Taylor Hacquard Still in The Top Ten in Overall Championship
Behind the wheel of the #16 Inviro Medical Pro Formula Mazda, World Speed Motorsports driver Chris Cumming brought home his second consecutive Expert Class victory in as many weekends in Round Eight of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Mosport International Raceway to solidify his lead in the championship standings with four races remaining. Fellow World Speed Motorsports driver Taylor Hacquard fought through a tough weekend to maintain a top-ten position in the overall points standings.
Racing on his home soil for the second straight weekend, Vancouver, British Columbia resident Cumming was forced to line up at the back of the grid for Saturday’s race after an incident in qualifying necessitated the replacement of his tires. Cumming would prove to be up to the task working his way past fellow Expert Series competitors Phil Fogg Jr and JW Roberts before the yellow flags flew to end the race prematurely.
“The World Speed crew never ceases to amaze me,” Cumming commented afterwards. “They had their hands full after qualifying to get our cars ready for the race but they never let up and both Taylor and I were able to take the start. I have to thank all of them for their dedication and this trip to the podium points directly at their skill.”
The post qualifying challenge for World Speed was daunting as in addition to Cumming’s minor incident, Hacquard would go off course in turn three of the high-speed circuit, wiping out the left side of the car as well as the front and rear wings and sustaining a mild-concussion in the incident.
Cleared by the IMSA medical crew to participate in the race later in the afternoon, it fell on the crew to get the car prepared to return to the circuit. Scrambling against the clock the crew worked miracles and was able to get the car completed and onto the grid in time to take the standing start.
“I’m tremendously proud of the effort our mechanics put out today to repair Taylor’s car in time for the race,” revealed team owner Telo Stewart. “There was a lot of work with little time and the guys never let up until the car was sitting on the starting grid.”
While Cumming was working his way forward, Hacquard’s fortunes took a turn for the worse. Working his way up the field in the opening laps, Hacquard was forced to drive off course to avoid contact with a car that had lost control, in the jarring excursion the oil cooler was perforated by the retaining bracket, causing a slow leak that would force him out of the race when the oil pressure dropped to zero.
“This was a day of mixed emotions,” Stewart said. “We’re obviously happy that Chris was able to pull off the class victory from the back of the field, and that we were able to get both cars onto the grid after qualifying, but it was disappointing to see Taylor’s race cut short due to no fault of his own. Now with this three week stint behind us we look forward to New Jersey in a couple of weeks.”
The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear now enters the home stretch with four races remaining on the schedule, starting with the upcoming double-header race weekend at the brand-new New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 12-14.