Jonathan Gore gave pole sitter Jon Brownson everything he could handle for 18 laps, but in the end it was the veteran Brownson who came out on top in Lites 1, while Toronto’s Robert Sabato survived mechanical difficulties to continue his winning ways in Lites 2 in Round 5 of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship, part of the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport.
Brownson, driving the #34 Eurosport Racing/Little Mountain Development Élan DP02 in the Lites 1 class, had his mirrors filled for most of the race, but Gore (#14 Comprent Motorsports) couldn’t make his multiple pass attempts stick. Meanwhile, Brownson’s teammate Antonio Downs (#4 Eurosport Racing/Lamex Foods) was able to keep Gerry Kraut (#55 JDC Motorsports/Dougherty & Co) and Ricardo Vera (#37 Intersport Racing) behind him to hold the third position until a tangle with a lapped car late in the race ruined his day.
“It’s great to win such a well-contested battle!” said Brownson. “Jonathan did a great job of keeping me honest. It was hard fought and I’m glad to have come out on top. It was a great day of racing at a spectacular track.”
“It was a great race,” agreed Gore. “The guys gave me a great car. It was a good, clean race with Jon – I tried to get around but couldn’t, but the cautions made it interesting!
“I was getting close to Antonio but couldn’t get around him,” said Kraut. “Then we went into turn one and there was fiberglass and spinning cars everywhere. I was aiming for where I thought they were not going to be and got around safely. And there was no one behind me!”
For Sabato, leading the Lites 2 championship with four straight victories, the race was a lesson in survival, as his #22 6th Gear Racing West WR1000 started giving him problems right at the start.
“I had a great start,” said Sabato, “then the car stopped shifting. I was having a good time chasing the guys in front of me then it just wouldn’t shift anymore, I kept thinking I was going to lose it. The yellows helped because it cooled things down, but I had to get a good jump on the restart because I saw my teammate behind me. It was close!”
Windsor native Michal Chlumecky (#30 6th Gear Racing/CGI) finished second, with Jim Garrett (#42 West Racing/SpeedPromo) third. 6th Gear’s Max De Angelis finished fourth, just missing a 6th Gear podium sweep.
The Prototype Lites mission is two-fold: present an opportunity for semi-professional race car drivers to compete in a world-class environment while also providing an avenue for drivers to move up the ladder into the LMPC or LMP classes in the American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patrón. The series is divided into two classes: Lites 1, featuring the Élan DP02 chassis, powered by a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder Mazda MP2 engine; and Lites 2, utilizing the West WX10 and WR1000 chassis, with either a Kawasaki ZX10R or a Suzuki GSXR motor.
The second of two Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship races this weekend will be Sunday at 10:30am, prior to the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón event. Visit www.prototypelites.com for live timing and scoring and updates throughout the race weekend.
