Eves tops USF Pro 2000 testing in mixed weather conditions

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Three of IndyCar’s support series were back in action at Mid-Ohio on Thursday for pre-event testing.

There were two 45-minute sessions scheduled for each of USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors, but heavy rain meant only the first session proved of use for the latter two series while in USFP2000 its second session ran later once the track had begun drying and so flying laps were able to be set but only one driver improved their pace.

Exclusive Autosport’s Braden Eves was fastest in USFP2000’s first session, setting a 1m19.5279s to edge Turn 3 Motorsport’s Lochie Hughes to top spot by 0.1724s. Pabst Racing’s Christian Brooks was 0.3999s behind in third, and Jay Howard Driver Development’s Frankie Mossman was 0.4598s off the pace. The top 15, completed by early championship leader Nikita Johnson, was covered by 0.9281s.

BN Racing’s Nicolas Baptiste was 17th fastest, but climbed one spot in the overall classification by improving to 1m20.6061s in session two. He was fastest in that session by 0.6671s, with Hughes again in second, and Eves was slowest as he did only two laps.

Velocity Racing Development’s Thomas Schrage set the pace in USF2000’s first session, a 1m25.7797s putting him on top by 0.3959s over DEForce Racing’s Nicolas Giaffone. Ayrton Houk (DC Autosport) and Max Taylor (VRD) were both 0.7s behind in third and fourth, with everyone else more than a second off the pace.

None of JHDD’s drivers were able to lap at a representative pace, and the three of them only did five laps each in total.

Just two drivers headed out in race two on a flooded track, with Houk setting a 1m40.7673s to lead Excluive’s Giovanni Cabrera by 0.5309s.

VRD was also on top in USF Juniors, with just 0.0418s splitting Taylor and Sebastian Wheldon at the top. Their team-mate Christian Cameron trailed by 1.2379s in third, and International Motorsport’s Ariel Elkin was a further 0.2213s behind in fourth.

Exclusive’s Evan Cooley and Jack Jeffers were the only two other drivers within two seconds of Taylor’s benchmark 1m39.0371s laptime. Jeffers had the track to himself in session two for the one lap he completed before returning to the pits and therefore ending the day’s USF Juniors action.

Test results