TORONTO, Ont., Canada – Exclusive Autosport’s Louis Foster claimed a rare full-points scoop in the double-header L&W Supply Grand Prix of Toronto to increase his already healthy championship lead in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. In addition to two race wins, the Basingstoke, England native put an exclamation mark on his weekend by taking all bonus points for pole position, fastest race lap and most laps led – 66 points in total.
Foster claimed the Cooper Tires Pole Award for today’s race in a second qualifying session yesterday morning, bettering his pole time logged on Friday by over a half a second. He romped into the lead at the drop of the green flag but the caution flags immediately flew with a multi-car incident in Turn One.
Nolan Siegel (DEForce Racing), who started second, was hit from behind by Jordan Missig (Pabst Racing) igniting a chain reaction that collected Josh Green (Turn 3 Motorsport), Kiko Porto (DEForce Racing) and Enaam Ahmed (Juncos Hollinger Racing). All were able to continue with the exception of Green, who had started third and was a podium finisher in yesterday’s round.
The race resumed on Lap 6 but, again, the caution flags flew straightaway as Jonathan Browne (Turn 3 Motorsport) spun in Turn 6 directly in front of Siegel – who was not so lucky this time as the incident took both drivers out of the race.
Foster was fully in command at the restart on Lap 8 with Missig running second and Reece Gold, who started fourth and escaped the opening lap melee, in third. The ensuing 17 laps remained caution-free with Foster eventually crossing the line with a 4.9 second lead to score another PFC Award for Team Owner Michael Duncalfe.
Missig and Gold initially completed the podium with Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Pabst Racing) and Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports w/Exclusive Autosport) rounding out the top five. A post-race penalty for avoidable contact for the first-lap incident was served to Missig which elevated Sundaramoorthy to his third podium of the year. He also earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award for a gain of seven positions.
The Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires will be back in action for its second oval race of the season on August 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway in support of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Provisional championship points after 14 of 18 rounds:
1. Louis Foster, 315
2. Reece Gold, 252
3. Nolan Siegel, 244
4. Enaam Ahmed, 243
5. Josh Green, 231
6. Braden Eves, 218
7. Kiko Porto, 207
8. Salvador De Alba, 199
9. Jack William Miller, 179
10. Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 173.
Louis Foster (#90 Copart.com/Novara Technologies-Exclusive Autosport Tatuus PM-22): “This means so much to the team. The aim from the start of the year was for Michael (Duncalfe) and the team to get a win at their home grand prix, so to take both wins, we couldn’t be prouder.
“It was unfortunate, what happened on the first lap. I would have liked to race those guys, especially Nolan who was on fresh tires. After that, it was a matter of managing my pace to Jordan behind me. Only the one incident - I was a bit wide on entry into Turn Five, pushing the braking zone and trying for fastest race lap. I hoped it would stick, I was only a tire-width off my usual line. But I hit a bump and was full-lock on the brakes so good to have gotten away with that. Four races left, so I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing – make intelligent decisions and try to win races.”
Reece Gold (#55 The Ticket Clinic-Junco Hollinger Racing Tatuus PM-22): “It was all about staying out of trouble today, avoiding all the incidents. The team did a great job – we might not have had the best car this weekend, but we worked with what we had and took home a podium and great points. It’s good to be back up here, kudos to Louis and Jordan for a great race. This is such a different track than St. Pete, so much bumpier – I have a lot of experience at St. Pete but only one prior race here. The track changes through the weekend so much more than St. Pete does – I was able to learn a lot over the weekend that I can use next year. Now just looking forward to getting back on the oval in a month and to finish the season on the road course in Portland.”