Browne Earns Best Finishes of the Season at Wisconsin Road Course
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires driver Josh Green scored another podium finish as well as his second pole of the season at this weekend’s Road America doubleheader race.
Green ended the pre-event test day in the top spot before heading into official practice and qualifying on Friday. The rookie qualified fifth for Race 1 and took the Cooper Tires Pole Award in qualifying for Race 2. Knowing he had a quick car capable of racing at the front, Green put his car up to P3 by Lap 4 of Race 1 and soon after completed the pass for P2. Green spent the remaining laps chasing down the #90 car of Louis Foster – forming a four-second gap over P3 in his pursuit – and ultimately crossed the start/finish line in second.
Green started from the pole for Race 2 with a group of championship competitors falling in line behind him itching to take over the lead. Green had a great start and held the lead ahead of the field while vying for his second win of the season over the next 15 laps. After surrendering a few positions during some hard fought battles, Green eventually delivered a sixth-place result for the #3 car in the second and final race of the weekend.
#3 Josh Green // Indy Pro 2000 SessionGuardian / Zimperium / Lionfish Tech Advisors / Mark Green / JHG Investments
“It was a super strong weekend,” said Green. “We started with a good car and barely touched it throughout the four days. We were one of the fastest cars all weekend long, and we showed that with a pole and a podium. We keep building and the championship fight continues to get tighter. Off track was also awesome, and the fans were amazing as always in Wisconsin!”
Teammate Jonathan Browne had a strong weekend, becoming quickly acclimated to the 4.014-mile road course and securing his best finishes of the season this far. Qualifying didn’t play out in Browne’s favor with the Irishman not getting the results he would have preferred, but the rookie showed strong pace and race craft in both Indy Pro 2000 races.
In Race 1, Browne started P11 but put the #2 car up to P9 by the end of Lap 1. After the Lap 3 restart, Browne overtook the #55 car of Reece Gold for eighth place and then the #1 car of Kiko Porto for seventh shortly after. Browne then put in some of the fastest lap times in the field and improved up to P6 before losing a couple of positions in a later scrap. Browne finished P8 in Race 1, his best result of the season so far, and put on another great fight amongst some strong competition in Race 2 the following day where he finished P9.
#2 Jonathan Browne // Indy Pro 2000 Human Centred Movement / CRPS Awareness
“I’m happy with the pace we showed as a team,” said Browne. “It’s been the most consistent pace I’ve had all year which is positive. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the best qualifying for both races which held us back from showing our true potential, but I was glad to have some strong finishes in the end. Now we focus on to Mid-Ohio in a couple of weeks!”
“It was a solid weekend for us as a team,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “I felt both Josh and Jonathan extracted everything out of the weekend. Obviously, it was great to get another pole and a podium with Josh, but it was also great to have Jonathan’s pace be there every session which helped us keep improving as a team. Unfortunately, not we weren’t able to stay out front in Race 2, but there are days where you have to pick your battles. Now we turn our focus to Mid-Ohio, a track that I feel we have a potential to get good results on. Our focus will be to try to continue improving our performances as a group.”
Next up for Indy Pro 2000 is Rounds 11/12 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course June 30 - July 3.