TORONTO – Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing travelled north of the border to Canada last weekend for the 30th running of the Toronto Indy, and the team came away with their eighth win of the season in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and a pair of podium finishes in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
Canadian Parker Thompson improved from his podium finish on Saturday to win on his home soil on Sunday, scoring an emotional victory to extend his lead in the championship. Anthony Martin added a second USF2000 podium for the team on Sunday to remain second in the chase for the title.
“The guys put in a strong effort all weekend and were challenged by a pretty difficult race track, which makes the performances by Parker, Anthony and Nico all the more impressive,” offered Dominic Cape, co-owner of the team with his brother Nicholas. “The racing was very aggressive and we’re proud of the guys for getting the results they did. We’re all looking forward to getting to Mid-Ohio to continue our fight for the championships.”
Martin drew first blood in USF2000 qualifying, earning the pole position on Saturday morning after he and Thompson took turns topping the speed charts in the two Friday practice sessions. Martin did make heavy contact with the wall to end the day on Friday, and a subsequent wrist injury made things much tougher for the remainder of the weekend. Thompson qualified third to take up position on the inside of the second row for the start of Race #1 on Saturday afternoon, while Cape’s Nikita Lastochkin was on his game as well, qualifying seventh for the first 30-minute race. Jordan Cane was 12th to begin the weekend.
In Race #1, Martin slid into second behind Victor Franzoni for the start of the race while Thompson began the battle in fourth. With Jordan Lloyd running between the two Cape cars, the front-running quartet raced through the middle laps of the race, holding their positions. Martin’s run to second was cut short on lap 13 when he had an issue entering Turn 8, pushing wide at the exit and making contact with the outside wall that ended his day early and left him with a 16th place finish. This would advance Thompson to third, taking the final position on the podium. Lastochkin had also turned in a strong race and was up to fifth before pushing over the edge in Turn 6, making contact with the wall and ending his race. Cane ran a strong and steady race, and recorded his fifth top-10 of the year in ninth.
Thompson was not to be denied in the second USF2000 race, which was held on Sunday. He quickly moved past Martin to take over the lead and he held the spot all the way to the checkered flag, maintaining a gap through the race. The final margin of victory was 0.9177 and it provided Cape Motorsports with their eighth win of the year and a commanding leading in the championship with Thompson and Martin sitting first and second overall. Martin raced through the massive pain in his wrist to put in a stellar effort, finishing second to keep himself in the title fight. Lastochkin ran a steady race to finish sixth, while Cane got caught up in a first lap incident that took him out of the race.
The next rounds of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will take place on July 29-32 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Mansfield, Ohio. Cape’s USF2000 drivers will run a crucial tripleheader, which will set the stage for the championship battle at the Soul Red Finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in September.
DRIVER PERFORMANCE / QUOTES
PARKER THOMPSON
Qualifying: 3rd – 1:12.8309
Race 1: 3rd
Race 2: 1st
Driver Quote: “Toronto was a much needed boost back into my championship title run. We collected a good load of points, and kept it clean all week on the streets of Toronto. The emotions for winning in front of my fellow countrymen were overwhelming! I can honestly say this is the first race I have had chills from the fans. I can't thank all of the Canadian fans enough for giving me the confidence and determination to get out there and earn a spot on the top of the box! Winning in front of my family, friends and partners is a feeling I won't soon forget! Now it's back to reality though, with five races left in the championship I will be giving it my all.”
ANTHONY MARTIN
Qualifying: 1st – 1:12.5694
Race 1: 16th
Race 2: 2nd
Driver Quote: “Overall, it was a tough weekend. It all started with the crash on the Friday, which ultimately made it very tough for the two races. We are very happy with the car pace being able to qualify at the front and set some fast lap times. This gives me the confidence that I will have the pace going into Mid Ohio and hopefully I can have a clean run there with no problems. I will be pushing hard to gain the points back that I lost, but I know it won't be easy.”
NIKITA LASTOCHKIN
Qualifying: 7th – 1:13.2261
Race 1: 17th
Race 2: 6th
Driver Quote: “"I had a really great time in Toronto. Qualifying was a bit messy and left me with some work to do in the races. Race one was quite a rollercoaster where I made the outside pass work in the hairpin at T3 on three different competitors. Once I cleared the pack, I was able to make a good gap right away and saw that the next car was still not too far away. Perhaps I pushed a little too hard, and I made slight contact with the wall on the exit of T6, which was enough of a hit to force the car into retirement from fifth place. The second race was not quite as exciting, even though I started in fifth. There was a full course caution right away and two cars passed me under yellow. Race control moved only one of them behind me during the safety car period, but the race just never came to me and I couldn't get in the rhythm after the restart. I’m looking forward to Mid-Ohio, which is just around the corner.”
JORDAN CANE
Qualifying: 12th – 1:13.9568
Race 1: 9th
Race 2: 16th
Driver Quote: “We started the weekend really well, finishing P4 in the first practice, all being my first time on this track. We felt the engine had lost power in the second practice, so the guys at the team put a new engine in for qualifying the following day. We just seemed to struggle at Toronto with top-end speed, but overall, the atmosphere was fantastic, I learned a lot, and the circuit was really challenging. We are all working hard for Mid Ohio I am sure we’ll be back to full strength and fighting for podiums.
About Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing:
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing was formed in 2010 as a partnership between two successful racing entities. With leadership from brothers Nicholas and Dominic Cape, and along with Wayne Taylor and his organization in Indianapolis, the team campaigns cars in the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The goal of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing is to provide unmatched driver development both on and off the track. It is difficult for a young driver to jump into a professional series and win, regardless of talent. Through coaching and mentoring, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing provides young drivers with as much knowledge of motorsports to become as successful as possible.