TORONTO — In a race that saw a 14-minute red flag and 13 cars retire due to contact, French rookie Franck Perera, pilot of the No. 11 CJ Motorsport car, picked up his second-consecutive Cooper Tires presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda victory in the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto Sunday.
Shortly after the field roared from its standing start, the skies opened up above Canadian National Exhibition Place.
“It was a tough race, because we didn’t drive in the rain (before) and the track was really slippery,” Perera explained. “For me, my strategy was to do a really great start anyway if it was raining or dry, and to try to be in front of Rafa (Matos) because for sure, my target is fighting for the championship, so it was important to be in front of him because I knew he was quick.”
On the opening lap, Mike Forest crashed on the back straightaway and was collected by Matt Lee, Frankie Muniz and Tom Sutherland, bringing out the full-course caution.
The rains intensified as the field circulated behind the pace car. Just before the field pulled onto pit lane for the red flag to allow all teams to change to Cooper rain tires, leader Jonathan Bomarito made contact with the barrier at turn six. As a result, Dutch rookie Junior Strous found himself at the head of the field for the restart on lap six of what would be a 28-lap race.
Strous’s lead was short-lived, however, as Perera shot past his Condor Motorsports teammate and into the lead in turn eight on lap six. Perera was not challenged the rest of the way and went on to score a 6.057-second victory over 16-year-old American rookie John Edwards.
The finish:
Franck Perera, John Edwards, Raphael Matos, Giacomo Ricci, Ryan Lewis, Alan Sciuto, Robert Wickens, Justin Sofio, Frankie Muniz, David Garza, James Hinchcliffe, Matt Lee, Junior Strous, Kevin Lacroix, Carl Skerlong, Adrian Carrio, Adrien Herberts, Simona De Silvestro, J.R. Hildebrand, Jonathan Bomarito, Brian Thienes, Tom Sutherland, Mike Forest.