Norwegian Furuseth Doubles Up in National Class

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Scott Anderson is the man on form in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. After securing his first-ever victory a couple of weeks ago at Mid-Ohio, and following up with a pair of podium finishes yesterday for Belardi Auto Racing, the reigning Skip Barber National champion bounced back with another fine win this morning to cap off a thrilling triple-header race weekend for the burgeoning open-wheel development series, the first rung on the highly acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy.

Anderson started from the pole today under a clear blue sky and managed to hold off the snarling 28-car field into Turn One, whereupon early season pace-setter Spencer Pigot made a fine move to the inside on the exit and was able to assume the lead for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing under braking for Turn Three. Pigot’s teammate, Matthew Brabham, who won twice on Friday to snatch the series points lead from Pigot, also made a move past Anderson as the top three looked to break away from Matthew Di Leo (#56 Res Precast/MDL Racing), Shelby Blackstock (#8 Starstruck/Andretti Autosport), Neil Alberico (#19 Kartel Motorsports/Bondurant School/RaceLite Protection/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports), Luigi Biangardi (#15 Inject-It/Gulfstream Properties/Slick Locks/Chicago Indoor Karting/ArmsUp Motorsports) and the rest, led by JDC’s Scott Hargrove (#38 Analytic Systems/Race Energy/Skip Barber Racing School/Red Line Oil).

The action among the leaders was hot and heavy for the first three laps as places changed on a regular basis around the fast, 4.048-mile road course. Finally, on Lap 3, Anderson used the draft to perfection along the long front straightaway and was able to wrest away the advantage from Pigot, who promptly lost another place to Brabham. 

Anderson was able to establish a clear advantage as the two Cape Motorsports teammates battled amongst themselves for the next few laps before Pigot managed to edge away from Brabham. The 18-year-old from Orlando, Fla., set the fastest lap of the race as he chased after Anderson but couldn’t quite get close enough to make a real challenge.

Anderson, from Fort Collins, Colo., took the checked flag 1.689s clear of Pigot, with Brabham settling back into a comfortable third ahead of a battling Blackstock – who claimed his career-best finish of fourth, Di Leo and Alberico. Biangardi couldn’t quite match their pace but held onto seventh ahead of Trent Hindman (#3 Premier Woodcraft/Zydro+/DFL Construction/RaceLite Protection/Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) and Hargrove.

The top 10 was completed by Michael Johnson (#54 SpeediCath/Coloplast/Universal Coating/ Alpinestars/FlatOutNation.com/Red Line Oil/Movement Arts Motorsport Marketing/JDC Motorsports), who posted a remarkable drive from the back of the field. Johnson, from Flint, Mich., who is paralyzed from the chest down following a motorcycle racing accident eight years ago, started last after being involved in an incident on the first lap yesterday afternoon, but steadily worked his way forward to claim a career-best 10th-place finish.

Another fine start by Norwegian teenager Henrik Furuseth (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) took him into the lead of the National Class for the second day running, where he remained for the duration of the 12-lap race which, like yesterday afternoon, was run under all-green conditions. RC Enerson (#10 Patriot Bank/ZSports Midwest with Team E Racing) finished second to maintain his championship lead.

Brabham still leads the Championship Class standings by a 14-point margin over Pigot, 248-234, with Anderson now firmly ensconced in third at 198 points. 

The USF2000 series will be back in action on the streets of Baltimore, Md., in two weeks’ time for another pair of races which will be held in support of the IZOD IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series.

Contingency awards included the Tilton Hard Charger Award, for the driver who gained the most positions during the race, which was claimed by Johnson who went from 28th to 10th for a gain of 18 positions; the PFC Award for the winning car owner, which was issued to Belardi Auto Racing; and the Staubli Award, a random finisher award, which was presented to Matthew Di Leo.

Scott Anderson, #14 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development/Neuropathy Testing Center/Laser Nails Centers (Belardi Auto Racing) – First: “We came into this weekend with our success at Mid-Ohio and the team had a lot of confidence and I had a lot of confidence. We used that to show some pretty good results and cover each step on the podium. Everyone has done an awesome job and I think now that we have a place up here, I will look forward to some more podiums the rest of the year.”

Spencer Pigot, #2 Team Pelfrey/Doug Mockett & Company/E-merging Technologies/ Parathyroid.com (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) – Second: “Today ended up being a little bit of a better result. We finally got everything how we wanted on the car and were able to show our pace. I have to thank the guys at Cape Motorsports for working so hard this weekend. Overall, it wasn’t the weekend we were looking for but we are not too far behind [in the championship] and we will be back strong at Baltimore.”

Matthew Brabham, #83 DTE Group (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) – Third: “I had a little bit of a disappointing race. It is hard to say that when I was on the podium. I managed to stay close in the championship through this race but I just made a few personal mistakes in the opening laps and that really hurt me later on in the race. Overall, I am really, really happy with how the weekend went. It is really fantastic to be back in front in the championship and I am planning to stay there for the rest of the year.”

Henrik Furuseth, #32 Palfinger/Akrene Mek Verksted (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) – First National Class:  “This race was very good for me. I had a good start and pulled away from the other guys early so I was able to stay in front the whole race. The car was very, very good and I have to thank everyone at Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing for their preparation all weekend.”