Jones takes title chase to exciting climax

Joy Chakravarty 21:21 04/09/2016
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  • On the move: Ed Jones

    Dubai-based driver Ed Jones stormed back to within one point of series leader Santiago “Santi” Urrutia as the 2016 Indy Lights series heads for a dramatic finish following the penultimate round, the Grand Prix of Watkins Glen on Saturday night.

    Jones finished second in the race, just 3.6 seconds behind Zach Veach, to increase his tally in the standings to 318, with Urrutia on 319 after finishing last following a left-front tyre issue.

    The last two rounds of the series, which offers a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1 million to assist the Indy Lights champion in graduating to the IndyCar Series in 2017, will be held on September 9-11 at Raceway Laguna Seca.

    Veach started fifth at the scenic and challenging 3.37-mile Watkins Glen International road course but quickly moved into the lead before romping to his second win of the season.

    Urrutia started the race from the pole, but was usurped by a hard-chasing Jones in the 15th lap.

    Within another couple of laps, Urrutia had fallen to fifth, but worse was to come when his left-front tire gave up on Lap 19 and he headed to pit lane for a replacement. He rejoined to finish a distant last.

    Jones, who is backed by Jebel Ali Resorts and Hotels and drives for Carlin, said: “This is a good result after Santi held us up in qualifying. I just sat behind him a little bit in the race, because when I was using ‘push-to-pass,’ he was using it as well but eventually I got by.

    “After about 10 laps, the degradation was really high on the tires already and I expected it to get much worse but after that, if anything, it got a little better.

    “I am happy with my position. It’s good to be back in the championship hunt with a strong second place.”

    In the Team Championship, 11 points separate Carlin (365) from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (354).

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