Conor Daly, son of F1/Indy Car/Sports Car racing legend Derek Daly, won Sunday his second Star Mazda Championship race from the pole.
St. Petersburg was the host of the first “Road to Indy” race which saw the Indy Lights Series, the IRL series, US Formula 2000 Championship and the Star Mazda Championship race together on a same track this weekend.
Two-full course yellow troubled the race, both at an early stage. It allowed Daly to build a comfortable advance later on in the race.
Brazilian driver Joao Victor Horto took the second place for Team Apex – a team that will offer Canadian Maryeve Dufault a ride later on this season.
Third-year driver Caio Lara, also from Brazil, took the final spot on the podium, a first for him. The podium’s taste was even sweeter for Lara who hit two walls in qualifying as a result of a small mistake.
Patrick O’Neill took victory in the Expert Series for drivers 30-44 years old. It was his first race of the season. He finished 14th.
Puerto Rican driver Carlos Conde took the third and last victory spot, in the Master Series for drivers 45 and older. He finished 18th overall.
The impressive performance of Quebec driver Mikael Grenier is to be noted. The driver, victim of a bad qualifying strategy which saw him stand in his pits for half the session only to be forced in by Lara’s red flag on the second half, started dead last and built his way up to a sixth place finish in Florida.
photo:starmazda.com
St. Petersburg was the host of the first “Road to Indy” race which saw the Indy Lights Series, the IRL series, US Formula 2000 Championship and the Star Mazda Championship race together on a same track this weekend.
Two-full course yellow troubled the race, both at an early stage. It allowed Daly to build a comfortable advance later on in the race.
Brazilian driver Joao Victor Horto took the second place for Team Apex – a team that will offer Canadian Maryeve Dufault a ride later on this season.
Third-year driver Caio Lara, also from Brazil, took the final spot on the podium, a first for him. The podium’s taste was even sweeter for Lara who hit two walls in qualifying as a result of a small mistake.
Patrick O’Neill took victory in the Expert Series for drivers 30-44 years old. It was his first race of the season. He finished 14th.
Puerto Rican driver Carlos Conde took the third and last victory spot, in the Master Series for drivers 45 and older. He finished 18th overall.
The impressive performance of Quebec driver Mikael Grenier is to be noted. The driver, victim of a bad qualifying strategy which saw him stand in his pits for half the session only to be forced in by Lara’s red flag on the second half, started dead last and built his way up to a sixth place finish in Florida.
photo:starmazda.com