Currently leading both the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Team and Driver Championship standings, HMD Motorsports drivers David Malukas and Nikita Lastochkin are eager to get the second half of the season underway this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With ten rounds remaining both championship titles are still up for grabs, but Malukas and HMD Motorsports have placed themselves in a strong position as the battle continues.
In the past, Malukas finished in second behind Linus Lundqvist in both Mid-Ohio races in the 2020 FR Americas Championship. In 2019, when Indy Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires visited the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lastochkin finished just shy of the podium in fourth and had his season-best finish.
With both drivers having strong past results at the track, and the team recently completing a private test day, HMD Motorsports is excited for a potentially strong weekend to come.
At Road America, Malukas finished on the top step of the podium in race two (round ten) and was “officially” the “Fastest Turtle on Track.” This weekend, Turtle Plastics is returning as a Primary Partner, and he will be aiming to retain his winning streak.
Lastochkin, who had some minor issues at Road America, is anxious to get the Mid-Ohio event underway. Having skipped the entire 2020 season when many of his competitors were racing in other disciplines, Lastochkin is now on par with his rivals to date in 2021 and a new approach to the second half of the season could reap benefits.
The weekend will commence with three series test sessions and one official practice over the course of Thursday and Friday. After over five hours of on-track preparation, Indy Lights will head straight into Qualifying 1 on Friday afternoon. Saturday will host the final qualifying session in the morning and Race 1 later in the day. One final race will take place on Sunday morning prior to the NTT INDYCAR Series main event.
Live coverage of practice and qualifying, produced by Road to Indy TV, will be available throughout the weekend. Sessions will also be live streamed on the Road to Indy TV App, on RoadToIndy.TV and its social media platforms and on IndyLights.com. Coverage of the races will be available live through Peacock Premium inside the United States, REV TV in Canada and through Road to Indy TV in all other countries.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Weekend Schedule
Thursday, July 1st
10:00am-11:30am – Test 1
2:00pm-3:30pm – Test 2
Friday, July 2nd
8:10am-9:40am – Test 3
11:25am-12:10pm – Practice
3:35pm-4:05pm – Qualifying 1
Saturday, July 3rd
10:05am-10:35am – Qualifying 2
4:30pm-5:20pm – Race 1 (35 laps)
Sunday, July 4th
10:00am-10:50am – Race 2 (35 laps)
Please be sure to follow HMD Motorsports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by searching @HMDMotorsports. For more information on HMD Motorsports visit HMDMotorsports.com or email info@hmdmotorsports.com. To stay up to date with Global Racing Group, follow @GlobalRacingGroup on Instagram and @GRGInfo on Twitter and Facebook or visit GlobalRacingGroup.com.
Photos: Road to Indy
