TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec — Jonathan Bomarito dominated the field and raced to his third victory of the Atlantic Championship season, taking the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres on Sunday.
Mukilteo, Wash., racer Carl Skerlong started fourth but had to pit under green after contact with Markus Niemela. He returned to the track with a new nose but finished 18th after falling out with mechanical problems less than halfway through the race.
“Today was a disappointing end to the weekend. We’ve had a fast car at every track we’ve been to all season, and if we don’t have any incidents, we’ve finished at the front,” Skerlong said in a press release. “Unfortunately, I got hit by Niemela right at the beginning of the race and had to come in for a new nose under green. The guys did a great job getting me back out there quickly. I then raced for about 20 laps before having to park the car because of a broken rear sheer plate.”
It was Skerlong’s lowest result for Skerlong since finishing 23rd at the season opening race in Long Beach, pushing him down two spots to seventh on the points list.
After beginning from the pole position for the standing start, Bomarito moved into the lead and was never seriously challenged in the 44-lap event. He won by 1.590 seconds over rookie Jonathan Summerton.
Bomarito entered the race weekend with a four-point, season-series lead over James Hinchcliffe and now leads Summerton by 28 points with just three races remaining.
“It was an amazing weekend,” Bomarito said. “To be leading by 28 points is huge with only three races to go. It refocuses how we have to approach these last three races, but realistically, as long as we’re quick and continue to do what we’re doing, and the car keeps living like it is — the guys keep doing an amazing job — we’ll be OK at the end of the championship.”
Junior Strous finished third for his first top-three performance since winning at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, in June. Simona De Silvestro, the only woman in the field, finished fourth.
Sunday at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
All cars Mazda-Cosworth engines, Swift chassis
1. (1) Jonathan Bomarito, 44 laps.
2. (2) Jonathan Summerton, 44.
3. (8) Junior Strous, 44.
4. (11) Simona De Silvestro, 44.
5. (4) Dane Cameron, 44.
6. (3) Daniel Morad, 44.
7. (10) David Martinez, 44.
8. (14) Tom Sutherland, 44.
9. (12) Greg Mansell, 44.
10. (15) Henri Karjalainen, 44.
11. (16) Douglas Soares, 44.
12. (18) Frankie Muniz, 44.
13. (20) Leo Mansell, 44.
14. (17) Dominick Muermans, 44.
15. (19) Eric Jensen, 44.
16. (13) Luis Schiavo, 37.
17. (5) Markus Niemela, 30, mechanical.
18. (6) Carl Skerlong, 21, mechanical.
19. (9) Kevin Lacroix, 6, contact.
20. (7) James Hinchcliffe, 6, contact.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 50 minutes, 17.453 seconds.
Average Speed: 79.844 mph.
Margin of Victory: 1.590 seconds.
Caution Flags: 2 for 9 laps.
Lap Leaders: Bomarito, 1-44.
Series Point Leaders
1, Bomarito, 191. 2, Summerton, 163. 3 (tie), Hinchcliffe and Niemela, 155. 5, Strous, 145. 6, Cameron, 133. 7, Skerlong, 131. 8, De Silvestro, 112. 9, Lacroix, 105. 10, Morad, 95.
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