Jake Parsons' Laguna Seca Pro Mazda review

Australian Jake Parsons once again showed his strong pace and huge potential at the Pro Mazda Championship finale at Laguna Seca this weekend. The series rookie, who ran second in both practice sessions, overcame issues with his tyres in the first race to claim a solid fifth position.

In race two, the 21-year-old Juncos driver made a strong start, cleverly staying out of trouble to capitalise on mistakes ahead of him. Showing impressive and consistent speed, he was soon challenging for second position. Coming through the iconic Corkscrew a few laps from the end, the driver ahead of Parsons ran wide losing control over the kerbs, collecting the Australian, thus taking him out of the race and another podium finish.

“I was having a great battle for second and running really strong. It’s such a shame it ended that way, but there was nothing I could do.” explained the 2014 AsiaCup champion.

In the final race of the year, Parsons made another good, clean start making up positions from his seventh starting position on the grid. Running consistent speed again, the young Aussie posted the fastest lap of the race before battling a suspension issue to nurse the car home to fifth.

“A big thanks to my Juncos team for the season. It’s been a big learning curve and I’ve especially loved racing on the mixture of road, street and oval courses the Mazda Road to Indy program provides. I have learnt so much for the future,” said Parsons afterwards.

Always eager to expand his racing knowledge and experience, following the Pro Mazda end of season dinner, Parsons will fly to Fuji, Japan to drive in a Lamborghini Endurance event. It will be the longest race he has contested and the first with pit stops and driver changes.

“I’m really looking forward to pushing myself and continuing to learn new skills for future opportunities.”


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