Owens Pushes Into Points At Barber
Los Angeles, CA – Raoul Owens secured the Quartermaster Hard Charger Award at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend in recognition for his great surge up the order from P13 to P6 during Round 4 of the Pro Mazda Championship, while Raoul’s engine did shut down at the start of Round 5 and resulted in a bitter P15 finish for the British driver.
Raoul and his team last visited the fast flowing Alabama circuit in much cooler February temperatures for the pre-season Pro Mazda Winterfest mini-series, so Thursday and Friday’s shakedown sessions gave time for the drivers to reacclimatize with the circuit and set up the car for the race weekend. However, amongst technical problems with the car, Raoul and his team struggled to find a good ride set up during practice and subsequently had to enter qualifying without a car that Raoul could launch into the corners with confidence.
Barber Motorsports Park is an especially unforgiving circuit for an unbalanced car, so qualifying presented Raoul with an uphill challenge. Piloting the car carefully, Raoul was a second off the pace of the front runners and qualified P13 for both of the weekend’s races. Leading up to this weekend, Raoul was working intensely with his driver coach to sharpen his qualifying strategy, but sadly their efforts could not be tested effectively with a set up that limited the driver’s confidence behind the wheel. Summarizing the session, Raoul said “qualifying was a continuation of practice. We were still trying to find a sweet spot with the set up and ended up being much further back than we expected.”
Despite having to begin the weekend’s first Pro Mazda race from P13, Raoul displayed great maturity by racing a clean and determined race that saw him pass no less than 7 cars. Driving on scrub tires, Raoul earned his keep by moving up the order quickly on a circuit notorious for its limited overtaking opportunities. By Lap 10, Raoul was running in P6 and thereafter drove a calculated final half of the race to defend his position from Garett Grist of Juncos Racing all the way to the chequered flag.
On Sunday, Raoul’s positive momentum from Round 4 unfortunately took a negative turn as his car failed to start on the grid and ruled out much chance of scoring points in the final race of the weekend. Once he rejoined the circuit from the pit lane, a calamity of collisions marred the race and the pace car was obliged to control the pack on more than one occasion. Finishing Round 5 in P11, Raoul said “we probably only had about 5 minutes of track time without the safety car. The race was a bit of a mess to be honest.” Knowing better than ever that he is losing valuable points due to qualifying and a somewhat unpredictable car, Raoul said “I have the capabilities to do well, so it’s frustrating to struggle and start from the pit lane. However, I want to be methodical about the situation and think things through to see what we can do better. A podium is the minimum we must be aiming for at Indianapolis.”
With 10 rounds to go, the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship remains wide open. Separated by just 8 points, Neil Alberico currently leads the championship over Santiago Urrutia, while Raoul trails the third place holder, Pato O’Ward, by 17 points. Raoul and his team will be digging deep to improve the ride set up for Indianapolis, while history can speak for itself in settling any doubts about Raoul’s determination to work his way up the Pro Mazda field.
