St. Petersburg, Fla. – Third-generation racer Matthew Brabham produced an impressive performance to win the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of  St. Petersburg, Round 3 of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Brabham, 19, had set the pace throughout practice with the No. 83 Team Andretti Autosport entry but qualified only eighth after the gear shift lever broke off in his hand midway through the 30-minute qualifying session. After an early yellow flag, he moved up to third position on the restart by Lap 6. A few laps later, he had passed teammate Shelby Blackstock and Juncos Racing’s Diego Ferreira for the lead.

“First I have to thank Andretti Autosport for giving me a fantastic car and Mazda for giving me the opportunity to be up here racing with these guys this year,” Brabham said. "It was a fantastic race for me. It was a bit hairy going into the first corner. I had to dodge a few cars as they were all piling up on each other, but I was able to get through. I knew I had a fast car but it is tough to tell where you are at but after the first couple of laps, I was moving up through the field and knew it was good. It was a great race and everyone drove very well. I’m speechless. It was just such a great race.”

Nick Andries, who had started 10th, held fourth place for the majority of the race until being passed by Spencer Pigot (No. 81 Doug Mockett & Company/Gap Guard/Parathyroid.com/California Scents/OMP/Team Pelfrey) on Lap 18.

Andries maintained fifth until the end, despite the best efforts of Zack Meyer (No. 66 Damis Partners III/Red line Oil/JDC MotorSports) and Scott Anderson (No. 44 Neuropathy Testing Center/Laser Nail Centers/Ottercares/Sparco/Bell/Juncos Racing).

Suvanto (No. 82 GetGapGuard.com/Team Pelfrey) finished eighth after serving a drive-through penalty for blocking in the opening stages.

Contingency awards included the Staubli and PFC awards issued to the winner and winning team, and the Quartermaster Hard Charger Award for most positions gained which went to Brabham, who advanced seven places.

The second leg of the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will take place tomorrow at 3:00 PM, immediately following the first IZOD IndyCar Series race of the season.