AVONDALE, La. -- Santiago Urrutia of Uruguay took the lead at the start of the 20-minute Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race at NOLA Motorsports Park on April 12 and held on to win in his third start.

The race was postponed from April 11 because of rain. The scheduled second race of the weekend was canceled because of a rainstorm.

Click it: Race results

Urrutia, 18, pounced on pole-sitting Weiron Tan on the first lap and then controlled the pace to score an accomplished victory for Team Pelfrey.

"I had a better start than Weiron and in the first corner. I tried to brake a little later than him on the outside and I was able to pass him,” Urrutia said. “But he was quick, and he tried many times to overtake me but he wasn't able to. The rain was really bad toward the end of the race; it was very difficult, especially since it was my first time driving this car in the rain.

“But it's a really good start for me. I'm very happy to get a win in only my third Pro Mazda race. Team Pelfrey is doing a great job. We're working really hard to get the results. The championship is so close, everyone is doing well. In qualifying, 11 cars were within one second. But we have many more races, so we have to keep going in this way."

Urrutia had arrived in North America this season virtually unheralded after competing in the European F3 Open and GP3 over the past few years.

Frenchman Timothe Buret drove well for Juncos Racing to finish third ahead of Urrutia teammate Pato O'Ward, the youngest driver in the field at 15 years old who set the fastest lap of the race before settling for fourth.

Next on the schedule for the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires competitors is a doubleheader April 24-25 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.