St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing drivers picked up two wins in last weekend’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda Allied Building Products Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, August 1-3. Cape Motorsports also claimed its third-straight team championship.
In the first of three races, Frenchman Florian Latorre scored his fifth pole position of the season while American Jake Eidson started eighth and German Keyvan Andres Soori started 15th. After losing the lead in the first lap, Latorre held off the rest of the field to finish second in a race that was slowed by rainstorms. Eidson picked up four spots in the last two laps to finish fourth, and rookie Andres Soori finished 20th.
The next day, the Cape trio lined up for Race 2. Latorre started from pole, Eidson started sixth and Andres Soori started 13th. A new day brought similar conditions as storms created tricky track conditions and numerous cautions. In the end, Eidson was the victor in a green/white/checkered finish to pick up his second win of the season. Latorre finished fourth, and Andres Soori finished ninth.
Race 3 proved to be a much better day for weather as Latorre started from pole, Eidson in seventh and Andres Soori in 21st. After losing the lead early in the first two races, Latorre took command of the race and never looked back for his second win of the season. Eidson finished eighth and Andres Soori finished 14th to win the Tilton Hard Charger Award.
“Another great race weekend,” said team owners Dominic and Nicholas Cape. “The weather didn’t want to cooperate with us, but luckily our drivers were able to preserve for good finishes. The driver championship is going to be decided in the last races, but it’s always nice when teammates are battling for the title.”
Latorre and Eidson are 1-2 in the point standings with two races remaining (277-247).
The team clinched the USF2000 championship, the third championship in as many years.
“Winning our third-straight team championship is awesome and just shows the level of commitment from our crew,” said Dominic and Nicholas Cape. “Will, Don, Tom, Reg, Colin, Tyler, Dave, Jim, Jeremy, Kyle and Larry all did a fantastic job all year, and all their hard work has paid off.”
The final two rounds of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will take place once again in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series at Sonoma Raceway, Calif., on August 23 and 24.