SEBRING, Fla. - Spencer Pigot began his bid to win this year's Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda by claiming a win and a third-place finish from the opening pair of races held yesterday and today at Sebring International Raceway as part of the supporting program for the 60th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida.
Pigot's efforts in qualifying yesterday (Thursday) morning were thwarted as he was unable to find a clear lap during a 30-minute session that was interrupted by several red flag stoppages, and wound up seventh on the 36-car starting grid for Race One. In front of a massive crowd of enthusiastic race fans, however, Pigot made up ground steadily during the race, despite a series of full-course cautions, to bring the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing #2 Team Pelfrey/Doug Mockett & Company/E-mergingTechnologies/ Parathyroid.com/California Scents/Mazda/Cooper Tires Van Diemen home in third place.
"With how the day started in qualifying I'm pretty happy with getting up to the podium," said Pigot. "I think if it had stayed green we would have had second, but that's OK. We were able to get some good points and that's the most important thing."
Posting the second fastest lap of the race, behind race-winning teammate Matthew Brabham, ensured Pigot would start today's race on the outside of the front row. He was unable to challenge Brabham during the early stages but gained a second chance when an incident on Lap 6 brought about another full-course caution. Pigot grasped his opportunity at the restart, drafting alongside Brabham on the outside line into Turn One, then driving imperiously around the outside of his rival to claim the advantage. One more multi-car incident ensured the race would finish under full-course caution but Pigot's win was secure.
"The race today was pretty uneventful until the restart," said Pigot. "We didn't quite have the pace to challenge Matt so I knew it was going to be my only chance to get the victory. I was able to get to the outside on the entry of Turn One and I kept my foot in it until I saw him lift. It was pretty close but I got the lead and held on for the win."
Pigot now holds second place in the point standings, trailing Brabham 60-52, as the series heads to next weekend's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg where the USF2000 championship will line up alongside the opening round of the IZOD IndyCar Series on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
It's great to leave the first rounds with a win and hopefully we can continue that into St. Pete. It's the home race for both me and the team so I want to get them a few wins! It's my favorite event on the calendar and I won there last year so it's going to be great to be there again.
"I would like to thank Team Pelfrey, Doug Mockett & Company, E-merging Technologies, Paraythyroid.com, California Scents, Mazda and Cooper Tires as well as the team, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, for making all this possible," he concluded.
ABOUT SPENCER PIGOT:
Spencer Pigot, 18, won numerous karting championships before graduating to cars in 2009. He won the 2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Powered by Mazda, earning a scholarship via the MAZDASPEED Driver Development Program to contest the 2011 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Pigot finished second in the title-chase with three wins, four poles and a track record to his name, and won five of six races to claim the 2012 Cooper Tires Winterfest mini-series. He also won prestigious Team USA Scholarships both in 2010 and 2011. His goal is to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Follow Spencer at www.spencerpigot.com or on Facebook (Spencer Pigot Racing) and Twitter (@spencerpigot).