Jake Parsons had a promising weekend hampered by bad luck during rounds eight and nine of the Pro Mazda Series at Road America. The 21-year-old Juncos driver is still taking plenty of positives forward from his first visit to the scenic four mile (6km) long Wisconsin circuit.
The young Australian had his best qualifying of the season so far, starting on the front row, but had a challenging time in both races. Running a strong second in the early morning’s opening race, Parsons was hit from behind, causing major rear wing damage and dropping him back to sixth position.
In the second of the days races on the 14 turn Elkhart Lake circuit, the #00 car driver was once again battling for the lead and running a strong pace. A small mistake proved costly, ending his challenge for the win, but the 2014 AsiaCup Champion went on to show his strength of character and talent, returning to the track to produce impressively fast and consistent lap times.
“It was an unfortunate end to what was looking to be a great weekend,” said Parsons afterwards. “But I will take away a lot of positives from Road America as our speed was really strong, and I’ll definitely learn from this experience to be stronger next time.”
Round 10 of the Pro Mazda Championship takes place at Iowa Speedway on 9-10 July.
Follow the action live on www.roadtoindy.tv with commentary, timing and video. You can find more information and full results on the Pro Mazda Championship atwww.promazdachampionship.com
2016 PRO MAZDA CALENDAR
March 11-13 – Round 1 & 2 – Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg, St Petersburg, FL
April 22-24 – Round 3 & 4 – Grand Prix of Alabama – Barber, AL
May 12-14 – Round 5 & 6 – Grand Prix of Indianapolis – Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IN
May 27 – Round 7 – Night Before the 500 – Lucas Oils Raceway, Indianapolis, IN
June 24-26 – Round 8 & 9 – Grand Prix of Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI
July 10 – Round 10 – Iowa Speedway, IA
July 15-17 – Round 11 & 12 – Grand Prix of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CA
July 29-31 – Round 13 & 14 – Grand Prix of Mid Ohio, Lexington, OH
September 9-11 – Round 15 & 16 – Grand Prix of Monterey, Laguna Seca, CA