// Swede picks up steady points score at Mid-Ohio
// Exclusive Autosport rookie features in ultra-close pole position scrap
Joel Granfors is back in the championship top three in USF Pro 2000 following a decent points score at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend.
Granfors racked up a pair of top ten finishes in the two races staged in Lexington, Ohio, taking fourth in Race 1 and ninth in Race 2.
The Swede featured prominently in an exciting battle for pole position in qualifying for the opening race, eventually ending up third – a mere 0.07s off the ultimate pace. In the race itself, he then overcame a red-flag stoppage for rain and an ensuing change to wet-weather tyres to eventually finish fourth, as the top non-American.
In Race 2, Granfors’ fate was essentially sealed when traffic in Qualifying 2 rendered a ninth-place grid slot, translating into the same result by the chequered flag.
“A decent weekend, and certainly a big step forward from Road America where we struggled,” says Joel Granfors. “It was a little hit-and-miss with the balance of the car in practice, but we got it right for qualifying and very nearly got the pole for Race 1. It’s very hard to overtake at this track, which I experienced particularly in Race 2. I felt a lot quicker than the cars ahead but just couldn’t find a way past.”
Granfors now moves up from fourth to third in the USF Pro 2000 standings.
“We did better than the drivers immediately around us in the championship this weekend, but we also did lose a little bit of ground to the leader,” Joel Granfors concludes. “We gained some in the first race, but it was a shame with that traffic in second qualifying that put us down the grid for Race 2. That cost us quite a bit this weekend. All in all, a decent performance, but we are here to win.”
The next USF Pro 2000 round takes place in Toronto, Canada, on July 14-16.
// RESULTS
USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires
Rd. 6 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (USA)
// CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires
After 6/9 rounds
1: Myles Rowe (USA), 251 p.
2: Kiko Porto (BRA), 187 p.
3: Joel Granfors (SWE), 185 p.
4: Salvador de Alba (MEX), 173 p.
5: Francesco Pizzi (ITA), 171 p.