Nico Jamin traveled to Barber Motorsports Park with the goal of winning rounds five and six of the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and potentially taking command of the points lead after the two races.
Before Barber, the 19-year old Frenchman, racing for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, had already scored four podium finishes in four races and sat third in the 2015 championship point standings, only seven points behind the championship leader.
The racing week in Alabama started well for Jamin, who scored another pole position for race one. This was the second pole position for the driver from Rouen this season, and his fourth pole total, including the 2015 Cooper Tires Winterfest. The weather at Barber was really changing, and qualifying and race one were contested under dry conditions.
Jamin, driving the No. 2 Synova Automotive Eco-Plastics USF2000 Mazda, was ready to take command of race 1. His goal was to keep the lead all the way to the checkered flag, but unfortunately, despite a great start from Jamin, the scenario did not play as planned. Victor Franzoni bumped Jamin, and the Brazilian’s car catapulted the Frenchman’s car into the gravel pit after only a few corners, stopping Jamin’s hope for another victory. Jamin was able to rejoin the race, but lost one lap in the incident and all hopes to take command of the championship lead after race one.
Despite Jamin finishing 14th in race one, his Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammate, Aaron Telitz, produced a stunning performance to earn victory in the first of two races.
Jamin was unhappy with the result of race one and the incident that cost him second place in the championship. He had only one ambition in mind: Win race two from flag to flag. Two hours before the set race time, the weather took a turn for the worse and a thunderstorm and heavy rain made the track conditions impossible to race. The race was delayed by 30 minutes and finally, after the rain stopped, the competitors were able to start the formation lap on a very wet track.
That was of little consequence to Jamin, who started on the pole, his fifth of the year so far. Jamin made it look easy, as he romped clear from the start and pulled away with every lap. Jamin remained unflustered, though his advantage twice was slashed to nothing by full-course cautions due to a couple of cars sliding off the road and getting stranded in the gravel. He even found time to reset fastest lap of the race in a green/white/checkered, one-lap dash to the finish. His eventual margin of victory was 1.1751 seconds. That night, the Frenchman really showed what he is made of and was in a class of his own.
“I'm very satisfied after this third race weekend at Barber,” said Jamin. “We got the two pole positions in the dry, and I got my second victory this year in Race two in the wet. That shows that we have a very good pace in every condition, which is very important. Unfortunately I got hit by Victor Franzoni at the start of race one, which put me one lap down. We're still second in the 2015 championship point standings, but it's very close. Our Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing team is working super hard, and we're looking forward to the month of May for the two meetings at Indianapolis. I'm very excited about that, and it's always been a dream for me to win at Indy, as it's the temple of motorsports in the world.”
After six rounds of the 16-race Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda season, Jamin trails championship leader, Jake Eidson, by only 11 points (152-141).
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will continue with another pair of races run in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series - and all three steps on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system - at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis May 7-9.