June 25 2015
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing picked up another win the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with a victory in the Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Toronto, June 12-14.
Cape drivers Florian Latorre, Neil Alberico and Daniel Burkett qualified first, seventh and 12th respectfully on the 1.755 mile, 11-Turn Exhibition Place street circuit.
It was smooth sailing for Latorre as his maintained his position through the 19-lap race and picked up his first Pro Mazda win of his career.
Unfortunately, it was a not a good day for his teammates as both Alberico and Burkett saw their days finish early. In the opening lap, Alberico made contact with the inside wall at the kink going into Turn 3. He suffered damage to the right side of the car and, as he slid through the apex, made contact with a competitor. He finished 14th. Behind Alberico on the same lap, Burkett made contact with a competitor. He finished 17th.
After working around the clock to prepare the damaged cars of Alberico and Burkett, the team was ready for Race 2.
Latorre started second but quickly worked his way into the front. It looked like he was going to cruise to a second-straight win before a spin on Turn 11 brought out the yellow. He was able to continue the race, but avoidable contact by the No. 14 ended his day early. The No. 14 was later assessed a 20-seond penalty for the contact. Latorre finished 14th.
Alberico has an equally frustrating day, as he made contact with the wall on Turn 2 on the second lap of the race. He finished 17th. One bright spot of the race was Burkett. He worked his way through the field to finish ninth.
“Even with a win, it was a tough weekend,” said team owners Dominic and Nicholas Cape. “We’re excited for Florian’s first win, but luck wasn’t on our side in Race 2. We want to thank our crew for their hard work all weekend, and we look forward to better results in Iowa.”
After 11 Rounds, Alberico is second in the driver championship, only 30 points back from the leader. Latorre is seventh and Burkett is 11th. The team is third in the championship.
Following a test at Mid-Ohio, the team will next be on track July 17-18 at Iowa Speedway. For information on Pro Mazda, visit www.promazda.com. For more
Information on MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development, please visit: www.MazdaMotorsports.com.