TORONTO, Ont., Canada – When the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda staged Round 6 of the championship through the Streets of Toronto over the weekend, it presented the first-ever race on a temporary street circuit for series rookie Darren Keane. But Keane took on that challenge in a big way to score his best finish of the year with a fourth place result in Sunday’s Race 2.
The result was a welcome one for Keane and his Newman Wachs Racing team after a 10th-place finish in the first race of the weekend on Saturday. Several different series raced on the 1.75-mile circuit with non-stop action over the course of the weekend, and the constantly changing track conditions made for an extra hurdle as Keane continued to learn the ins and outs of the USF2000 series in just his fourth race weekend.
“We had a clean solid run but I was a little disappointed in our result on Saturday because I knew we were capable of much more,” said Keane. “I’m not used to the track changing so much and that’s what was catching me out. We made a change for the second qualifying session (on Saturday morning) and it was better for us. But then the track changed again for Race 1. It’s all about the learning experience for me right now as I race on new tracks that are all different types of circuits for me in USF2000.”
Looking for more in Race 2, Keane qualified 11th and immediately set to work when the green flag flew. In a race that saw some attrition, Keane kept his No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing entry clean through the 30-minute race, while several of his more experienced competitors were caught out.
Keane improved six positions through the first segment of the race, but it wasn’t easy for him once the No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing entry had moved into the top-five. Following a final restart, Keane passed for fourth in the final laps, but went into full defense mode when the competition tightened up on the final lap.
“Before the final restart I was faster than the car ahead of me, but I had some understeer and I couldn’t get the power down coming out of Turn 1,” said Keane. “So I was faster than him the whole lap but I couldn’t pass him into Turn 3 which is the only sure passing spot. The restart helped because everyone started mixing it up and I was able to place my car in the right spots. I have done a lot of go-kart racing, and I know how to defend. He (fifth place) caught me but he wasn’t going to get by me on the last lap! It was really hard, but really fun. Lots of pressure though, I always had someone behind me. I felt like I was really close to the limit but made no mistakes so I’m really happy.”
Keane entered the weekend understanding how important it was to have a clean race through the tight confines of the concreted-lined circuit. The rookie racer executed perfectly and came away just one spot shy of a podium finish.
“The car never had a scratch on it all weekend long,” offered Keane. “Thank you to everyone at Newman Wachs Racing for giving me a great car. It was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get back out there in a couple of weeks.”
Keane will be back in Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda competition in two weeks at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 27-29.