ESKILSTUNA, Sweden -- Joel Granfors’ street track debut coincided with the Swede’s first-ever race on American soil earlier this year, on a mixed weekend for the Exclusive Autosport rookie in St. Petersburg, Florida back in March.
A pitlane collision forced Granfors to sit out qualifying, leaving him at the back of the grid for that weekend’s pair of races – in which he later stormed through to salvage important points and even set the fastest lap of the entire meeting.
Since then, Granfors has established himself as one of the frontrunners in the USF Pro 2000 pack, racking up three podiums and one victory en route to third place in the current championship standings.
Heading into Toronto, the Swede is keen for more.
“I’m looking forward a lot to this weekend,” says Granfors. “I’ve never been to Toronto, so it’s yet another new track for me. I feel like we have some unfinished street track business from St. Pete and that unfortunate qualifying issue. The pace was there for much more than what we got, so hopefully this weekend we can build on that and have a more straightforward event with a strong result.”
The 1.786-mile Toronto street course is laid out in the heart of the Canadian city, proving a fan favourite for decades.
“From what I’ve heard, Toronto is even tighter and more technical than St. Pete, so this will be an interesting weekend,” Granfors concludes. “There appears to be even less room for mistakes and it’s very narrow, especially in the second half of the lap. Qualifying will probably be crucial this weekend as starting up front will be a big advantage.”
Two races are set to be contested in USF Pro 2000 this weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. In third overall, Granfors currently trails second-placed Brazilian driver Kiko Porto by a mere two points in the standings, with several others also in close proximity.