Baltimore, MD. – Spencer Pigot took advantage of a rare error by teammate and polesitter Matthew Brabham to claim victory in Race 1 of the USF2000 Baltimore Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products. The Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing driver returned to the top step of the podium for his sixth win and eighth podium of the season.

A strong crowd was on hand to witness an exciting 17-lap race around the now 2.04-mile, 13-turn temporary street circuit which, as of last evening, included the addition of a new chicane. Brabham was on point with Pigot lining up second as the green flag flew but a braking error in Turn One forced the current points leader down the escape road. Pigot seized the opening and never looked back.

RACE RESULTS

Brabham, meanwhile, found himself in fifth position behind Roman Lagudi who charged from fourth to second in the No. 4 Champion Stone/Tool and Supply/High Performance Distributors Belardi Auto Racing entry, Matthew Di Leo and Scott Anderson in the No. 14 Belardi Auto Racing MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development/Neuropathy Testing Center/Laser Nail Centers car. The caution flags flew twice in the opening laps for several multiple car incidents on the tight and challenging circuit but it was all green-flag racing for the final 11 laps.

Battles ensued throughout the 28-car field as Brabham worked his way to third and eventually passed Di Leo for the second spot on the podium. En route, Brabham posted the fastest lap of the race earning an additional point and the pole position for tomorrow’s Race 2. This was Di Leo’s fourth podium of the season and seventh top-five finish.

ArmsUp Motorsports’ Luigi Biangardi finished fourth – his third top five – after starting eighth in the No. 15 Inject-it/Gulfstream Properties/Slick Locks/Chicago Indoor Karting machine. Anderson picked up his eighth top-five result after a heated battle for fifth spot in the race standings, and Scott Hargrove of JDC MotorSports – who missed several races mid-season – quickly moved back into the fray with a strong drive from 14th to sixth to post his best result of the year in the No. 38 Analytic Systems/Race Energy/Skip Barber Racing School/Red Line Oil entry.

Brabham still leads the Championship Class standings, but Pigot has narrowed the gap to nine points. Anderson lies in third with a charging Di Leo in fourth and Lagudi in fifth.

In the National Class, Henrik Furuseth of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing posted a stunning drive from 19th on the starting grid to eighth overall to claim his fifth win of the season in the No. 32 Palfinger/Akrene Med Verksted entry. Championship rival R.C. Enerson finished 11th overall and second in class to maintain the points lead over Furuseth by seven points for ZSports Midwest with Team E Racing (No. 10 Patriot Bank/Team E). Mark Eaton was third in class for Robin Motor Sports in the No. 92 Deathtolionfish.org/Valvoline entry to post his seventh top-three drive.

Contingency awards included the Tilton Hard Charger Award, for the driver who gained the most positions during the race, which was claimed by Furuseth for his gain of 11 positions; the PFC Award for the winning car owner, which was issued to Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing; and the Staubli Award, a random finisher award, which was presented to Colin Thompson of Belardi Auto Racing (No. 11 The Thompson Organization/AWE Tuning/Sparco/ Laboratory Testing, Inc./RePlay XD/iRacing).

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will return to racing action on the streets of Baltimore tomorrow for Race No. 2 at 10:35 am ET. Live commentary and Timing and Scoring can be found at www.usf2000.com.