Vancouver, BC. – Vancouver, BC’s Scott Hargrove followed up on his USF2000 Winterfest success by winning the first race of the 2013 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and finishing second in the second race held at the 61st Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Hargrove was driving the #38 Analytic Systems/RaceEnergy/Metal Action USF2000 racecar for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing.
Hargrove qualified on the pole for the first race on Thursday morning by smashing the qualifying record, and backed that up with a second quick lap that ensured he would also have the pole for the second race held on Friday. The green flag waved on the season Thursday afternoon and Hargrove jumped into a two-second lead on the first lap, building up to over seven seconds by half distance before easing his pace to save his tires in case of a late race full course yellow flag. He crossed the finish line six-plus seconds ahead of fellow Canadian Garrett Grist of Grimsby, Ontario. Hargrove scored points for the fastest race lap and leading all laps.
Race 2 started Friday morning with a strong challenge at the green flag by Grist that Hargrove initially held off, but a draft down the back straight on Lap 1 saw Grist take the lead. Cape Motorsports teammate Neil Alberico was also able to take advantage of the moment to slip by into second place. A full course yellow followed almost immediately and the field settled in behind the pace car for the next three laps. When the green waved again, Hargrove and Alberico seized the moment, passing Grist into Turn 1 and the teammates were running 1-2. Grist pressured Hargrove for the next lap until Hargrove was able to break away. By then Alberico was two seconds ahead and Hargrove held off the field for a second-place finish.
Hargrove left Sebring with 58 points and a 14-point lead in the series, which moves to the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this weekend, March 23 & 24, 2013.
“This whole week has been phenomenal. Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing provided me with a fantastic car. I’m thrilled that we were able to capitalize on the momentum coming out of the Cooper Tires Winterfest and secure the points lead. I can’t wait to continue the success next weekend at the St. Petersburg GP!” commented Hargrove.
For more information about Scott, visit his website at www.scotthargrove.com keep up to date via Twitter @Scott_Hargrove and his Facebook page @ ScottHargroveMotorsports.
Analytic Systems is a world class manufacturer of high performance Power Conversion Equipment for the Military, Marine, Industrial and Alternative Energy markets. Visit www.analyticsystems.com for more information.
RaceEnergy is a division of Analytic Systems that specializes in Battery Chargers and other electronics for the motorsports industry. Visit www.raceenergy.net for more information.
Metal Action Machining is a world class CNC machine shop specializing in 3D and multi axis precision machining for Industrial, Aerospace and Military applications. For more information please visit www.metalaction.ca
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing was formed in 2010 as a partnership between two successful race entities. With leadership from brothers Nicholas and Dominic Cape and along with Wayne Taylor and his organization in Indianapolis, the team won the 2012 Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. Visit www.capemotorsports.com for more information.