Oka (Quebec, Canada) – Sixteen-year-old Thomas Nepveu announced today that he is moving up to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship single-seater series on the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires after a brilliant nine-year career in karting with PSL Karting and Birel ART. Along the way, the young driver has competed in more than 300 races, accumulating countless victories, eight championships and twenty-two (22) top-10 finishes in high-level international events and in various championships (Canada, United States, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Finland).
Nepveu will drive the #2 car for Cape Motorsports, the leading team in the series, having built up a remarkable record of nine straight championships in the category (for a total of 13 championships in all). Nepveu will compete in all 18 races during the 2021 season, two of which will be held at the iconic Honda Toronto Indy on July 9-11, 2021.
“I am thrilled to be moving up to single-seaters for the 2021 season and especially with Cape Motorsports, one of the best teams in the USF2000 series. Pre-season testing with them has convinced me that their knowledge and winning experience will put me in the best possible position to quickly develop my racecraft and driving skills. I have a great professional team working to assist with my development, and I also want to thank my parents, Coy Arbour and all those who have helped me reach this point in my career,” declared the young driver.
“We are extremely delighted to welcome Thomas into our program for 2021. Thomas' skills come with a dedicated approach to the hard work needed, which is clearly what we are looking for at this level. We can’t wait to start preparing for the season ahead,” shared Dominic and Nicholas Cape.
Nepveu and his strategic team and have developed a two-pronged career plan that focuses on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES (North America's foremost single-seater series), coupled with participation in international kart championships with PSL Karting and Birel ART when time permits. The learning experience and communications generated by these activities will be optimized and promoted through the Road to Indy program as well as additional promotional and communications activities throughout the season.
Accompanied by Coy Arbour, his long-time technical manager and driving coach, Nepveu drove a single-seater for the first time ever at the Querétaro, Mexico round of the NACAM Formula 4 series in 2020. He won one race and earned two podiums in three races over that weekend while putting in some dominant drives. During post-season testing in USF2000, he was able to learn the car quickly enough to put in lap times within a half-second of USF2000 veteran drivers.
Nepveu understands how important his education is to help build his professional career. He is successfully pursuing his studies using distance learning.
The first of the 18 races in the 2021 USF2000 season will take place on March 5 to 7 on the streets of St. Petersburg (Florida), the same weekend as the opening race of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.