Ed Jones is one of six drivers in contention for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship crown in a hotly contested season with only two events remaining. 

PALMETTO, Fla. – After leading the points chase since April, a couple of disappointing weekends recently has seen Dubai-born Englishman Ed Jones fall to second place in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires title chase. Just three races remain – including two at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where 2015 Carlin teammate Max Chilton earned both pole positions one year ago – so Jones knows that time is running short to make his move to regain the top spot.

On the line is a Mazda scholarship that will place the Indy Lights champion in three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2017, including the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500.

Jones, 21, began racing karts in his native Dubai and became the youngest European F3 Open champion in 2013, earning six victories and 10 podium finishes. He moved up to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2014 and, with his Carlin team, made the jump to America and the Indy Lights series last season. Jones won the first three races, took the early lead in the championship and went on to finish third behind Spencer Pigot and Jack Harvey.

After a spate of bad luck in this season’s opening rounds at St. Petersburg, Fla. left him 10th in the early title chase, Jones rebounded with four straight podium finishes, including victories at Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Grand Prix, to take the championship lead. Despite the heartbreak of losing the Freedom 100 by a record-setting 0.0024-seconds, Jones left Indy with a comfortable 29-point lead. But a surging Dean Stoneman and Santi Urrutia steadily cut into Jones’ advantage. With Urrutia’s sweep at Mid-Ohio, Jones heads for Watkins Glen 16 points behind.

“The championship is the goal,” said Jones, “but I have to go very strong in the last three races. If I can be the best in those races, that’s all I can control. I know I’m quick at Mazda Raceway. We’ve got good data from last year and my engineer, Geoff Fickling, knows this track so well. Geoff and I get on very well and we both know what we need from each other to produce the right car.”

Trevor Carlin’s eponymous squad teamed Jones and Chilton last season and, with Chilton’s move to IndyCar, brought American Neil Alberico and Puerto Rican Felix Serralles onboard in 2016. Jones appreciates the continuity involved in remaining with the same team and the close-knit atmosphere the open-wheel powerhouse brings to the table. On any given race weekend, you can find the Carlin team taking up a good portion of a local restaurant as the team dines en masse.

“That’s really the English way of doing things. It was the same way when I was in Europe. You spend a lot of time with the team during the race weekends, including going to dinner together. It’s good to really know the people working alongside; that way, they’re doing the best they can for you and they know you’re trying your hardest. When you have that trust, it makes a big difference. The way the team is run is so important. You see that in how competitive Carlin is in every series in which they compete.”

Jones knows that the Mazda scholarship brings with it a chance to graduate to IndyCar, which is the goal of every driver on the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. With two IndyCar tests under his belt, he certainly has a good idea of what to expect, having tested in the “big car” with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Sonoma last year and Watkins Glen last week.

“The great thing about the Indy Lights car is that you can take the seat out and put it right into an Indy car,” Jones continued. “But the cars feel very different even just to sit in, and obviously very different to drive. An Indy car reminds me of a Formula 3 car, with all the downforce. You really have to be smooth and carry a great deal of speed through the corners in order to be fast. The Indy Lights car has more power than downforce so you can get away with sliding the car quite a bit more. So the Indy car requires a different driving style.

“The Rahal team was great to work with; they’re very professional. The Carlin team operates at a very high level so it made the transition quite seamless. I love going to new tracks and experiencing new things, so the entire day at Watkins Glen was great – and I’ll be able to give feedback about the track to the Carlin team.”

Based in Miami, Jones does not get many opportunities to race in Europe anymore. But on a recent weekend, Jones Tweeted several photos of his test of a few historic cars owned by a friend. It brought back memories of his experiences at another legendary event, one that resides on the bucket list of every racing fan: the Goodwood Revival in England.

“I really enjoy driving historic cars. A few weeks ago I drove a Lotus and a Cobra. It’s very different from what I’m used to – and the sound is amazing. I raced at Goodwood two years ago but now it clashes with the Mazda Raceway date. It’s one of my favorite events; it’s such an amazing experience. People put so much effort into each of the cars that fit into their specific time period. It’s a huge crowd and everyone is so interested in the cars – and those kinds of events are so relaxed. It’s good to see all the people I worked with in racing, people I don’t see so much anymore. I really enjoy Goodwood and I hope I can get back there soon.”

But for now, Jones’ focus lies entirely on the Indy Lights championship and the scholarship that will lead him to the ultimate prize.

“Winning the championship has always been the goal. The scholarship gives the winner the opportunity to move up to IndyCar, to prove what you can do. I really want to be in the Indy 500 next year and I know that if I get the right opportunities, I can do a good job. The car really suits me and I know I could be successful.”

•  Dubai-based Brit praised for doing ‘fine job’ for front-running Indiana outfit
•  21-year-old Indy Lights title contender gets sneak preview of Watkins Glen
•  Former European F3 Open Champion targeting IndyCar graduation in 2017

Indy Lights title protagonist Ed Jones enjoyed a productive second test outing with leading Verizon IndyCar Series squad Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York, as he endeavours to graduate to the pinnacle of US open-wheel competition next year.

Since steering his burgeoning career stateside at the beginning of 2015, Jones has been a consistent front-runner in the fiercely-disputed Mazda Road to Indy series behind the wheel of his 450bhp Carlin Dallara IL-15 single-seater, with no fewer than five victories, 13 podium finishes, nine pole positions and three fastest laps to his credit to-date.

Despite finding himself out-of-luck in the most recent event at Mid-Ohio, the talented Dubai, UAE-based ace will nonetheless enter the final two weekends of his sophomore Indy Lights season – at Watkins Glen on 3 September, followed by a double-header at Laguna Seca a week later – firmly in contention for the coveted crown at just 16 points adrift of the overall lead.

The 2016 Indy Lights champion will be awarded a $1m scholarship towards the IndyCar Series and three guaranteed races in 2017 – the legendary Indianapolis 500 amongst them. Having similarly tested for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Sonoma Raceway 12 months ago, Jones reflected that his second taste of top flight machinery marked another step towards his ultimate goal.

“It was fantastic to climb back into the cockpit of an IndyCar, and I owe a huge thanks to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for placing their confidence in me and affording me the opportunity,” acknowledged the 21-year-old Brit. “Watkins Glen is such an iconic circuit, and its fast-and-flowing nature really showcases the IndyCar’s incredible downforce. I settled straight back into the groove and felt comfortable pretty much immediately, which was really positive and it was great to work with the team again.

“We’ve made no secret of the fact that moving up to IndyCar is our principal objective for next season, so the more track time I can get between now and then, the more prepared I will be to take that step because I’m learning every time I go out. It’s notoriously difficult with the funding required and limited number of seats available, but we’ve spoken to a couple of teams with regard to 2017 and are exploring all potential options.

“Before that, obviously, we still have a title battle to fight and having been able to get a feel for Watkins Glen puts me in a solid position, as it will give me a bit of a headstart over drivers who haven’t been there before. It’s almost like a street circuit in some respects, with virtually no run-off anywhere – which by extension means there is no margin for error.

“When you lead the standings for so long like we did, everybody is constantly trying to knock you off your perch but now we’re the hunter instead of the hunted so it’s a different dynamic heading into the final three races. Instead of playing the percentage game as we have done lately, our mindset is to go out there and try to win them all – and if we can do that, we just have to let the maths take care of itself.”

Jones shared Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s 600bhp Honda-powered Dallara with regular driver and multiple IndyCar race-winner Graham Rahal. The Indiana-based outfit’s Team Manager Ricardo Nault revealed that the former European F3 Open Champion and Williams-Harfield Sports Group protégé had done all that was asked of him and more besides.

“Ed did a fine job for us,” Nault reported. “He methodically got up-to-speed and never put a wheel off. The team hadn’t been to Watkins Glen with an IndyCar since we won there in 2008, and it has changed a lot since then – the track has recently been repaved and is now much faster. Ed found that the car was reasonably balanced to start with, but he was able to provide good feedback that allowed us to make it even quicker.

“The way the IndyCar rules are structured, we needed Ed to complete as many laps as possible. This left him to put in long stints and run the tyres longer than a fuel load but even under these conditions, he still produced good times on old rubber. This is a very demanding track and Ed was able to keep up with it physically. All told, we are very happy with the job he did for us and we thank him for his efforts."

Dubai-based Brit digs deep on challenging Canadian weekend

• Carlin ace extends advantage as rivals come unstuck on the streets
• 21-year-old fired-up to return to front-running form at Mid-Ohio Ed Jones made the most of an uncharacteristically off-colour weekend around the Streets of Toronto to take another step towards the coveted Indy Lights crown with a pair of solid top six finishes.

The talented Dubai, UAE-based ace lapped third-quickest in both free practice sessions on the narrow, bumpy and unforgiving Canadian street circuit, just a tenth-of-a-second adrift of the outright benchmark in the high-calibre Indy Lights field.

Much cooler conditions greeted competitors for qualifying early the next morning, and Jones secured fifth place on the starting grid behind the wheel of his 450bhp Carlin Dallara IL-15 single-seater, missing out on the second row by a scant three thousandths-of-a-second after the running was cut short by an accident involving another driver.

The 21-year-old Brit subsequently struggled for speed throughout the opening contest, initially holding station before finding himself under intensifying pressure from a gaggle of visibly faster cars and as the laps ticked down, he had his hands full trying to withstand their attack. Valiantly defending for as long as he could, Jones grittily clung on to take the chequered flag sixth and scoop a valuable haul of points. 

After lining up eighth the following day, the former European F3 Open Champion swiftly advanced a couple of spots to sixth and then nabbed fifth when team-mate Félix Serrallés made a mistake at Turn Three. Unable to threaten those ahead but quick enough to pull away from his pursuers, Jones found himself in no man’s land and with two of his chief title rivals in trouble, he adopted a conservative strategy as he focussed on preserving his position.

That mature approach paid dividends, enabling the Williams-Harfield Sports Group protégé to extend his championship lead to 24 points at the end of a rare ‘off’ weekend in what has overwhelmingly been an ultra-consistent sophomore season in the fiercely-disputed Mazda Road to Indy series.

With five races left to run in 2016, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is next on the schedule at the end of July – the first of three consecutive road course events to conclude the campaign. Jones enjoyed a productive test there last month and is clearly eager to return to more customary territory at the sharp end of proceedings.

“Toronto is a circuit I love and a great challenge,” he reflected. “We were quick during practice, so I thought we had a good shot at pole in qualifying but the red flag cost us our opportunity and then in the races, we simply didn’t have the pace, which was both mystifying and frustrating in equal measure. 

“I couldn’t get comfortable at all over the longer runs, and on both days, I was just hanging in there trying to come away with the best result I could. Saturday’s race was particularly hard work and a constant rearguard battle. 

“When you’re fighting for a title like we are, it’s important to maximise your bad weekends and in light of the fact that this one fell a long way short of our usual standards, to increase our championship lead was a real result. We’re well aware that should the problem reoccur, it’s unlikely we’d be so lucky again but we’ll go away, work hard and figure it out – and then come back stronger at Mid-Ohio.”

• Dubai-based Brit adds another rostrum to his record in Iowa Corn 100
• 21-year-old increases lead in chase for coveted Indy Lights crown
• Carlin ace continuing to focus on ‘bigger picture’ in sophomore season Ed Jones tallied his sixth rostrum finish of the 2016 Indy Lights campaign at Iowa Speedway last weekend to re-extend his championship lead in the fiercely-disputed IndyCar feeder series. 

After finding himself out-of-luck a fortnight earlier at Road America, Jones headed to Iowa buoyed by a promising test behind the wheel of his 450bhp Carlin Dallara IL-15 and having snared the runner-up spoils on his debut around the short, 0.894-mile oval last year.

The talented Dubai, UAE-based ace was instantly on the front-running pace once again, lapping third-quickest in the opening free practice session and fastest of all in the next. With rain forcing the cancellation of qualifying, the field lined up for the 100-lap race in championship order – meaning Jones was on pole position.

In distinctly different conditions to the previous day, the 21-year-old Brit held station at the start and inched consistently away from his pursuers to establish a one-and-a-half-second buffer as a multi-car scrap raged in his wake. At one-third distance, however, his team-mate Félix Serrallés broke clear of that battle and began zeroing in on the sister Carlin entry, and when Jones got caught up in lapped traffic just past the halfway mark, the Puerto Rican pounced to snatch the lead.

As the former European F3 Open Champion grappled increasingly with understeer, he subsequently came under fire from a flying Zach Veach and was obliged to yield to the American ten laps later. In the closing stages, Jones was briefly threatened by chief title rival Dean Stoneman, but he responded magnificently to successfully consolidate his podium position and stretch his advantage in the chase for the coveted crown from 19 points to 23, tallying an extra marker for leading the most laps.

Impressively, in his sophomore Indy Lights season to-date, the Williams-Harfield Sports Group protégé has outscored all of his high-calibre adversaries on ovals – no mean feat for a driver who grew up competing in Europe – and next he will be keen to further prove his versatility as the series moves swiftly on to the unforgiving Streets of Toronto for an altogether different type of challenge.

“Iowa Speedway is the shortest lap on the calendar, which really tests your concentration as it’s easy to lapse into autopilot mode and you come across backmarkers far more frequently than you would elsewhere,” Jones explained. “It’s a lot of fun to drive, and with Carlin having taken a one-two last year, we returned with high hopes and in positive mood.

“We had an encouraging test there in the build-up to the weekend and maintained that strong form throughout practice. I was looking forward to qualifying so it was a shame it got abandoned due to the rain, although in situations like that, leading the championship obviously pays off. In any case, I was confident we had a car that was quick enough for the front row of the grid and I knew we would be in with a solid shout.

“The track changed quite a lot before the race, and we went fairly conservative on the set-up to be on the safe side in the cooler and windier conditions. I got a great start and felt comfortable as I built up an early margin, but when I came up to lapped traffic, I found myself lacking front-end grip and fighting understeer.

“That was ultimately what allowed Félix and Zach to squeeze past, which was undeniably frustrating, but I knew Dean was behind me so I still managed to extend my championship lead. Now we’re already focussed on Toronto; I struggled a bit there last year, but with more experience under my belt 12 months on, it should be a completely different story this time around. We’re continuing to work towards the bigger picture, and with that in mind, two more podiums are firmly the goal.”