RC Enerson Wins at Mid-Ohio; Jakes and Briscoe Qualify 17th and 20th

Topics:  Honda Indy 200

Monica Hilton
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
August 1, 2015

For more information contact:
Monica Hilton
monicah@spmindycar.com
608.669.3211

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mansfield, OH - August 1, 2015 - RC Enerson earned the pole position and his first Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires victory for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course.

The 18-year-old, Florida native had more than a two-second lead over second place when he crossed the finish line.

"I wanted to get a good start and see where things shook out after the first couple of corners," said Enerson. "Once I was in the lead, it was kind of easy to look forward, to push for better lap times and focus on what I was doing, rather than have to worry about what people in front of me were doing. It's much easier to lead!

"This is a tough track for restarts, as close as the start stand is to the final corner, so I tried to find a place to go to power where no one else could. I needed to get far enough ahead so Max wouldn't be able to attack going into the first few turns, and I was able to do that. I was really planning for this to be a learning year, so I'm very happy to get this first win for the team!"

Enerson's teammates Scott Anderson, Jack Harvey and Ethan Ringel finished seventh, eleventh and twelfth, respectively.

Harvey, the current Indy Lights championship points leader, was taken out by contact early in the first lap of the race. His crew was able to get the car fixed and back out on track, and the 22-year-old, British driver was able to hold on to his points lead.

After the Indy Lights race, SPM Verizon IndyCar Series drivers Ryan Briscoe and James Jakes took to the track to qualify for Sunday's Honda Indy 200.

Jakes qualified eighth in his group and will start Sunday's race in 17th.

"It was a disappointing qualifying session," said Jakes. "The No. 7 MediaTech Oculus car was good and I think we would've easily made it into the next group. We kind of got hosed by the checkered flag because we just needed that extra lap. It's disappointing because we've shown good pace all weekend and we've been putting it together nicely. We just didn't execute but we'll move on and hopefully have a good race tomorrow."

Teammate Briscoe was tenth in his group and will start 20th on Sunday.

"This was the first time I ran the reds this year and I don't think we were expecting a balance shift," said Briscoe. "I just picked up a ton of understeer in the No. 5 Arrow Electronics car and I think we were probably a bit over-pressured on the tires. Once I started hurting the front tires, they just dropped off, big time. That just really hurt us. With it being so competitive out there, I just wasn't able to make the lap time that we needed to advance."

On Sunday, Indy Lights will run the second race of the double-header weekend. The 65-lap race will take place at 10:30-11:35 a.m. ET. That afternoon, the Verizon IndyCar Series takes to the track for the Honda Indy 200. Fans can catch the 90-lap race action live on CNBC from 1:30-4 p.m. ET.

About Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) was established in 2001 and is owned by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt and Canadian businessman Ric Peterson. Schmidt was paralyzed (quad) in 2000 after an accident during testing at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. SPM fields cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and the Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tires. SPM is the most successful team in Indy Lights Series history with sixty-five race wins and seven championships. In addition, SPM won the coveted Indy 500 pole position in 2011, and has won five Verizon IndyCar Series races between 2013 and 2015.

About Conquer Paralysis Now:
Conquer Paralysis Now is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization with a mission to cure paralysis, formerly known as the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation. The organization is leading the charge for a cure through funding scientific research, medical treatment and technological advances benefiting those paralyzed by spinal cord injuries, stroke or diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's or in other ways. For more information, visit conquerparalysisnow.org .