ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – The Cape Motorsports driving quartet of Reece Gold, Josh Green, Kyle Dupell and Michael d’Orlando finally kicked off the 2020 Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires racing season on July 9-10, taking to the 4.1-mile, 14-turn Road America circuit in Wisconsin for a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship doubleheader.
After four months of waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of motorsports, Cape Motorsports and their drivers competed in a pair of races at the iconic venue, scoring three podium finishes and six top-10s. American Josh Green led the way with a pair of podiums, including a runner-up finish in Race 1 while Michael d’Orlando scored two top-five results that were highlighted with a second-place run in Race 2. Both Reece Gold and Kyle Dupell improved in the second race to advance into the top-10.
“It's been a long wait but finally we have the first race weekend in the books and, as a team, it was a really positive weekend, our guys were quick in all conditions,” offered Dominic and Nicholas Cape, team owners. “We're leading the points in the Team Championship and we currently sit 2nd, 3rd, 10th and 11th in the Drivers Championship. The whole team really did a fantastic job, so a big thanks to everyone, and our drivers Josh, Michael, Reece and Kyle worked very hard to maximize their on-track performance in each session. We are extremely happy with the first race weekend, and now we move to one of our favorite circuits, Mid-Ohio. All our drivers had a wonderful test there so we're looking forward to the next race, and we are so happy to have the season finally underway.”
After an intensive day of testing on Thursday, which culminated in a damp final session, the Cape drivers were faced with a challenge in the weekend’s lone qualifying session as heavy rain hit the facility just before the green flag. Green led the way in posting the third fastest time, while Gold was sixth, behind his teammate by just four tenths of a second. d’Orlando timed in seventh while Dupell was 12th. Friday’s scheduled was packed with both races being run following the early morning qualifying session.
In Race 1, Green quickly settled into second, but Gold’s race ended early when he was collected in an opening lap incident with Nolan Siegel in turn seven. The collateral damage extended into the second race of the doubleheader, as the grid for that race was set by each driver’s fastest lap in Race 1. Without the ability to turn a single lap at speed in Race 1, Reece was forced to start from the last row on Friday. The opening race was riddled with three full course cautions that slowed the field for seven of the 12 scheduled race laps, and this didn’t allow for the team to advance as much as they would have liked. Green held onto second, while d’Orlando advanced from seventh to fifth. Dupell finished 14th after contact on the first restart dropped him out of the top-10 after a strong opening lap.
The second race was held later in the afternoon and the Cape quartet was on the move. d’Orlando and Green ran superb races up front and were rewarded with second and third place finishes, respectively, while Gold powered forward to gain back 12 positions to finish a strong seventh. Dupell also moved forward and gained four spots to crack the top-10, putting all four Cape cars in the top half of the results.
Cape Motorsports and its drivers will now focus on the next event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 29-30.
CAPE MOTORSPORTS – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES
USF2000 – ROUNDS 1/2 – JULY 9-10, 2020
ROAD AMERICA – ELKHART LAKE, WI
JOSH GREEN - #2
Qualifying: 3rd – 2:27.0489
Race 1: Start – 3rd / Finish – 2nd
Race 2: Start – 3rd / Finish – 3rd
Driver Quote: “Road America was a great way to start off the season. With two podiums, my debut weekend in USF2000 was a success. We leave RA with a solid amount of points and a big boost of confidence heading to Mid-Ohio.”
REECE GOLD - #3
Qualifying: 6th – 2:27.4621
Race 1: Start – 6th / Finish – 19th
Race 2: Start – 19th / Finish – 7th
Driver Quote: “It was an up and down weekend in Road America. We had really good pace in practice and qualifying and I had high hopes for the race. But a crash in Race 1 put me out of the race and last for the start of Race 2. We had a good comeback though and I was able to drive through the field from P19 to P7. Not where I wanted to finish but we’ll come back better for Mid-Ohio. I’d like to thank the team for working hard to repair the car and get me back out for Race 2. And I’d like to thank The Ticket Clinic for their continued support.”
MICHAEL D’ORLANDO - #4
Qualifying: 7th – 2:27.5768
Race 1: Start – 7th / Finish – 5th
Race 2: Start – 5th / Finish – 2nd
Driver Quote: “It definitely was an eventful race week, which ultimately turned out to be a great result for me. Qualifying was a bit difficult with the changing conditions and the result was not exactly what we were looking for. But although the start of Race 1 was a bit rough, I worked hard to regain some positions and stay focused on a solid result for points to start the season. To come home with a podium in the season opener is definitely one to be remembered. We had a really good set-up in the car and it was a great battle with a strong group of drivers. I'm very proud of the result and grateful for all the hard work everyone at Cape put in. I'm super excited for the next round at Mid-Ohio with this great group of people.”
KYLE DUPELL - #14
Qualifying: 12th – 2:29.0947
Race 1: Start – 12th / Finish – 14th
Race 2: Start – 14th / Finish – 10th
Driver Quote: “Overall, I’m happy with how Road America went. We showed that the pace is there in practice as well as in the races. Luck just wasn’t on our side as I was running P7 after a mega first lap in Race 1 and was then took out on the restart. I then had to come from the back because the fast laps from Race 1 set the grid for Race 2, and drove up to tenth in a short race with lots of safety cars, which made it more difficult to get any further forward. Congrats to my teammates Josh and Michael on their first podiums in the Road to Indy this weekend. And, of course, thank you to my sponsors as well as Cape Motorsports for the weekend.”