Championship battle in Mazda MX-5 Cup rages on
Portland, Ore. (August 31, 2018) – The Mazda Road to Indy championships are set to conclude this weekend at Portland International Raceway, while at the same time, the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich championship battle nears its conclusion with four races remaining in the season.
Both of the Mazda MX-5 Cup races will be streamed live on Mazda USA’s YouTube Channel while the Indy Lights race will be streamed live on the Road to Indy App and roadtoindy.tv. The Indy Lights race will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network on Monday, September 3 at 6:00 PM ET.
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
Patricio O’Ward stands poised to clinch the Indy Lights championship – and the Mazda scholarship that would enable him to enter three races of the Verizion IndyCar Series championship in 2019, including the Indianapolis 500 – this weekend in Portland. However, the championship is not settled his way yet, with Colton Herta still having an outside chance to steal the championship in this weekend’s two races.
For Herta, a sweep of the weekend’s races, as well as stealing the bonus points for pole position and the fastest lap of the races, will be all but required to steal the championship back. Yet, O’Ward will clinch the title with finishes of at least third and fourth place, or a combined point tally on the weekend of 40 points.
Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires
Rinus VeeKay will lock down the Pro Mazda championship when he takes the green flag for the first of two Pro Mazda races this weekend, winning the nearly $800,000 scholarship prize to compete in next year’s Indy Lights championship. After an excellent start to the season with three victories, a string of bad luck for Parker Thompson has allowed VeeKay to build a 47-point lead entering the final two races of the weekend. Third in the championship is Mazda Scholarship driver Oliver Askew.
Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda
The championship has already been decided in Kyle Kirkwood’s favor, with the 19-year-old securing the championship on the strength of 10 victories this season, including nine in a row. His $325,000 scholarship prize will see him move up to the Pro Mazda championship in 2019. However, second in the championship remains hotly contested with Rasmus Lindh, Lucas Kohl, and Igor Fraga all separated by 13 points heading into the doubleheader at Portland.
Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich
Despite a challenging previous race weekend at Mid-Ohio, Nikko Reger remains at the front of the Mazda MX-5 Cup championship as the series visits Portland International Raceway for the first time. Behind him, there are four drivers battling for second in the championship separated by a mere ten points – Robert Stout, Mid-Ohio winner Bryan Ortiz, Mazda Scholarship driver and winner at Circuit of The Americas Selin Rollan, and 2016 season champion Nathaniel Sparks.