Matthew Brabham has finished fourth in the opening Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda today, moving closer to the title at the scenic and challenging Virginia International Raceway.
The position means that the grandson of three-time F1 wold champion Jack Brabham only needs to finish 14th or higher in tomorrow’s race to secure his first major championship.
After starting on the front row, Brabham arrived at the first corner on the outside and three abreast. Brabham was pushed wide and was forced to serve to miss two colliding cars in front of him in Turn 2. When the dust settled, Brabham appeared in fifth and immediately switched to damage limitation mode to make sure he finished in the points.
The entire field started on new tyres to maximise their chances of securing the fastest lap time possible to gain the best possible starting spot for tomorrow’s race. The problem for Brabham was that he was being held up while the tyres were at their best, and even though he had better pace than the cars in front at the end of the race he only managed the seventh fastest race lap, which is where he will start tomorrow.
“After I did not get the best start, I was just happy to stay out of trouble and get some good points” A relieved Matthew said.
“Tomorrow I just have to finish no lower than 14th, so I am just going to be careful and bring it home to win the championship”
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The final race of the championship will be held tomorrow.
