Liam Sceats remains in the mix in the USF Pro 2000 Championship following a top-ten finish in his oval debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park last weekend.
The New Zealand Grand Prix winner climbed from sixteenth on the grid to finish ninth, gaining ground on championship leader Nikita Johnson, who failed to finish.
Sceats sits fourth in the standings after nine of 18 rounds and only 24 points off the lead
“A steep learning curve, but a highly enjoyable experience on my oval debut,” said Sceats. “The first session on the oval was promising. From lap one, I got in touch with the feel and was on the ball pretty much straight away. I was happy with that.
“Qualifying, we should’ve been well inside the top 10, but on my first push lap, I drove a little desperately to really extract the most to give myself a good starting spot for the race, but it ended with a correction to keep the car out of the wall, which killed all my momentum and resulted in a disappointing result.
“Starting p16 for the race, I spent the first half of it trying to get comfortable, get used to the pace and figure out how to maximise the opportunities. I came on strong in the second half and moved forward to salvage a P9 finish and a solid haul of points.
“It was the most physical race of my life, to say the least, but I’m happy that the work I put into my physical fitness showed.
“I still had more in me at the race finish, whereas those around me were dropping off quite a bit – a lap or two more, and I’m confident we would’ve cleared P7 after being right on the back of them at the chequered.”
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With his oval and street circuit debuts behind him, Sceats enters the second half of the season with momentum, having taken his maiden victory on the Indianapolis Road Course earlier in the month.
A triple header at Road America awaits, followed by rounds at Mid-Ohio, on the Toronto Street Course, and the season-finale at Portland.
“The first half of the season was always going to be the tougher half, so to be well in the championship fight, it is a testament to the very positive start we’ve had to this competitive championship,” Sceats added.
“I’m very excited to be entering the second half and am completely focused on the championship game as the main intent is to win the championship and the prize of USD 680,000 to go towards Indy NXT in 2025.
“Quick turnaround, as next weekend we have a triple header at Road America, supporting Indycar. The testing there was positive last week, so I expect nothing less than competing near the pointy end of the field.”
Well done Liam.
Keep the pressure on..