Elkhart Lake, Wisc. - This past weekend World Speed's Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires drivers headed to Road America for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2017 championship. The double-header Pro Mazda was staged as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend. The 4-mile natural terrain circuit in Wisconsin is one that has long been a driver favorite and promised yet another competitive event for the WSM Mazda Road To Indy racers.
The first sessions started off with wet conditions. Bobby Eberle, who has raced at Road America with WSM in the past, was confident enough that the track would soon dry up and was one of only three Pro Mazda drivers to roll out on slicks. WSM team mate Sting Ray Robb's strategy was to use the first session to get to know the course and so he started off on rain tires. Towards the end of the session both drivers were on slicks, and the remainder of the weekend was sunny and dry.
QUALIFYING FOR RACE 1
Sting Ray Robb 6th
Bobby Eberle 9th
Eberle came into this event confident after a great run at IMS. He got an excellent start, and picked up one position by the checkered flag. Robb was able to move up two positions in the race and secured his best finish of the season.
ROUND 5 RACE RESULTS
Sting Ray Robb 4th
Bobby Eberle 8th
QUALIFYING FOR RACE 2
Sting Ray Robb 6th
Bobby Eberle 7th
There was a lot of action in race two, and there was an incredible battle between the WSM team mates. Early in the race there were multiple yellow flag incidents, so the field was very close to one another. In the final restart Eberle and Robb ended up side-by-side. Eberle made the pass stick and came out of the corner looking at a top possible top five finish. A lot of close racing ensued and Robb got back up to 5th while Eberle was forced back to 7th. Post-race Robb was assessed a penalty for contact and was issued a 30 second "drive through" penalty.
ROUND 6 RACE RESULTS
Bobby Eberle 6th
Sting Ray Robb 11th
An interesting and exciting side note was that Sting Ray's Engineer Kevin Harrison was back in California welcoming his first child into the world on Friday. Harrison has been working in the Pro Mazda Championship since 2000, and exclusively with World Speed since 2004. Harrison has coached and engineered countless race wins and championships with the team. Harrison monitored Sting Ray's progress via WSM's secure network, and made all of the setup and strategy calls from off-site with WSM President Telo Stewart operating as his proxy.
Sting Ray Robb currently sits 6th place in the championship, and Bobby Eberle is right behind him in 7th. Next up on the Pro Mazda Championship scheduled is a double header at Mid Ohio Sportscar Course on July 28 - 30