It was a great start for Christian Weir at Road America for the USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires race weekend as testing and practice pace continued into the two qualifying sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday. Scoring a front-row starting spot for race one Saturday, Weir flexed his muscles in Sunday’s qualifying and earned his first career USF Pro 2000 pole position.
“Road America is one of the events that I have looked forward to all year,” expressed Weir leading into the weekend. “We had a tough go at the oval with a late race crash, so I will aim to rebound this weekend and show our true pace.”
After a Promoters Test session to come to grips with the new surface at Road America, Weir was able to have his best career USF Pro 2000 qualifying effort to date. A rookie in the series that calls Road America his home event, Weir pushed his #32 machine to a front-row qualifying effort for the first race of the season.
“Great to finally show the speed we have had all season,” explained Weir. “Starting on the front row for race one is awesome, but in qualifying for two, which will set the grid for Sunday’s race two, I am definitely going for the pole position.”
Returning to the track Saturday, Weir improved on his P2 qualifying effort the day prior scoring his first career USF Pro 2000 pole position. With a pair of front-row starting spots, the Illinois resident would now aim for his first USF Pro 2000 victory. Race one was not ideal for Weir as a hard-fought battle ended with a ninth-place result. Starting on the front row, issues relegated Weir down the running order but keeping his head down, drove back to a top-ten result. Tomorrow Weir will try his hand from the pole position.
Leading the USF Pro 2000 field to green for the first time in his career, Weir was anxious to get the race underway, as were many drivers around him. Unfortunately, Weir was out of the race before it even began as he was hit and taken out of the race by a fellow competitor on the warmup lap. During the parade lap in the last corner before the green flag, Christian was hit hard by the second-place driver and forced off the track causing him to dive into the pits for repairs. The team was able to quickly get him back out, but he was a lap down. Christian still managed to charge back up making as many passes as possible and ultimately came in P15. The aggressor was given a penalty post-race, but it was little consolation knowing he had the pace for a race-winning car.
Weir added, “Disappointed as this weekend not only me, but the team showed that we had the cars to win. Time to regroup and shift the focus to Mid-Ohio in a few weeks.”
The next stop for Christian Weir and TJ Speed will be at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course over the June 29 to July 2 weekend.
Stay tuned to the Christian Weir social media pages for news, information, photos, and results throughout the event weekend.
Photo Credit: Gavin Baker Photography
