SPEEDWAY, IN: A total of six preliminary races in support of the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis for Indy Cars were staged this weekend at the legendary Speedway. For fans of open wheel road racing, Indy is the only place to be this spring!
The USF2000 series, along with the Pro Mazda group and the popular Indy Lights Series staged separate complete events on both Friday and Saturday. As a result, there was very little down time to be found around the Speedway this weekend, as the future stars of the sport displayed their talents.
On Friday, Wil Owen of Castle Rock, Colorado captured the USF2000 race, leading the final five laps after passing Jake Eidson, who hung on for second. The contest featured five different leaders and only one brief caution period.
Also on Friday, Vancouver, BC’s Scott Hargrove took the victory in the Pro Mazda event, after swapping the lead with Neil Alberico twice. Shelby Blackstock of Nashville, Tennessee eventually finished second, with Alberico dropping to third at the checkered flag. Three caution flags briefly slowed the action.
Friday’s Indy Lights race was taken by Matthew Brabham, who dominated by leading all 26 laps. Matthew is the third member of the Brabham family to compete at Indianapolis, following his grandfather, three time World Champion Sir Jack Brabham and father, ten time Indy 500 starter Geoff Brabham. Matthew now becomes the only member of his family to ever lead at Indy, much less score a victory. Luiz Razia of Barreiras, Brazil trailed Brabham by two seconds at the finish. This was his first Indy Lights victory.
On Saturday, the USF2000 event was captured by Adrain Starrantino of Santa Paula, California, who held off Florian Latorre and Victor Franzoni for the victory. Franzoni led the opening lap, with Starrantion controlling the balance of the event.
The next race saw Friday’s Pro Mazda winner, Scott Hargrove, complete his weekend sweep on Saturday, beating his teammate, Los Gatos, California’s Neil Alberico to the line by nearly three seconds. Hargrove led all 20 laps in a race that featured seven laps of caution.
The final support event prior to the IndyCar Grand Prix saw Friday’s runner-up Luiz Razia of Barreiras, Brazil score a 0.5 second win over fellow rookie Jack Harvey of Bassingham, England in the second Indy Lights race. Another rookie, Alex Baron of Narbonne, France finished third while Friday’s Indy Lights winner, Matthew Brabham was 3.77 seconds behind Razia at the checkered, scoring a fourth place result.
Next up: the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis!
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