LEXINGTON, Ohio – Leonardo Escorpioni came from behind this afternoon to claim a sublime victory in the first leg of the PFC Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio doubleheader for USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire. Escorpioni, from Windermere, Fla., grasped the lead from Zanella Racing teammate Ty Fisher following a mid-race restart and led the remainder of the 20-lap distance to claim his fourth victory of the season and extend his championship lead to 23 points over Oliver Wheldon, who finished fourth for VRD Racing.
Another Florida-based Brazilian, Joao Vergara, maintained his championship aspirations by finishing a close second, while early pacesetter Fisher had to settle for third.
Fisher, 14, from White Rock, B.C., Canada, was the fastest man in qualifying this morning, duly securing his second Continental Tire Pole Award of the season. Escorpioni was less than one tenth of a second slower to assure himself a starting position on the outside of the front row. VRD teammates Wheldon, from St. Petersburg, Fla., and Vergara shared row two.
A couple of midfield incidents broke up the first half of the race with Fisher narrowly holding onto his lead. But Escorpioni made a strong restart at the second time of asking as the two teammates jostled for the top spot. They successfully negotiated the majority of the undulating Esses, between Turns Four and Six, in side-by-side formation, displaying tremendous respect for each other’s abilities without either wanting to give an inch.
But it was Escorpioni who prevailed, with Vergara, who had displaced Wheldon following an earlier restart on Lap Seven, also snapping at his heels. Next time around under braking at the top of the hill for Turn Two, Vergara saw a small opening and went for it. Second place was his reward.
Vergara then set a new fastest lap of the race on Laps 12 and 13 in his pursuit of Escorpioni, while Fisher, in third, reset the mark next time around as the three leaders remained in close formation.
Wheldon, unfortunately, by this stage was no longer in the mix for the win following a skirmish at the exit of the final corner with Jay Howard Driver Development’s Liam Loiacono, from Queensland, Australia, up from eighth on the grid, which saw Wheldon being edged wide onto the grass. The consequent massive loss of momentum relegated Wheldon briefly to eighth.
The battle for the lead intensified in the closing stages as Escorpioni and Vergara traded fastest race laps with Fisher also hot on their heels. Escorpioni, though, was up to the challenge, and eventually took the checkered flags just 0.7921 of a second ahead of Vergara. Fisher finished just behind the pair of them in third.
Lioacono couldn’t quite match the leading pace in fourth, but remained clear of Rodrigo Gonzalez, from Mexico City, Mexico, who was fifth for DEForce Racing ahead of the recovering Wheldon.
DEForce Racing’s Vilho Aatola, from Turku, Finland, drove well from a disappointing 12th on the grid to eighth ahead of Diego Guiot (Zanella Racing), from The Woodlands, Texas, Brenden Cooley (Exclusive Autosport), from Mokena, Ill., and the younger of the Gonzalez brothers, Patricio, who earned his first Tilton Hard Charger Award of the season after rising from 18th on the grid to 10th.
Jose and Jessica Zanella took home their sixth PFC Award of the season as the winning car owners.
The USF Juniors weekend will conclude with a second 20-lap race at 9:40 a.m. EDT tomorrow in advance of the second practice session for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES contenders.
Provisional championship points after nine of 16 races:
1. Leonardo Escorpioni, 219
2. Oliver Wheldon, 196
3. Ty Fisher, 193
4. Joao Vergara, 191
5. Liam Loiacono, 167
6. Vilho Aatola, 145
7 Rodrigo Gonzalez, 134
8. Diego Guiot, 102
9. Patricio Gonzalez, 93
10. Michael Sumo, 89
Leonardo Escorpioni (#55 Qwilt/Peer 1/Mensalize-Zanella Racing Tatuus JR-23): “We had the championship lead [beforehand] so, honestly, going into the race I was really thinking about [challenging for] the race win. I was thinking about just finishing on the podium and staying there. But then on the restart, I saw an opportunity to pass Ty, and I went for it. We had some pretty good racing going through [Turns] Four, Five and Six, and I was able to pull off the move. I could tell in my mirrors that Joao was pretty quick at the end. It was about staying consistent and staying on track because I know it's really hard to pass through with the dirty air.”
Joao Vergara (#10 Cross/Care code/Son Boron at/Arie-VRD Racing Tatuus JR-23): “I wish we could have gotten the win there at the end. We had a little bit of a problem with [aerodynamic] wash behind Leo. I felt like we were a bit faster. We could have gotten the win. But, nonetheless, it's good points for the championship.”
Ty Fisher (#37 Cedar Coast/Zanella Racing Tatuus JR-23): “It was a good race. I started first and I led the first few laps and then there was a restart. I had a good restart and was able to hold the lead. Then there was another restart and I lost the lead to Leo. I just couldn't hold it. The car was a bit slidey, and it came in really good at the end. We were fast, but it was just a bit too late. We'll be there for tomorrow.”