LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Steadily improving rookie driver Scott Anderson drove an impressive race in treacherous conditions to secure a well-deserved first victory in today’s Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products.

Last year’s Skip Barber National Series Champion started third in Belardi Auto Racing’s #14 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development//Neuropathy Testing Center/Laser Centers Van Diemen-Mazda, but took the lead midway around the first lap when front row starters, championship rivals and Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammates Matthew Brabham and Spencer Pigot ran off the road in unison at Turn Six while disputing the lead. 

On a track still wet from a thundershower earlier in the morning, Anderson immediately pulled out a slight advantage over Brabham and Pigot, and remained in front when the caution flags flew on Lap 3 following a couple of incidents farther down the field.

“I had some really good opening laps at the start of the race and was able to put a decent gap on Spencer (Pigot) and Matt (Brabham),” Anderson said. “After that, with the restarts, they were able to get some pretty close attempts at me. At the end, I was just trying to hang on to the car and keep a gap and really not throw it off. I was happy to bring it home and extremely happy to have a win. I have to say a huge thanks to the Belardi Auto Racing guys and MAZDASPEED Motorsports.”

The 23-year-old from Fort Collins, Colo., maintained his lead on the restart and was then gifted a little more breathing space when Brabham and Pigot tangled together for a second time at Turn Six to ensure another full-course caution.

Excellent work by the ever-diligent corner workers left enough time in the shortened race for a one-lap dash to the checkers. Once again Anderson kept his cool – and his lead – to finally break the string of six consecutive wins by the Cape Motorsports team.

Anderson set the fastest lap of the race for good measure on the ninth and final lap to claim an additional championship point, consolidating his fourth-place position overall in the standings with seven races remaining.

Matthew Di Leo finished a career-best second in his family-run Res Precast MDL Racing Van Diemen-Mazda, narrowly ahead of Trent Hindman, who enjoyed another strong run for Cape Motorsports in the #3 Premier Woodcraft/Zydro+/DFL Construction/RaceLite Protection/Skip Barber Racing School/Sparco car, Luigi Biangardi (Inject-It/Gulfstream Properties/Slick Locks/Chicago Indoor Racing/ArmsUp Motorsports) and Shelby Blackstock (#8 Starstruck/Andretti Autosport).

Neil Alberico bounced back from a disappointing day on Saturday, when his #19 Kartel Motorsports/Bondurant School/RaceLite Protection/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports entry suffered a mechanical problem while challenging for a top-six finish, to claim sixth today. Dalton Kellett (#5 K-Line Insulators USA Inc/Pabst Racing Services), took seventh, securing a career-best finish for the second successive day, ahead of National Class winner Henrik Furuseth (#32 Palfinger/Akrene Mek Verksted/Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing).

Furuseth, who started 19th, drove a spectacular first lap to cross the line in 10th position. He finished eighth overall to claim his second National Class victory and close to within one point of RC Enerson (#10 Patriot Bank/Team E/ZSports Midwest with Team E Racing) who finished 11th overall and third in class today.

Local driver Jim Libecco, from Solon, Ohio, also drove a strong race to finish a career-best ninth – and second in the National class – with the #98 Akron Skin Center/www.akronskin.com JAY Motorsports Van Diemen-Mazda FE entry.


RACE 1: Pigot claims fifth-straight win; Brabham goes 30th to third

USF2000 Race 1 Podium at Mid-Ohio

Spencer Pigot took full advantage of a “gifted” pole position to score a clear victory this afternoon in an action-packed Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building products at the scenic and challenging Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The 18-year-old from Orlando, Fla., now has won five consecutive races with the #2 Team Pelfrey/Doug Mockett & Company/E-merging Technologies/Parathyroid.com/California Scents Mazda Van Diemen and holds a 17-point lead over teammate Matthew Brabham in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

“It was another great race,” Pigot said. “ I just tried to get out in front early on and get a lead over Trent [Hindman] who was in second. I was able to put in some quick laps to get fastest lap of the race which is great for the extra point.

I am really happy to get another win. The car was awesome. The Capes were just fantastic as always. This is really important for the second half of the season. It took five races to get a six-point lead, so this is a great way to start it off – good momentum, good confidence – and we’ll work hard to keep it going like this.”

Brabham had posted the fastest lap in qualifying this morning in his #83 DTE Group car, for the fourth time in his rookie campaign. Unfortunately, his lap times were disallowed because he was running a set of tires that had not been nominated for competition, so he was banished to the rear of the 30-car starting field. Undaunted, Brabham mounted a sensational drive to finish in third place and keep his championship aspirations well and truly alive.

“It is absolutely fantastic,” Brabham said. “I am thrilled about how it ended up after how it started off. It was a lot of fun. I just kept setting goals for myself throughout the race. I would see a couple of cars ahead and I was like I have got to get past them before the end of the race. It kept escalating and I saw the podium position and I knew I had to push. I managed to get past Trent with a few laps to go to take third, which is good. I would have liked to have started on pole and on the front row to have to fight for the lead but I’ll look forward to doing that tomorrow. Hopefully, we can bring home a good result tomorrow and stay in the fight for the championship. The main goal and only goal is the championship.”

Trent Hindman (#3 Premier Woodcraft/Zydro+/DFL Construction/RaceLite Protection/Skip Barber Racing School/Sparco) held second place during the early stages in the third Cape Motorsports entry, but relinquished that position to a charging Scott Anderson, driving the #14 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development/Neuropathy Testing Center/Laser Centers entry for Belardi Auto Racing, shortly after a full-course caution when Thomas McGregor (#7 Dairy Queen/Exclusive Management/Andretti Autosport) slid off the road in Turn Five while embroiled in a multi-car battle for fifth place.

Anderson solidified his career-best second-place finish – and third top-five result – while Brabham, who had moved up inside the top 10 by Lap 6, continued his magnificent recovery by passing Hindman for third with three laps remaining.

Roman Lagudi (#4 Champion Stone/Tool and Supply/High Performance Distributors/Belardi Auto Racing) extended his streak of top-five finishes to six following a race-long battle with Shelby Blackstock (#8 Starstruck/Andretti Autosport).

The battle for National Class honors saw 15-year-old RC Enerson (#10 Patriot Bank/Team E/ ZSports Midwest with Team E Racing), who started on pole also with a new track record, overcome a sluggish start to pass Scott Rettich (#71 PDI Communication Systems/Springboro Car Wash/Alliance Autosport) and early pace-setter Henrik Furuseth (#32 Palfinger/Akrene Mek Verksted/Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) to claim his third consecutive win and take the lead in the point standings by a slender one-point margin.