There was no touching Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda points leader Petri Suvanto at the challenging Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Suvanto, 18, from Nurmo, Finland, won today’s Race 2 of the Allied Building Products USF2000 National Championship Races at Mid-Ohio, ensuring a clean sweep of the weekend by leading throughout the 20-lap event after starting from the pole aboard Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s #3 Viseko Van Diemen-Mazda.
Suvanto posted the fastest race lap for good measure to secure a maximum tally of 66 points from the weekend. He now holds a commanding 43-point lead with four races remaining in the season.
Wayne Boyd, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, finished second for the second straight day in Belardi Auto Racing’s #4 TheAppBuilder entry. Boyd, who started third, jumped past front row qualifier Spencer Pigot at the start but was unable to match Suvanto’s pace and, once again, had to settle for second.
Pigot, from Windermere, Fla., ran third in the early stages in Andretti Autosport’s #8 Team MAZDASPEED/Skip Barber entry but came under increasing pressure from the rapidly improving Timmy Megenbier. The 20-year-old from Melrose Park, Ill., finally found a way past Pigot on Lap 13 to snare a well-deserved first-ever podium finish in his #17 Sick Tea/Rahal Foods/Caputo/Wiscon Corp entry for Sick Tea Motorsports.
Matthew Di Leo, from Innisfil, Ont., Canada, finished fifth in Brian Stewart Racing’s #33 Res Precast Van Diemen-Mazda after holding off a race-long challenge from impressive 15-year-old newcomer Luigi Biangardi, who made a strong debut aboard Belardi Auto Racing’s #9 INJECT-IT.com/Gulfstream Properties entry.
The National class once again featured an enthralling three-way battle. Jonathan Scarallo led the early stages in the #29 GroupAWheels.com/Vredestein Tires/TreoBenny.com/Race Optics Cameras for AcceleRace Motorsports car, with Luca Forgeois (#5 Café Noir for Pabst Racing Services) and Saturday winner Joe Colasacco (#11 Auriana Racing) hot on his heels.
Forgeois spun out of contention on Lap 9, shortly after being passed by the impressive Colasacco, who then dispensed with Scarallo to ensure his second win in as many days.
The National class cars have slightly less horsepower to the Championship class, but offer more freedom in adjustments and options (dampers, aero, gears, etc.) to be almost on par with the Championship class in performance.
Contingency awards include the Tilton Hard Charger Award for the driver who gains the most positions which went to Joe Colasacco. The PFC Award for the winning car owners was issued to Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and Auriana Racing in the National class. The Staubli Award, a random finisher award, was issued to Jonathan Scarallo.
The Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda will continue with two more races at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., in two weeks’ time.
Petri Suvanto, #3 Viseko: “The weekend was incredible. The series did an amazing job with the platform here – we are racing in the prime time; we had the perfect paddock spot next to the IZOD IndyCar Series and the place was full of fans. It was amazing to see them and drive in front of such a big crowd. Today was one of the best performances of my career and that is what makes me the most happy. I am really happy with myself today.”
Wayne Boyd, #4 TheAppBuilder : “The race was, again, not too bad for us. I got off to a better start than I did yesterday and went from third straight into second. The first four laps I could stay with Petri but after that he pulled away. I just tried to stay consistent and do a good job to keep pulling away from third place. That was basically all I could do and to make sure I passed the lapped cars well. I want to thank Belardi Auto Racing. The team has come on so well from the start of the year. A massive thanks to them and the Milwaukee IrishFest and TheAppBuilder.”
Timmy Megenbier, #17 Sick Tea/Rahal Foods/Caputo/Wiscon Corp.: “What a great race. Yesterday, we worked really hard to get up on the podium but just weren’t quite there to close the gap to [Spencer] Pigot. Today, I pushed a little harder. I had the same exact gap as I had yesterday but I was able to pass him with eight laps to go. We work really well as a team. We definitely had it here, and I think we will have a great end to the season and show that we have the speed.”
Joe Colasacco, #11 Auriana Racing: “In the end, the whole weekend was pretty satisfying. Two wins is great. Yesterday, we were fortunate to pull out a win with not having the fastest car. Today, it was much more satisfying being able to win with speed and making more passes coming from third in our class. All in all, a good weekend and it is great to be here in USF2000.”