Irishman James Roe won his first Indy Pro 2000 championship presented by Cooper Tires in yesterday’s season finale at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The rookie driver delivered a remarkable run in the 25-lap race that saw him make daring passes in wet conditions to take the lead and claim an impressive first victory in the competitive Road to Indy series.

Qualifying for yesterday’s race took place in rainy weather conditions, a familiar and welcome challenge for the Irish-born rider. After qualifying sixth, Roe was determined to fight for the results in the afternoon race. In the first round, the rookie placed fourth just before a yellow flag went out. Roe got a great restart on lap 3 and quickly made his way to 3rd place. Another warning came out on turn 9, allowing Roe to prepare for another charge on the next reboot. Once the race resumed, Roe used his solid exits at Turn 2 to prepare for the outside passes at Turn 4 to take second, then lead in the second half of the race.

Once Roe was in front, he started to distance himself from the rest of the field, gaining a more than three second lead on lap 19. Another yellow flag came out with just a few laps to go, and Roe braced for one final restart. . With a great restart on lap 21, Roe was flawless to finish the race strong and claim a well-deserved victory.

In addition to his victory, Roe also received the Tilton Hard Charger award and a $ 1,000 prize at last night’s championship celebration for earning the most track positions during the 2021 racing season. .

Roe finished the year with a win, pole position, ten top ten and 243 drivers’ championship points.