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ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire championship leader Max Garcia’s dominant streak was finally broken Sunday morning as VRD Racing’s Max Taylor broke through in a third and thrilling final race of the Elite Engines Grand Prix of Road America.
Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., took the lead from Garcia following a restart and fought hard to stay out in front before securing his maiden USF Pro 2000 victory. He now becomes only the second driver to win on every level of the USF Pro Championships ladder.
Canadian Mac Clark capped a strong weekend with three podium finishes by taking another second for Exclusive Autosport, while Israeli Ariel Elkin drove another fine race for TJ Speed Motorsports to complete the podium.
Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., completed a weekend sweep of Continental Tire Pole Awards, this time as a result of having posted the best of each drivers’ second-fastest laps during the second qualifying session on Friday.
He duly maintained that position at the start, despite the best efforts of both Clark, who started second, and row two qualifier Taylor to take advantage of the prodigious draft on the long Road America straightaways.
It was the same story following an early caution period caused by impressive debutant Joseph Loake (Turn 3 Motorsport), from Macclesfield, England, grinding to a halt at Turn 14 following some contact which sheared his car’s rear wheel camber bolts.
A second restart following another brief caution – when VRD Racing’s Frankie Mossman, from Newport Beach, Calif., also suffered a mechanical problem – provided a different story. This time, with six laps in the books, Clark, running second, had a huge run on Garcia, while Taylor had an even bigger draft from third and was able to out-brake Garcia around the outside line in Turn One to take over the lead. It was the first time Garcia had been headed all weekend.
Taylor initially pulled out a slight lead, only to be reeled again by both Clark and Garcia, who had exchanged places on Lap Nine.
By Lap 12, all three leaders were together – and Elkin, having recovered from an early skirmish in Turn One which saw him drop from 10th almost to the tail of the field, was in the mix, too.
Garcia moved back ahead of Clark after 12 laps, then made his move for the lead in Turn One, once again taking advantage of the draft. But Taylor, last year’s USF Juniors champion, fought back, and following brief contact between them at Turn Six, Taylor was back into a lead he would hold to the finish.
A trip across the grass relegated Garcia to fourth, whereupon his attempt to repass Elkin was firmly rebuffed. The podium finish was especially welcome for Elkin as he seeks the funding to complete his rookie season in USF Pro 2000.
Title contender Alessandro de Tullio, from Miami, Fla., capped a difficult weekend for Turn 3 Motorsport by pocketing the Tilton Hard Charger Award following a charge from 16th on the grid – a consequence of his car being marginally underweight after qualifying – to fifth ahead of teammate and fellow Miami, Fla., resident Nicholas Monteiro.
Mexico’s George Garciarce drove by far his best race of the season for DEForce Racing, finishing seventh, while privateer Logan Adams (Comet/NCMP Racing), from Greenfield, Ind., also shone in the early stages, rising from 11th to fifth, before a broken front wing caused him to fall back down the order.
