Toronto, Ont. (July 17, 2016) -- Lucas Kohl's weekend in Toronto was at times more like a track and field event as opposed to auto racing.
Kohl, driver of the No. 34 Bellko car, and his John Cummiskey Racing team had a lot of hurdles put in front of them to jump over, as issues with the car all three days posed a lot of challenges.Sunday in the Team Cooper Tire USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda Race 2, an issue cropped up right after the green flag fell, and the result was a 12th-place finish for the 18-year-old Brazilian.
"It was really a shame," Kohl said. "I had a great start but then got hit from behind and got a flat. I stayed out on the track and kept digging, but there was really nothing we could do. I thought it was a good result given the circumstances."
Heading into Turn 1 on the race's opening lap, Kohl, starting 15th , was tapped from behind and spun, and while he was able to continue, it was revealed post-race that he had cut the right rear tire in the contact, leaving just 5 psi in the tire.
Unable to make a real charge, Kohl soldiered on and still was able to complete all 23 laps of the 30-minute, timed race. His fastest lap came on Lap 19, when he circled the 11-turn, 1.786-mile street circuit in 1 minute, 14.9092 seconds, for an average speed of 85.832 mph.
Despite the cut tire, Kohl's fast lap in Race 2 was just 0.3684 seconds slower than his fast lap in Race 1 on Saturday.
"I just tried to maintain a consistent time," Kohl said. "When you have a flat it's so hard to control the car, even when you have four good tires it's hard to control the car. I put it out of my mind, I didn't want to crash the car and I just wanted to do my best and bring it home."
"I feel bad for the JCR guys. They worked really hard all weekend to put a great car on the track (Sunday) and we didn't get a chance to show what we had."
After a one-week break, the series heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex in Lexington, Oh, for a test day on July 28 along with three races July 29-31.
Lucas Kohl, No. 34 Bellko
Started: 15th
Finished: 12th