Chilton second as Jones stays in the hunt

Max Chilton took another competitive second place finish in Mid-Ohio on Sunday, in the second Indy Lights race of the weekend. It was a tough weekend for Ed Jones however, the 20 year-old took another ninth place in race two, but remains well in the hunt for the championship after similarly tough weekends for his championship rivals.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course delivered yet another eventful race yesterday, as the penultimate round of the season drew to a close. The scene was set for an exciting fight between championship Jack Harvey and Jones, starting first and second respectively. Chilton meanwhile started from fifth.

At the green flag it was Jones who had the upper hand, the Carlin man stealing through into the lead ahead of Harvey while Chilton maintained fifth. At the front it remained close lap after lap between Jones and Harvey, some close racing resulted in light contact that both drivers survived early on, until heavier contact just over half way through the race that saw Jones serving a drive through penalty and Harvey in the pits for a new front wing.

Chilton meanwhile was keeping clear of any incidents and quietly making his way through the field to his second podium of the weekend. Running in second place, Chilton at times looked as though he could challenge race leader Sean Rayhall, with a determined effort in the final laps to close the gap.

Despite now being down the order, Harvey and Jones were still battling, although now for ninth place, which Jones took at the chequered flag, ahead of Harvey. Chilton crossed the line to take his second runner up spot of the weekend, making it three podiums from the last three races for the British driver.

With just one event remaining featuring a double header at Mazda Raceway in California, Jones lies second in the championship, just 12 points behind second placed man Spencer Pigot and 18 points behind Harvey.

Speaking about second place in Mid-Ohio, Chilton said, “We’re doing well at the moment both on ovals and off. Although we struggled at the start of the weekend the team gave me a car to do the job in the races. Race two was very similar to race one, I tried to play it smart, made a couple of overtaking moves and had some good luck as well. It’s nice to leave a weekend that we thought at first was going to be difficult with two second places.”

Team mate Jones, added, “My focus now is on the championship. No one expected us to be in contention to win in our first season, so I have nothing to lose. It wasn’t the ideal weekend by any means but we head into the last race of the season still in the running.”

The Indy Lights drivers will face a long wait until the season finale at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca from 10 – 13 September.