STEAM CORNERS, Ohio — Max Garcia was in a category of his personal throughout this weekend’s PFC Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio.
The 16-year-old from Coconut Grove, Fla., dominated each 30-lap USF Professional 2000 Introduced by Continental Tire races for Pabst Racing in blisteringly sizzling situations on the difficult Mid-Ohio Sports activities Automotive Course, scooping a most 66 factors and lengthening his already commanding championship lead.
TJ Velocity Motorsports’ Ariel Elkin, from Haifa, Israel, and Garcia’s teammate Jacob Douglas shared the second-place finishes, properly in arrears of Garcia, as Max Taylor (VRD Racing) and Mac Clark (Unique Autosport) accomplished the rostrum placings.
For the second race weekend in a row, Garcia displayed prodigious tempo in qualifying. The lone session on Friday noticed Garcia outpace everybody by nearly a full half-second to make sure one other Continental Tire Pole Award, with Elkin lining up alongside for the primary of right this moment’s two 30-lap races.
The story of this morning’s race was nearly similar. Following a quick full-course warning after 5 laps when George Garciarce spun into the gravel at Flip Two because of contact with Logan Adams (Comet/NCMP Racing),Garcia merely accelerated away from the sector and was by no means remotely underneath problem. His eventual successful margin was a cushty 7.3545 seconds. Job accomplished.
Elkin was equally untroubled in second, whereas an early back-and-forth tussle for third between Alessandro de Tullio, who certified third for Flip 3 Motorsport, and VRD Racing’s Max Taylor, who began seventh, was settled properly earlier than the end in Taylor’s favor.
De Tullio cemented his declare to fourth place after edging away from Douglas within the closing phases.
One other New Zealander, Sebastian Manson, collected the Tilton Exhausting Charger Award for TJ Velocity Motorsports having risen from sixteenth on the grid to ninth on the checkered flag.
Garcia accomplished his weekend sweep of Continental Tire Pole Awards, as soon as once more making certain himself of the within of the entrance row of the grid for Race Two.
Though this time it wasn’t fairly as clear lower. Garcia’s second-fastest lap throughout qualifying on Friday had been considerably quicker than anybody else, however in opposition to the chances – and regardless of the excessive warmth and humidity throughout Race One – nearly all of the sector turned laps quicker than in qualifying. Garcia was once more high of the pile, however by solely 0.0335 of a second over teammate Douglas.
VRD Racing’s Frankie Mossman lined up third having taken the chance throughout this morning’s race to make a pit cease for a contemporary set of Continental tires.
Garcia as soon as once more took off into the lead this night, extending his benefit to over three seconds earlier than being pegged again after 10 laps when Canadian debutant Nick Gilkes’ Jay Howard Driver Improvement automotive floor to a halt on the race monitor with a mechanical drawback.
As soon as that had been cleared, Garcia continued his grasp class by extending his lead with each lap. He even posted new quickest race laps on every of the ultimate 4 laps of the 30-lap race earlier than taking the checkered flag 9.6659 seconds away from Douglas.
A effective begin noticed Clark vault from sixth on the grid to 3rd, the place he remained for the period.
Mossman loved by far his finest race of the season by ending shut behind in fourth, with Elkin a disenchanted fifth.
