Dean Stoneman strengthened his Indy Lights championship hopes with two podium finishes in as many days, taking third and second place in Ohio.

The Andretti driver from Bishop’s Waltham is third in the overall standings, 25 poitns off the leader, after his double success.

Stoneman had to work hard for his points in race one, having started from fourth on the grid and a twisting track, which he had never raced on before.

The 26-year-old took the chance to go around the outside of two cars to shift up to third ahead of two of his championship rivals, including the leader.

Stoneman was to come under pressure a couple of times as the race went on, but with the championship no doubt on his mind the Southampton driver was in no mood to miss out on his sixth podium of the season.

As the 30-lap race came to an end, Rrookie Stonemam finished just over a second behind the car ahead and with it more valuable championship points.

“That was tough, one of the most physically demanding tracks I’ve raced at for a while, said Stoneman, before going one better the next day.

Stoneman, who is racing in the IndyCar feeder series at tracks in the US for the first time impressed again from the start with a steely display of ruthless overtaking to get himself up to third as early as the first lap.

He made up for the disappointment of race two in Toronto, when his car failed to start due to a still unknown fuel issue, by keeping the second-placed car well within his sights.

The pressure began to show on championship rival Felix Serralles, who lost control, gifting second place to Stoneman, who said: "It was important for us to come here and get two good results.

"The level of competition is strong so one mistake and you can pay dearly for it. We seemed to lack a little bit of overall pace compared to the winner, which we need to look at, but all in all I’m happy."

The championship takes a month break, the next round being at the famous Watkins Glen in New York State from September 2-4.