Thomas Nepveu finishes 8th in his USF2000 Cooper Tires Series debut
Weekend Activities
The Road to Indy organizers scheduled three practice sessions on Thursday (15 April), totaling 150 minutes on the track. This was valuable time for Thomas Nepveu and his Cape Motorsports team as they learned to work together. Two qualifying sessions of 20 minutes each on Friday (16 April) were then used to determine the starting positions for the two races on Saturday, the first of 20 laps and the second of 25 laps. The second race late on Saturday afternoon was in fact shortened by 5 laps and delayed due to a technical problem in the control tower.
The work done by Thomas Nepveu and his team enabled him to cut his lap times by one second compared to the fastest drivers, recording a lap within 0.5307 seconds of the driver on pole position for race 2. Nineteen of the 26 drivers qualified within a second of the pole-sitter for the second race.
Thomas Nepveu Talks About the On-Track Action
Practice
"The first session on Thursday morning started on a wet track that gradually dried out and I was able to break in new brake discs and pads, then push a little on a wet track with well worn tires. For the second session, we used the same set of well used tires as the car kept getting better and better. Only 11 drivers participated in the third session as the others chose to save their tires for qualifying and the races. We did only four laps on new tires to check the front/rear balance of the car."
Qualifying
"The car was good on worn tires in Q1. With a few minutes to go, we mounted a set of new tires, but the session was unfortunately stopped for an accident before I could put in a quick time. In Q2 we waited 6 minutes before going out on fresh tires, and despite caution periods, we set a time within 0.5 seconds of the Q2 pole-sitter. I am confident of finding 3 or 4 tenths of a second in the last few corners and we are ready for the races tomorrow."
Races
"Starting 16th on the grid for the first race wasn't too bad as I took the inside at turn one. I held my position for the first lap and then got into an incident on lap 2 and managed to hold my position for the restart on lap 6. However, the car was understeering, and I was forced to brake earlier than the driver in front of me. Even though the slipstream works on the straights, I lost time under braking and could not get past the others. We were 13th in the end and the goal is to fix the understeer problem for the second race," explained the driver of the #2 Cromwell | Karting Excellence | Home Hardware.
"Starting from 12th place for the 20-lap final race 2, I had an intense time from start to finish, especially when protecting my 8th position on the last lap of the race. I was able to learn a lot of things, such as the intensity of the competition with drivers always around me, the need for total concentration at all times, the reliance on my spotter and on my mirrors rather than just turning my head like in a kart, I also saw the benefits of less worn tires at the end of the race, and we will work harder on tire management for the next races. I achieved my goal for the weekend: a top-10 finish, plus some small personal victories like actually overtaking another driver in the race rather than inheriting a position because of an incident or mistake. I feel that the team and I have made a lot of progress since the first practice and I am completely satisfied with our race performance at this stage," said Thomas Nepveu after the race.
Ambassador For the Breakfast Club of Canada
Thomas Nepveu is honoured to join the Breakfast Club of Canada cause where he will now work with other committed ambassadors dedicated to highlighting child food insecurity among Canadian children and will participate in various fundraising events.
To make a donation to the cause, go to Thomas Nepveu's page: https://give.breakfastclubcanada.org/thomas-nepveu-pilote-de-course-professionnel-et-ambassadeur-du-club
Thomas Nepveu 2021 Results - Cooper Tires USF2000 Series
|
Date |
Track |
Location |
Type |
Event |
Race 1 |
Race 2 |
|
April 15 - 17 |
Barber Motorsports Park |
Birmingham, AL |
Road course, 2.3 miles, 17 turns |
Races 1 et 2 |
13 |
8 |
|
April 23 - 25 |
Streets of St. Petersburg |
St. Petersburg, FL |
Urban, 1.8 mile, 14 turns |
Races 3 et 4 |
|
|
|
May 13 - 15 |
Indianapolis GP Circuit |
Indianapolis, IN |
Road, 2.439 miles,14 turns |
Races 5, 6 et 7 |
|
|
|
May 27 - 28 |
Lucas Oil Raceway |
Indianapolis, IN |
Oval, 0.6 mile |
Race- 8 |
|
|
|
June 17 - 20 |
Road America |
Elkhart Lake, WI |
Road, 4 miles - 14 turns |
Races 9 et 10 |
|
|
|
July 1 - 4 |
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course |
Lexington, OH |
Road, 2.258 miles, 13 turns |
Races 11, 12 et 13 |
|
|
|
July 9 - 11 |
Streets of Toronto |
Toronto, ON |
Urban, 1.786 miles, 11 turns |
Races 14 et 15 |
|
|
|
August 27 - 29 |
New Jersey Motorsports Park |
Milleville, NJ |
Road, 2.14 miles, 12 turns |
Races 16, 17 et 18 |
|
|
Photo Credit: CoForce
Partners - Brief Outlines
(Click on links for additional information)
Cromwell is a private real-estate company active since 1986 in the multi-residential, office and commercial/ shopping centre segments.
A major reseller of sophisticated, up-to-date kart simulators, as well as offering driving courses for simulated racing, and kart track software development, based on liDAR technology.
Richelieu Hardware is the leading distributor of hardware products in North America, with over 80 points-of-sale across the continent.
Transport, maintenance and delivery of petroleum and propane gas products to residential, commercial, and agriculture customers in the major Quebec regions for more than 65 years!
With more than 1,000 independently owned outlets, Home Hardware is the most important distributor of renovation products in Canada.
The largest Canadian-owned distributor of office products, which includes the Novexco commercial division.
PL-100 with anti-friction treatment is the best all-purpose penetrating lubricant on the market. Its action is faster, longer lasting and more efficient than that of its competitors. PL-100 is a product from Prolab, a family-owned Quebec company established in 1985.
This Quebec-based maker of sports-oriented clothing places a special emphasis on respect for the environment.
Centre de Médecine sportive de Laval
The Centre de Médecine sportive de Laval uses over 100 health professionals to deliver personalized medical services of the highest order to athletes of all levels.
Canada's leading distributor of woodworking, metalworking, automotive and material handling machinery, tools, equipment and accessories.
Under the leadership of Martin D'Anjou, this production and promotion house assist in the development of Canadian drivers' careers, on as well as off the tracks.
Additional Information
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship
Managed and promoted by Andersen Promotions, LCC, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship is the first step in the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, and leads on to more advanced stages in quicker, more competitive series: the Indy Pro F2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, including the Indianapolis 500 and the top level in single-seater car racing in America. The champions of the three lower series earn major scholarships each year to help fund their next season in the Road to Indy program.
The Road to Indy Program
The Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires program offers an entry level series into professional racing, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. From there, drivers move on to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, which uses a more refined and quicker version of the USF2000 car. The drivers then move on to the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Series, using a much more powerful, much quicker and more complex car to set up and drive, in preparation for their move to America's top single-seaters, the super-fast NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Car
This series uses a standardized Tatuus USF-17 chassis which delivers an exciting level of performance and is a logical step up from the lower learner series to continue the development of young drivers.
The car features:
- A carbon fibre and aluminum honeycomb safety cell for the driver and the fuel tank, and carbon-fibre bodywork and wings
- A sealed two-litre (175 HP) engine and a six-speed sequential gearbox with steering-mounted paddle shifters
- Adjustable suspensions and front-rear brake bias
- Bespoke Cooper Tires
- A dry weight of 500 kg
Thomas Nepveu Career Path and Results
Born in Oka (Quebec), Thomas Nepveu has always shown a great interest in extreme sports, starting with small motorcycles on dirt tracks. He quickly moved on to karts first in the Montreal area, then on to provincial and national series in Canada, on to the United States, Europe and other continents.
2020
- Single seater debut in the Mexican F4 series at the Autodromo de Querétaro, Mexico
- 1 victory and 2 podiums out of 3 F4 races
- Victory in the ROK Fest East series - Charlotte (NC) (ROK Senior class)
- 6th out of 52 entries, one pole from 3 races in ROK Cup Florida Winter Tour
- 6th and 1 podium (3rd) out of 4 races in the SKUSA Winter Series
- 8th and 2 poles out of 6 races in the SKUSA Pro Tour
2019
- Transition to Rotax Senior class
- Canadian Karting Champion
- Canadian Shifter Open Champion
- Two top-5 finishes in the SKUSA Pro Tour (Senior class)
- Qualified for the Final in the WSK Euro Series (Sarno, Italy)
2018
- US Open Champion
- 3rd in the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour series
- 4th in the Max Challenge class at the Rotax Grand Final (Brazil)
- 15th in the CIK-FIA World Championship OKJ (Sweden)
- 5th in the ROK the Rio (Las Vegas)
2017
- Transition year to the Junior class (12 to 16)
- 1st in the Florida Winter Tour (2nd round)
- 2nd in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship
2016
- Debut with PSL Karting
- Youngest driver (11) on the Canadian Karting Team
- Champion in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship with 7 victories in 7 races, a first in this event
- Champion at the Mini Swift Super Nationals
- Runner-up in the Mini Max world championship
- Team Canada finishes first of 54 countries in the Rotax World Championships with Thomas Nepveu the top Canadian finisher in the Mini-Max class
2015
- Transition year (11 to 13 age group)
- Quebec Cup runner-up
- 4th in the Eastern Canada Championship
- 3rd in the Canadian Championship
2014
- Quebec Cup champion
- Eastern Canada champion
- 3rd in the Canadian Championship
- 3rd in the Florida Winter Series (first podium for Thomas Nepveu in the United States)
2013
- Wins all Canadian championships in the 9-year-old class
- Quebec Cup champion
- Western Canada champion
- Eastern Canada champion
- 6th in the Micro Max class at the Rotax Grand Finals in New Orleans, Louisiana
2012
- First year in racing, in the Micro Max class, in Quebec and Ontario
- 5th in the Quebec Cup