Exclusive Autosport driver Louis Foster pulled off the rare honour of a maximum points score over a weekend to extend his lead in the championship to 71 at Toronto with four races remaining.
Such is the level of competition, it’s unusual for one driver to score two wins, two poles, two fastest laps and lead the highest number of laps - the criteria for points scoring in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship - but Foster did just that on his first visit to Canada.
The Toronto track is notoriously bumpy and features constant surface changes which makes judging grip difficult, but it didn’t hinder Foster, racing for just the second time on a full street course.
Foster won the first race despite multiple caution periods which erased any gap he’d built up, but a 14-lap sprint to the finish yielded a win of over five seconds at the end.
The victory made him the first Indy Pro 2000 driver this season to win on a road course, oval and street circuit respectively.
The second race was a similar affair but Foster worked hard to establish a gap and repeated his untouchable performance from race one.
“Obviously a great weekend, two wins, two poles, two fastest laps, most laps led in both races, maximum points in total,” says Foster, who is backed by Copart, a global leader in online auto auctions, and Florida-based luxury Italian garden umbrella brand Poggesi.
“Managed to get qualifying nailed and then it was about focusing on the races.
“It was difficult learning the new track, my first time in Toronto. It’s very bumpy and the surface changes so much it’s quite hard to adjust.
"We had 30 minutes of practice so I got cracking and did my best to figure it out.”
Foster reserved a special thank you for his team Exclusive - which hoisted its own Canadian flag on the podium for the team that has quickly become one of the best in junior motorsports anywhere in North America.
“To give the team a home win is really, really special, and hopefully a nice thank you for all the work they have put into this season," Foster added.
“They’ve really helped my adaptation to racing in North America this year.
“The team did a really good job this weekend, the car was great as always. We were always in the window and I was always able to maximise what we had.
“Thanks again to them and all my partners for what was a very special weekend.
"Now we have to put this totally out of our minds and focus completely on our preparation for the final four races."
Foster scored the maximum of 66 points for the weekend which puts him 71 points clear with 147 available over the final four races. The next race is on an oval, which Foster won on his debut at that type of track earlier this year and the series hasn’t been back to another yet. There’s only one race at Gateway - although it offers 15 more points than a road or street course to the winner - and the season will conclude with three races and 99 points on the table.
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