An intense weekend of learning for Thomas Nepveu at New Jersey Motorsports Park. August 27 to 29, 2021- Rounds 14/15/16 of the 2021 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship

Thomas Nepveu and his n°2 Cromwell | Karting Excellence | Home Hardware USF2000 machine prepared by Cape Motorsports were back at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) this weekend for three important rounds. This road course is complex to learn, and Thomas Nepveu finished respectively in 16, 14 and 15 places.

Friday Testing
In the morning sessions, the team finished 11^th and was able to learn what was needed to make improvements for the second sessions, and the changes paid off in the second session. The second session started with a mock qualifying run that placed Thomas Nepveu fourth quickest in the session. As that set of tires were off, other drivers mounted newer tires and moved in front of Thomas, who ended up 10^th at the end of the session. The team was happy with the quick qualifying run on this twisty layout where it is difficult to pass.

Race 1 - 16^th place finish
After qualifying 16^th, Thomas Nepveu had a difficult start, losing two positions in the early race shuffle. The narrow track complicates passing and Thomas Nepveu was only able to regain the two lost spots to finish where he started the race in his n°2 Cromwell | Karting Excellence | Home Hardware car. 

Race 2 - 14^th place finish
Thomas Nepveu's Sunday morning qualifying session was affected by a malfunctioning transponder which forced an unplanned stop in the pits to fit a new one. Back on track, the young driver was unable to put together a quick lap given the nature of the tight track. In the race, Thomas Nepveu ended up 14^th.

Race 3 - 15^th place finish
The race was a busy one for Thomas Nepveu. "Things had gone well on the Friday practice, but my poor qualifying performance made things difficult for me in the races on this track where it is hard to pass. The last race was declared a wet one by the organizer, so we all had to start on grooved rain tires on what was in fact a drying track. I was called in by Coy Arbour [my sporting manager] to mount slicks on lap 7 and then ran for the rest of the race some 2 to 3 seconds per lap quicker than the leaders, who had stayed on wet tires. I was stuck in P19 and worked my way back to 15^th at the finish. We needed a caution to get back up closer to the leaders, but none came. But it's over! So, we now go back home and focus on preparing for the last two races at Mid-Ohio, where I scored a 5^th place finish in our July race there," declared the driver not entirely happy with his weekend results.

Next Event

USF2000 - October 1^st to 3^rd - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Lexington, Ohio)

The team will be back in action in October on another classic road course, the 2.6-mile, 13-turn Mi-Ohio Sportscar Course. Thomas Nepveu achieved a top-5 on this track last June, demonstrating the potential of the young driver. The layout of Mid-Ohio features only one real straightaway with a slow entry speed, then a series of seven changes of direction strung together that requires constant attention from the driver to always be in the correct line for entry into the coming corner and at the exit to be well placed for the next corner yet. No time to relax on this busy little layout.

Breakfast Club of Canada
Thomas Nepveu is honoured to join to the Breakfast Club of Canada cause. He will add his name to a list of ambassadors dedicated to highlighting food insecurity among Canadian children and will participate in various fundraising events. 

To make a donation on Thomas Nepveu's page: https://give.breakfastclubcanada.org/thomas-nepveu-pilote-de-course-professionnel-et-ambassadeur-du-club

Photo Credit: CoForce

Cromwell
Cromwell is a private real-estate company active since 1986 in the multi-residential, office and commercial/ shopping centre segments.

Karting Excellence
A major reseller of sophisticated, up-to-date kart simulators, as well as offering driving courses for simulated racing, and kart track software development, based on liDAR technology. 

Richelieu Hardware
Richelieu Hardware is the leading distributor of hardware products in North America, with over 80 points-of-sale across the continent.

Pétrole Bélanger
Transport, maintenance and delivery of petroleum and propane gas products to residential, commercial, and agriculture customers in the major Quebec regions for more than 65 years!

Home Hardware
With more than 1,000 independently owned outlets, Home Hardware is the most important distributor of renovation products in Canada.

Hamster
The largest Canadian-owned distributor of office products, which includes the Novexco commercial division.

PL-100
PL-100 with anti-friction treatment is the best all-purpose penetrating lubricant on the market. Its action is faster, longer lasting and more efficient than that of its competitors. PL-100 is a product from Prolab, a family-owned Quebec company established in 1985.

Evirum
A North American waste management broker offering a wide range of integrated environmental services to clients in the residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and event sectors.

Ionik
This Quebec-based maker of sports-oriented clothing places a special emphasis on respect for the environment.

Centre de Médecine sportive de Laval
The Centre de Médecine sportive de Laval uses over 100 health professionals to deliver personalized medical services of the highest order to athletes of all levels.

King Canada
Canada's leading distributor of woodworking, metalworking, automotive and material handling machinery, tools, equipment and accessories.

Festidrag Development
Under the leadership of Martin D'Anjou, this production and promotion house assist in the development of Canadian drivers' careers, on as well as off the tracks.

Additional Information

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship
Managed and promoted by Andersen Promotions, LCC, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship is the first step in the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, and leads on to more advanced stages in quicker, more competitive series: the Indy Pro F2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, including the Indianapolis 500 and the top level in single-seater car racing in America. The champions of the three lower series earn major scholarships each year to help fund their next season in the Road to Indy program.

Cape Motorsports
Cape Motorsports prepares cars and provides trackside stewardship for drivers who rent one of their cars (Up to four) in the Cooper Tires USF2000 series. The team offers an unparalleled driver development program that includes training with simulators, as well as teaching driving techniques and race strategies. It is always difficult for a young driver to get into a professional series and make his mark, let alone win, no matter how talented he or she may be. With the coaching and mentoring provided by Cape Motorsports, new drivers acquire all the knowledge required to achieve maximum success quickly and efficiently.

The Road to Indy Program
The Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires program offers an entry level series into professional racing, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. From there, drivers move on to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, which uses a more refined and quicker version of the USF2000 car. The drivers then move on to the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Series, using a much more powerful, much quicker and more complex car to set up and drive, in preparation for their move to America's top single-seaters, the super-fast NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Car
This series uses a standardized Tatuus USF-17 chassis which delivers an exciting level of performance and is a logical step up from the lower learner series to continue the development of young drivers.

The car features:

• A carbon fibre and aluminum honeycomb safety cell for the driver and the fuel tank, and carbon-fibre bodywork and wings
• A sealed two-litre (175 HP) engine and a six-speed sequential gearbox with steering-mounted paddle shifters 
• Adjustable suspensions and front-rear brake bias
• Bespoke Cooper Tires
• A dry weight of 500 kg 

Thomas Nepveu Career Path and Results
Born in Oka (Quebec), Thomas Nepveu has always shown a great interest in extreme sports, starting with small motorcycles on dirt tracks. He quickly moved on to karts first in the Montreal area, then on to provincial and national series in Canada, on to the United States, Europe and other continents.

2020

• Single seater debut in the Mexican F4 series at the Autodromo de Querétaro, Mexico
• 1 victory and 2 podiums out of 3 F4 races
• Victory in the ROK Fest East series - Charlotte (NC) (ROK Senior class)
• 6^th out of 52 entries, one pole from 3 races in ROK Cup Florida Winter Tour
• 6^th and 1 podium (3^rd) out of 4 races in the SKUSA Winter Series
• 8^th and 2 poles out of 6 races in the SKUSA Pro Tour

2019

• Transition to Rotax Senior class
• Canadian Karting Champion
• Canadian Shifter Open Champion
• Two top-5 finishes in the SKUSA Pro Tour (Senior class)
• Qualified for the Final in the WSK Euro Series (Sarno, Italy)

2018

• US Open Champion
• 3^rd in the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour series
• 4^th in the Max Challenge class at the Rotax Grand Final (Brazil)
• 15^th in the CIK-FIA World Championship OKJ (Sweden)
• 5^th in the ROK the Rio (Las Vegas)

2017

• Transition year to the Junior class (12 to 16)
• 1st in the Florida Winter Tour (2^nd round)
• 2^nd in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship  

2016

• Debut with PSL Karting
• Youngest driver (11) on the Canadian Karting Team
• Champion in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship with 7 victories in 7 races, a first in this event
• Champion at the Mini Swift Super Nationals
• Runner-up in the Mini Max world championship
• Team Canada finishes first of 54 countries in the Rotax World Championships with Thomas Nepveu the top Canadian finisher in the Mini-Max class

2015

• Transition year (11 to 13 age group)
• Quebec Cup runner-up
• 4^th in the Eastern Canada Championship
• 3^rd in the Canadian Championship

2014

• Quebec Cup champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 3^rd in the Canadian Championship
• 3^rd in the Florida Winter Series (first podium for Thomas Nepveu in the United States)

2013

• Wins all Canadian championships in the 9-year-old class
• Quebec Cup champion
• Western Canada champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 6^th in the Micro Max class at the Rotax Grand Finals in New Orleans, Louisiana

2012

• First year in racing, in the Micro Max class, in Quebec and Ontario
• 5^th in the Quebec Cup