden in his Crawford F4-16 for Jay Howard in F4 United States

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The 19-year-old said, “Cape Motorsports is really a great team, and their history of winning championships speaks for itself. Coming off a difficult 2018 season, it’s extremely refreshing to have such confidence in the people around me. I’ve been working hard at home to put all of this together, as well as getting my fitness back to 100% after my surgeries a few months ago. Pre-season testing starts next week and I can’t wait to get back into the car. I’m excited to work with Cape Motorsports and learn from their experience! Special thanks to Team USA Scholarship for giving me the opportunity to compete for the MRTI 200k scholarship a few months ago. This season can’t come soon enough!

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Braden and Reece join already CONFIRMED drivers…

Anthony Famularo [R], BN Racing
Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing
Christian Bogle [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Alex Baron, Legacy Autosport
Jason Reichert [R], Marotti Racing
Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Eduardo Barrichello [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Nolan Siegel [R], Newman Wachs Racing
Cameron Shields [R], Newman Wachs Racing
Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing

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More to come…Stay tuned!

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It’s time for another visit from Pato O’Ward and his video series, “Behind the Visor”…

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…wherein the 2018 Indy Lights Champion is recounting his title-WINNING season, race by race, with all the ups and downs.

We left off in post # 443, as Pato left Mid-Ohio triumphant, and headed to Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis to do the last oval of the season - a place he was coming to with some trepidation.

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Take a look:

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Given the recent developments in his career, (see post # 444) it’s important to remember just how talented this young driver truly is. This superbly produced series reminds us all. Next week, Pato heads to Portland to capture yet another major motorsports Championship, following his 2017 IMSA title.

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Jay Howard Driver Development adds another great driver to their roster for USF2000…

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JHDD already have Christian Bogle and Christian Rasmussen in their 2019 stable, and we expect that Rasmussen will be a big factor in the season. Now, they have added the 2018 Northern Ireland Formula Ford 1600 Champion, Matthew Round-Garrido.

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Matthew Round-Garrido

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The very tall 18-year-old former karter from Stourbridge in England not only took the NIFF title with 5 WINS and 8 podiums in 10 rounds, but he also competed in England’s BRSCC Formula Ford and Scottish Formula Ford and WON races in both those series, too. The Northern Ireland title earned him an Entry Ticket to the 2018 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout.

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Matthew in his Medina JL17 Formula Ford for Team Dolan

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Said Matthew, “I’m really excited that I’ll be racing in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship with JHDD this season. It’s been a target of mine to race abroad for a number of years now and with the Road to Indy scholarship system they’ve got here, there’s no better place to be racing than America right now.”

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Matthew and both Christians at JHDD will join already CONFIRMED drivers…

Anthony Famularo [R], BN Racing
Reece Gold [R], Cape Motorsports
Braden Eves [R], Cape Motorsports
Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing
Alex Baron, Legacy Autosport
Jason Reichert [R], Marotti Racing
Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Eduardo Barrichello [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Nolan Siegel [R], Newman Wachs Racing
Cameron Shields [R], Newman Wachs Racing
Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing

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That’s 16 confirmed drivers, now. More to come!

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Sting Ray Robb will return to the fray in Indy Pro 2000 in 2019…

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The 17-year-old from Payette, Idaho, will be joining Juncos Racing for a second full season of Indy Pro 2000 (formerly “Pro Mazda”) following his abbreviated 2017 season and full 2018 season in the series. Sting Ray will team with already CONFIRMED Rasmus Lindh to create a strong squad.

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Sting Ray Robb

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Sting Ray (not a nick-name, by the way), had an excellent karting career, with multiple championships in his back pocket when he switched to cars in 2015-2016, taking a Vice-Championship in the Skip Barber Winter series. The then-15-year-old dived into the deep end and switched up to Pro Mazda right away, driving for World Speed Motorsports, earning 4 TOP FIVES and 12 TOP TENS in his rookie season. In 2018 he moved to Team Pelfrey where he earned another 4 TOP FIVES and 13 TOP TENS, with a best finish of P3. Sting Ray is always in the mix and with a team as good as Juncos he stands a chance of many more podiums and that elusive first WIN.

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Sting Ray in the PM-18 for Team Pelfrey in 2018

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Said Sting Ray, “I am excited about the 2019 season as I return to the Road to Indy with the series dominator, Juncos Racing. Juncos has proven to be the best in the industry and will, I’m sure, be challenging me to sharpen and hone my race craft to even higher levels. I am blessed to have the opportunity to be racing amongst this very deep and talented pool of competitors.’’

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Sting Ray and teammate Rasmus Lindh will be joining fellow CONFIRMED drivers…

Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
Moises de la Vara [R], DEForce Racing
Kory Enders [R], DEForce Racing
Nikita Lastochkin, Exclusive Autosport
Danial Frost[R], Exclusive Autosport
Parker Locke [R], Exclusive Autosport

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More to come!

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Bruna Tomaselli comes back for the 3rd season of USF2000, but with a great team…

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The 21-year-old from Brazil had a season with ArmsUp Motorsports in 2017 and a season with Team Pelfrey in 2018 and as decent as those teams are, her best shot will be this year, when she will drive for the “Speed Boys” at Pabst Racing - even though she’s no boy.

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Bruna Tomaselli

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Bruna was driving in the hotbed of karting in Brazil at the age of 10 and was in cars by the time she was 16, driving Formula Junior. By the age of 18 she had risen to 4th in points in Formula 4 South America, with 5 podiums and 18 top-10 finishes. She then committed to coming to the United States to drive for ArmsUp. Her best finish in USF2000 thus far is her P7 at St. Pete, last year, but Tomaselli is looking forward to having a great car:

“I’m very excited for this season. This will be my third season, so I know the car, I know almost all the tracks, and with that experience and with a very competitive car, I hope to achieve great things. I did some tests with Pabst, and I’ve been preparing myself and my body with simulator training and going to the gym every day to be in a good shape for the season.”

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Bruna for Team Pelfrey at Lucas Oil Raceway

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Bruna and teammates Hunter McElrea, Colin Kaminsky and Yuven Sundaramoorthy will join already CONFIRMED…

Anthony Famularo [R], BN Racing
Reece Gold [R], Cape Motorsports
Braden Eves [R], Cape Motorsports
Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing
Christian Bogle [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Matthew Round-Garrido [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Alex Baron, Legacy Autosport
Jason Reichert [R], Marotti Racing
Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Eduardo Barrichello [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Nolan Siegel [R], Newman Wachs Racing
Cameron Shields [R], Newman Wachs Racing

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More to come…Stay tuned!

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Scott Hargrove is gettin’ busy this season…

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The Canadian Road to Indy ace driver and multiple Porsche Cup Champion has been asked to add to his driving duties this year. Already on the PFAFF Motorsports WeatherTech GTD-class squad, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R with co-driver Zacharie Robichon, he will also drive the # 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports in the SRO Blancpain GT World Challenge America series, (formerly known as the Pirelli World Challenge) co-driving with 16-year Porsche factory driver Patrick Long.

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Scott Hargrove

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Hargrove is actually the current GT3 Sprint Champion - the first rookie ever to do so - having acquired his 2018 title driving for PFAFF in the Pirelli World Challenge. During the off-season Hargrove was named by Porsche as one of two 2019 Porsche Selected Drivers, and that likely helped get him this ride.

The team will be driving the new iteration of the successful 911 GT3 R. Wright Motorsports will also field a 2nd car, the # 91 in the PRO/AM-class, to be driven by Anthony Imperato and either Matt Campbell or Romain Dumas, depending on a race schedule for each.

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The # 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports

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The first of seven Blancpain GT World Challenge America events will kick off March 2-3 with two 90-minute races at Circuit of the Americas. The races are much like the “Sprint X” races of the Pirelli World Challenge, with two drivers per car.
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UPDATE!

Romain Dumas has been rated as a Platinum driver by the FIA, and thus cannot partner with Anthony Imperato, classified as a Silver, in the PRO/AM class of the SRO Blancpain GT World Challenge America series. He will thus be replaced this season by Norwegian Dennis Olsen, who is coming off a spectacular WIN at the LiquiMoly Bathurst 12 Hour. Olsen is a Gold-rated driver. He will co-drive the # 91 Porsche with Imperato this weekend at Circuit of the Americas - the first round of the season.

Dennis Olsen

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On Monday, 3 IndyCar teams tested at Sebring International Raceway…

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Chip Ganassi Racing, AJ Foyt Enterprises and Carlin sent cars to test on the short course at Sebring. No times were released, but more important were the drivers. AJ Foyt sent Tony Kanaan and Matheus Leist, Chip Ganssi sent Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist and significantly, Carlin sent RC Enerson in the # 23 Chevy, even though he is still not CONFIRMED in the car for 2019.

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RC Enerson

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The young Road to Indy ace driver is now clearly going to drive a number of races for the team, but how many?..which ones? Charlie Kimball will drive the car 5 times in 2019, including at the season opener at St.Pete. There is also now the possibility that Pato O’Ward - now loose from Harding Steinbrenner (see post # 444) - may find a partial season with Carlin.

Charlie Kimball (left) and Pato O’Ward

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For AJ Foyt Enterprises the Sebring test was very good, as the team showed up for the test at Laguna Seca in early February (see post # 441) but elected not to run, due to the rain that shortened the day, thus they had this extra test day in their pocket and made good use of it.

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left to right at Sebring, Tony Kanaan, Matheus Leist and Larry Foyt
AJBoys

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"Manu" Cabrera is returning to USF2000 in 2019…

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…and will once again drive for Michael Duncalfe’s Exclusive Autosport. Following a short season for the team in 2018, Manuel is the first 2019 CONFIRMATION for Exclusive in the USF2000 series, and is slated to run the entire season in the EA # 90 Tatuus USF-17 car.

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Manuel Cabrera

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The 18-year-old Mexican had a typical start toward the Road to Indy with a great karting career that included a number of championships. By the age of 16 Manuel was in cars in the Skip Barber series. He then moved over to the Formula PanAm series in 2017 and earned the championship title with 4 WINS and 6 podiums in 6 races. That earned him an exclusive Entry Ticket to the 2017 Road to Indy Shootout. In 2018 Manu hooked up with Exclusive Autosport for the first 7 races of the season, getting 3 TOP TENS with a best finish of P7 from a P22 start.

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Manuel in the EA # 90 at the Indy GP in 2018

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Said Manuel, “I feel extremely happy to be back with the Exclusive Autosport team and I’m really anxious to be back behind the wheel and start the season. Last year was quite tough for me, but I’m really convinced that this year is going to be different. We are preparing ourselves differently and I hope this will show during our on-track performance."

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Manuel joins already CONFIRMED drivers…

Anthony Famularo [R], BN Racing
Reece Gold [R], Cape Motorsports
Braden Eves [R], Cape Motorsports
Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing
Christian Bogle [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Matthew Round-Garrido [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
Alex Baron, Legacy Autosport
Jason Reichert [R], Marotti Racing
Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Eduardo Barrichello [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Nolan Siegel [R], Newman Wachs Racing
Cameron Shields [R], Newman Wachs Racing
Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing
Bruna Tomaselli, Pabst Racing

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That’s a great field of young talent. More to come! Stay tuned…

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The 2018 Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks Champion is Matthew Brabham…

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…as the superlative Road to Indy driver took the title at the 2019 Race of Champions at the Foro Sol in Mexico City, last month. Not only were the Super Trucks added to the roster of cars for the ROC contenders to drive, but the final two races of the 2018 season for the SSTs was also held, the same weekend at the same place.

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“Matty Brabs” finally gets his title in Super Trucks.

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We’ve waited until video of the event was available, and we have it now. Brabham went into the event leading in the title chase, but that was the same situation in 2017, when he ended up losing the championship to Paul “the Dude” Morris on the final race weekend, and by only 1 point. Matty was determined that wouldn’t happen again.

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Lots of fun heats and racing, here. Take your time and take a look, first at Race 1:
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…and then at Race 2:

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Congrats Matty!

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He’s done it!.. Rinus VeeKay is the Champion of the Asian F3 Winter Series…

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The Indy Lights driver and current Indy Pro 2000 champ wrapped up the championship today in Sepang, Malaysia, following 2 races on Saturday and the series finale today. Driving for Dragon HighTech GP, Rinus actually had a rough weekend, compared to the previous two weekends, with a P6, a P3 and another P3, but those points were enough for the Nederlander to take the title, with 184 points over Ye Yifei for Absolute Racing, with 155 points. That makes two titles in one year for Rinus.

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Rinus victorious - 2nd championship in a single year
RinusChamp

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Ye Yifei actually made a great run for it, with two dominationg WINS at Sepang on Saturday, but he finished today’s race 11 laps down in P13. Rinus had his worst race of the season on Saturday, when he and teammate Alessandro Ghiretti collided following a safety car restart. VeeKay was able to rejoin, but finished P6.

Eshan Pieris for Absolute Racing and Victor Martins for Pinnacle Motorsport were P1 and P2 respectively today, with Rinus in P3. This makes 4 WINS and 8 podiums for VeeKay in the 9-race season.

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Rinus battles for Dragon HiTech GP in the # 21
RinusCar

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Congrats, Rinus!..Proud of you!

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