Ed Jones had every justification to be proud of his performance as the fiercely-disputed 2015 Indy Lights season drew to a close with a double-header finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, after the talented US racing rookie put up a spirited fight en route to third spot in the championship standings.
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Having stunned observers with his pace and racecraft during his maiden campaign stateside, Jones arrived at Laguna Seca – a challenging 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course in scenic Monterey, California – as a bona fide title protagonist with three prior victories, three pole positions, three fastest laps and six podium finishes to his credit.
The 20-year-old Brit entered the high-stakes weekend sitting 18 points adrift of the top of the table and put a lot of laps on the board throughout testing as he placed fourth in both sessions. Jones improved to second-quickest in free practice – a scant 17 hundredths-of-a-second shy of the outright benchmark behind the wheel of his Carlin-prepared single-seater – and subsequently headed into qualifying in optimistic mood.
IndyLights: Dubai’s Ed Jones fights to last lap taking third in Championship http://t.co/b4i5l8Hhg5 pic.twitter.com/mE7DhnfY4R
— CircuitProDigital (@Circuit_Pro) September 14, 2015
Unfortunately, traffic on what should have been his best run restricted the Dubai, UAE-based ace to fourth on the starting grid – sandwiched directly in-between his two principal rivals – but he advanced to third early on in the opening encounter when the leader hit a tyre stack. Thereafter, the front-running quartet – blanketed by less than three seconds and lapping at very similar speed – eased clear of the chasing pack, with Jones finding himself needing to attack and defend all at once.
Despite having his mirrors full of Sean Rayhall, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star and former European F3 Open Champion withstood unrelenting pressure for the duration and very nearly snatched the runner-up spoils right at the end when the driver ahead made a mistake.
@SeanRayhall was pushing Ed Jones hard for that last podium spot! @RoadToIndyTV @IndyLights #SoulRedFinale! https://t.co/Dira7qG7EV
— IndyKar500 (@IndyKar500) September 12, 2015
From fifth on the grid the next day, Jones settled into the same position in the race and after shadowing Shelby Blackstock throughout, his determination and perseverance paid dividends as he forced his way past into fourth on the very last lap.
A valiant effort when the odds were always stacked against him, the result secured the Williams-Harfield Sports Group protégé third in the final classification, with no fewer than seven different winners from 16 outings serving to underline just how competitive the 2015 field has been.
Not only that, but with more than 100 drivers having previously graduated from Indy lights to the pinnacle of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder – recently-crowned Verizon IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon amongst them – Jones’ future would appear to be in safe hands.
