TORONTO, Ont., Canada – Team Pelfrey hit the streets of Toronto this weekend for Rounds eight and nine of Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Rounds ten and eleven of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
Julian van der Watt secured another top five result in round nine of the USF2000 Championship thanks to a brilliant recovery drive, with Kyle Dupell bringing home a very strong drive through the field to secure ninth position, despite battling an illness all weekend. Bruna Tomaselli ran a career-best fifth in the second race of the weekend, but contact in the latter stages of the race relegated her to 13th.
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Photos courtesy of INDYCAR Photography
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Julian van der Watt(No. 80 Race Driver SA / Crossley & Webb Team Pelfrey USF2000)
- Qualifying 1:9th
- Qualifying 2:9th
- Race 1:10th
- Race 2:5th
“The weekend as a whole I think was pretty good, we learned a lot. In practice, we faced a lot of engine issues, so our first time on track was really Qualifying #1. That went well for us since we ended up P9 and all the drivers at the front were so close. In Race #1, we started ninth and there was quite a lot of contact- which was unfortunate and I fell to 17th, but fought back to 10th. Race #2 was also a really hectic race, where I started ninth again. There was a huge pile-up in turn three where half the field was involved so I fell back to like second to last, but luckily the car wasn’t damaged. The car was amazing, we had really good pace, we had basically the same time as the leaders. The team did an amazing job, I really want to say thanks to them.”
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Bruna Tomaselli(No. 82 Bruna & Bia Team Pelfrey USF2000)
- Qualifying 1:13th
- Qualifying 2:15th
- Race 1:13th
- Race 2:13th
“We had a difficult weekend here in Toronto, it was my first time here. In the race yesterday, I started P13 and I finished in 13thbecause I had a problem in the first corner, and I lost some positions. In Race 2, I finished P13, and I had a good start. I jumped from P13 to 4th, which was really great, I tried to keep my position and keep at the front of the grid at the beginning of the race, but fell to P7. I tried to defend my position at the end of the race, but ended up losing the car. I’m upset because of it, but it’s racing and that happens. It was a good weekend, it could’ve been much better if I would’ve finished in the position I was on the last lap, but now we’re thinking about Mid-Ohio. We will have three races there, so we have more chances to be at the front of the grid.”
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Kyle Dupell(No. 81 Opal Creek Capital / Pro Race Management Team Pelfrey USF2000)
- Qualifying 1: 16th
- Qualifying 2:16th
- Race 1:15th
- Race 2: 9th
“The weekend was a good learning process for street racing for sure! With all the grip changes, it made for interesting car control. I was battling a cold and the high humidity certainly didn’t help, but I was very happy with my progression in speed and overall team effort! I was fortunate to be prepared and able to avoid the opening lap incident on Sunday’s race and it moved me way up in the field and gave me an opportunity to race hard at the front of the pack! Happy for the opportunity to race in Toronto and very happy to finish the race in the top 10.” |
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