OKA, Quebec, Canada – Thomas Nepveu and his #2 Cromwell | Karting Excellence | Home Hardware car prepared by Cape Motorsports team will visit another classic American road course over the Fourth of July weekend, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for rounds 11, 12 and 13 of the 18-round Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship series. His recent first victory in this series, at his initial visit at Road America, was proof that he can learn high speed driving techniques and how to use aerodynamic effects to both gain and protect track positions.
This will be Thomas Nepveu’s first race at Mid-Ohio 2.258-mile, 13-turn layout, and his sixth new track over his rookie season in Cooper Tires USF2000. Over the first half of the season, the rookie driver has demonstrated his ability to learn new tracks quickly on an oval, street or road course. Dominic Cape, the leader at Cape Motorsports, is very happy with the development of his young driver. “Thomas has improved every aspect of his driving since the beginning of the season with us, especially his race craft as he demonstrated over the last three laps in his victory at Road America. He watched where his opponent was and continuously put him in a difficult position to pass him, even trapping him into braking too late into a corner and lose time along the next straight.”
The first-time winner is also very happy with his evolution so far this season. “My #2 Cromwell | Karting Excellence | Home Hardware car has been perfect, and I am learning to draw the most out of it as I did on the last three laps at Road America. I was able to execute the manoeuvres I wanted based on each situation as I watched him very closely every instant late in the race. My karting experience helped me analyze and react right up to the finish line.”
Mid-Ohio:
The technical Mid-Ohio layout is very different from the high-speed Elkhart Lake design with it’s three long straights. At Mid-Ohio, we find only one real straightaway, with a slow entry speed that limits the top speed at the end of the straight. From there, the drivers then weave through a series of seven changes of direction strung together. That requires constant attention from the driver to always be in the correct line for entry and exit from a corner and to be well placed for the next one. No time to relax on this busy little layout.
Working hard with race notes prepared by Cape Motorsports and on a simulator, Thomas Nepveu is ready for a repeat performance at Mid-Ohio, a tight track where he says that he is just as much at ease as on the quicker ones like Road America.