INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After winning their seventh straight Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda title with Oliver Askew at Watkins Glen International on Labor Day weekend, the Cape Motorsports crew has been at it non-stop.
Following the end of the 2017 season, the Florida team began a planned move to a new race shop amidst the effects of Hurricane Irma, and they have also been prepping their first new Tatuus PM-18 chassis for this past weekend’s Chris Griffis Memorial Test on the road course of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reigning USF2000 champ Askew was back with his team to make the calculated graduation to the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, turning his first laps in the new Pro Mazda equipment. The team was immediately up to speed, topping the second session on Saturday and the opening session on Sunday to post the quickest time of the test.
“The test went as we had expected,” explained Dominic Cape, co-owner of Cape Motorsports with his brother Nicholas. “We worked through our run plan, which entailed multiple set-up packages and set-up changes with Oliver to build up as much information as possible. I don't think Oliver drove the same car twice. The new PM-18 is a terrific car, the Mazda engine screams. Regarding the set-up, I think there is a lot of development left in order to get the car to perform to its maximum potential. It was logistically quite difficult with having the team split up (also running drivers at the F4 event in Texas), but well worth the effort, a great job by Oliver, Will and Kyle."
Askew was extremely pleased to be back with his Cape Motorsports team in Indianapolis and, as expected, he showed why he is considered one of the best up-and-coming young talents in American motorsports. Oliver began Sunday’s test schedule by setting the fastest Pro Mazda lap of the weekend with a blistering 1:19.8142, which was over 3.5 seconds quicker than the pole time from the series’ road course event at IMS back in May.
“It was one of the most exciting moments of my career and it’s the fastest car I've ever driven, in every aspect,” Askew enthused, discussing his weekend in the new PM-18. “We were quick right out the gate, which I think says a lot about what the Capes are capable of without having the benefits of any testing. It did not take us very long to start turning the quickest laps of the weekend. I believe that our experience last year with the new USF-17 translates over to the PM-18, which is a positive. I am looking forward to having similar success.”
With this successful test now complete and a strong baseline set-up produced, Cape Motorsports is planning to run as many as three cars in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in 2018. The team picked up their second PM-18 chassis at the test and has already begun full preparation of the car ahead of their upcoming test days in November.