Josh Green Places Sixth in Overall Championship
PORTLAND, Ore. – Rookie Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires driver Jonathan Browne earned a fifth-place finish in Race 1 of the season finale at Portland International Raceway last weekend, his best race result in a competitive first year campaign with the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. The 22-year-old also claimed a pole position earlier this year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with eight additional top-10 finishes in his maiden season of racing in the USA.
Qualifying for the Grand Prix of Portland started off promising, but a red flag with just four minutes to go prevented both Browne and teammate Josh Green from getting the most out of their fresh sets of Cooper Tires in their second run. The hiccup resulted in an 11th-place starting position for Browne and sixth for Green in Race 1.
Chaos amongst the field at the start of Race 1 opened the door for Browne to slide up to fifth while Green avoided contact to land in eighth. After 30 laps of green flag racing, Browne finished fifth while Green brought home a ninth-place finish.
The start of Race 2 was delayed due to a fallen jumbotron on the northwestern road course and then shortened to just 22 laps. Unfortunately, both Browne and Green suffered contact in the second race; Green collided with the #18 car of Yuven Sundaramoorthy in Turns 10/11 on Lap 2, finishing P13, while Browne tapped the #5 car of Marcos Flack, puncturing his tire and finishing P14.
The pair struggled to gain track positions in the third and final race of the weekend, resulting in P8 for Green and P12 for Browne. Despite a challenging weekend, Green came out of the finale sixth overall in the championship with 298 points. The 19-year-old had a creditable rookie season in Indy Pro 2000, earning two pole positions, a win and three additional podiums to add to his resume going into 2023.
#2 Jonathan Browne // Indy Pro 2000
Human Centred Movement / CRPS Awareness
“This weekend started off great with a P5 in Race 1," said Browne. "Unfortunately, that was as good as it got as there was unavoidable contact in Race 2 which led to a puncture, setting me back. Then in Race 3, we just struggled to get another top result. It’s all a learning experience, and we have learned a lot this whole season. A big thank you to the team for everything they have done this season. Let’s see what the future holds!”
#3 Josh Green // Indy Pro 2000
SessionGuardian / Zimperium / Lionfish Tech Advisors / Mark Green / JHG Investments
“It was a full weekend out at Portland, but not necessarily the results we were looking for due to some unfortunate bad luck," said Green. "Nevertheless, it’s been such a bountiful season full of learning and accomplishments. It’s been a pleasure getting to run with Turn 3 Motorsport and continue that bond as a family across two seasons. I can’t thank them enough for all that I’ve learned and gained throughout my time under their tent. Now we’re both onto new chapters in 2023!”
“It’s been a great year working with Josh and Jonathan,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “They both have produced some great results for our team. We have learned a lot this year, and I’m very proud of the fight we have shown throughout the season. We certainly showed we have the competitiveness to compete for wins and poles. Now we need to work on our consistency to fight for a championship in 2023. Josh has been with us for two years and has really turned himself around as a driver and a person since he joined us. It’s been a pleasure to have him on the team, and we wish him the best of luck for the future. Jonathan ticked all the boxes in his rookie year, and now we will turn our focus to development over the winter and make sure we are fully prepared to fight in 2023.”
With the 2022 season complete, Turn 3 Motorsport will shift their focus to off season testing in preparation for racing in 2023.