LEEDS, Ala. – This weekend’s Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season opener at Barber Motorsports Park left much to be desired for sophomore team Turn 3 Motorsport. Though the team showed speed and capability with drivers Josh Green and Dylan Christie during pre-season testing, a number of setbacks during the course of the weekend presented challenges for the T3M duo that were difficult to overcome.
In Qualifying 1, Green and Christie were caught out when a red flag ended the session prematurely, denying them the opportunity to put out their best lap times. For Race 1 of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Barber Motorsports Park, Green started eighth while teammate Christie rolled out 19th.
As the 26-car field sailed through the opening laps, Green held onto P8 as the contenders settled into a rhythm. Green worked to gain positions on track during the 20-lap contest, but despite his best efforts, he brought the #33 car home in P9.
After a clean race start, Christie was involved in a minor incident with the #20 car of Simon Sikes, calling him into the pits for quick repairs to his #34 car. Though the 17-year-old returned to the field five laps down, he continued to put out fast lap times and finished the race in P21.
Qualifying 2 left Green with the eighth fastest time once again while Christie put together a quick lap that placed him fifth fastest for the start of Race 2.
In Race 2, Green had a great start that pushed him up to sixth. Shortly after that, the 18-year-old locked into fifth, staying on the gearbox of Kiko Porto’s #12 car. Green continued to battle for position throughout the rest of the race, eventually surrendering two positions and ending the race in P7.
Christie went into Race 2 focused on achieving a podium finish after an excellent qualifying effort. Unfortunately, contact with the #22 car of Yuven Sundaramoorthy left Christie with a puncture, sending him to the pits for repairs once again and leaving him with a P20 race result.
“I think we have a lot of potential for this season,” said Christie. “It felt great to qualify in the top 5 and to be on pace with the leaders. It’s unfortunate that the results didn’t come in the end, but I know with my current rate of improvement this is going to be a great season. I’m getting along great with the team, and I understand the car more and more each session. I’m looking forward to getting to St. Petersburg this weekend.”
“This was for sure not the weekend we planned for, but in the face of adversity we proved strong and walked away with two solid finishes that leave us in a good spot in the championship,” said Green. “I want to say a huge thank you to the entire Turn 3 Motorsport squad for never backing down despite all the unexpected events that occurred. Look for us at St. Pete.”
“Both of our drivers showed they have the pace,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “To get two solid finishes for Josh in our first race in the series is a great baseline for the remainder of the season. Obviously we know we have areas to improve as a team, and we will do our best to regroup and come back stronger for St. Petersburg this weekend. With it being Dylan’s first year in the series, there is going to be a learning phase through the first few events, but his Qualifying 2 effort showed his ability to be at the front. Hopefully he can use this as a stepping stone to improve his competitiveness and challenge for wins and podiums during the season.”
The Road to Indy series continues to St. Petersburg, Florida this weekend for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2021 season. The downtown circuit will be the first street course for Christie with Green previously competing at the track in his rookie USF2000 season last year.