Simon Sikes leads laps enroute to strong fourth-place finish

MANSFIELD, OHIO – Legacy Autosport scored its first top-five finish of the 2020 Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on the September 11-13 weekend, taking fourth in the third round of the tripleheader with Atlanta, GA’s Simon Sikes. The 19-year-old is driving as part of a strategic partnership between Legacy Autosport and Marotti Autosport and was in competition for this second USF2000 weekend, having made his debut on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

American Michael Myers also made his second start, and continued his impressive rise up a steep learning curve, showing tremendous speed gains from start to finish. The Indianapolis, Indiana rookie improved his gap to the veterans by two seconds over the course of the weekend and was rewarded with a 15th place finish in Race 2, having battled tooth-and-nail for 20 laps with a quartet of competitors.

Friday practice was followed by separate qualifying sessions for the first two races of the tripleheader, and Sikes led the way, timing in 14th for Race 1. Myers gained 1.3 seconds on his competition from practice as he continued to push his personal limits. In Race 2 qualifying, Sikes’ flying lap was halted by an unfortunate red flag, which left him mired down in 17th without a chance to fully maximize his sticker tire run on the fresh Coopers. Myers again improved his pace, rolling more and more corner speed to turn up the wick with his fastest times of the weekend.

Sikes gained valuable close-quarters experience in the USF2000 car in the opening race on Saturday morning, battling for position from green to checker, taking 13th in the final tally. Myers followed suit and logged crucial competitive seat time in the Tatuus USF-17 and brought the car home clean with a 19th place finish.

In the second race of the tripleheader on Saturday afternoon, Simon battled hard but went off-track and dropped to the tail of the field, which opened the door for a crucial strategy call from the team. With the grid for Race 3 being set by the drivers’ fast lap from Race 2, Legacy Autosport brought Simon in for new tires, which he used to post the second fastest time of the race to secure of the outside of the front row for the weekend finale. Myers again maximized the track time and found himself in good battles through the race to finish 15th.

In the final race of the weekend, Sikes started on the outside of the front row and fought with series point leader and polesitter Christian Rasmussen early in the opening lap, eventually finishing the pass in turn four to lead his first laps in Road to Indy competition. Sikes led three laps and would eventually bring home a fourth-place finish to cap the event in style. Myers was solid once again, completing every lap of the weekend to drive his car back to the team hauler with a 17th place finish.

The team will now re-focus on the final event of the year at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida in late October. Sikes is slated to be with the squad once again and additional drivers are in discussion with the team for their remaining seats in both USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000.

LEGACY AUTOSPORT – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES

USF2000 – ROUND 10/11/12 – SEPTEMBER 11-13, 2020

MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE – MANSFIELD, OHIO

SIMON SIKES - #20

Qualifying 1: 14^th – 1:22.4040

Qualifying 2: 17^th – 1:22.5045

Race 1: Start – 14^th / Finish – 13^th

Race 2: Start – 17^th / Finish – 18^th

Race 3: Start – 2^nd / Finish – 4^th

Driver Quote: “Overall, the weekend went largely according to plan. Legacy Autosport/Marotti Autosport and I developed pace throughout the weekend as I got up to speed and as we developed the set-up. We started the weekend out mid-field and found pace as the sessions progressed. By the end, we had a fast car and results to show for it. In my best performance yet, I started on the front row, led my first laps in USF2000 and finished a strong fourth place! I’m looking forward to my next USF2000 event at St. Petersburg, Florida to finish the season.”

MICHAEL MYERS - #24

Qualifying 1: 20^th – 1:23.3288

Qualifying 2: 20^th – 1:23.0293

Race 1: Start – 20^th / Finish – 19^th

Race 2: Start – 20^th / Finish – 15^th

Race 3: Start – 19^th / Finish – 17^th

Driver Quote: ““Coming into the Road to Indy series has taught me a lot within the past two events between spending time with the team and developing myself as a driver. Even though my results have not reflected the progress and knowledge I am gaining, I can confidently say that Legacy Autosport and I are going to be ones to watch out for once I get the experience and seat time I desperately need. Each round and every session, I am making notable progress and I will keep that momentum moving forward!”