LEXINGTON, Ohio – Turn 3 Motorsport made its debut into the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with driver Antoine Comeau. The rookie team and driver stayed on pace during practice and qualifying runs and completed both 40-minute races over the weekend for a solid showing in their initial series entry.
After several months of testing the Tatuus PM-18 car, Comeau, a Radical Cup North America driver and champion, entered the weekend looking to gain experience in the competitive open-wheel series. The Canadian embraced the challenge of a new style of racing, ending up 10th overall in practice and qualifying 12th for both races, keeping up with the pace set by the rest of the grid.
In Race 1, Comeau suffered a damaged nose cone at the start of the race which deteriorated over the next few laps, forcing him to eventually pit for a replacement part. Although the unforeseen pit stop set him back a lap, the team got Comeau back into the field where he greeted the checkered flag with a ninth place finish.
The team reset for Race 2 on Sunday, but a poor start from the front of the field caused a chain reaction through the pack, causing Comeau to crash the #3 Turn 3 Motorsport/ACR machine into the car in front of him before even crossing the start/finish line. Working quickly, the team was able to repair the car and send it back out to complete the remainder of the race, earning an 11thplace finish and more importantly, the experience of two full race runs.
“The weekend went pretty well for us overall,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “Being our first weekend in the series with a rookie driver, we had set realistic expectations. We knew it would be a tough challenge for Antoine (Comeau) to race in the competitive field of the Indy Pro 2000 series. During the test sessions leading up until the first qualifying session, we continued to improve. Antoine then had to learn how to adapt to the shorter qualifying sessions which was another challenge for him. He raced really well in Race 1 until the damaged nose cone forced him to pit. In Race 2, he was on pace with the mid-field, and it was the closest we ran to the leaders since joining the series.”
“There were a lot of promising takeaways from the weekend, and we will keep pushing hard from both the team and driver side to be ready for Gateway,” continued Dempsey. “Gateway will be another new challenge for Antoine being his first oval, so we are looking forward to the first series test and hoping for a strong showing there.”
Up next for Comeau and T3M on the Indy Pro 2000 schedule is the official series test at Gateway Motorsports Park on August 15 followed by Round 12 at the 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Illinois on August 23-24.