Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

DEForce Racing’s Sebastian Garzon doubled up in the second USF2000 race on the streets of St. Petersburg.

He missed out on pole, as Pabst Racing’s Eddie Beswick second-best laptime from qualifying earned him top spot by 0.0758 seconds over team-mate and race one fastest lap-setter Brad Majman.

Garzon’s best race one laptime put him third on race two’s grid, ahead of Joao Vergara (Velocity Racing Development), Leonardo Escorpioni (Zanella Racing), Ryan Giannetta (VRD), Lucas Nanji (Pabst) and Anthony Martella (Exclusive Autosport).

Beswick held the lead into the race’s opening corner, and Escorpioni made one overtake before pulling off another at turn four on Majman who had already lost out to Garzon. Racing was then neutralised due to a turn one crash involving Jay Howard Driver Development by Ed Carpenter Racing’s Cal Peter driving over the rear of Exclusive’s Evan Cooley. Later in the lap, Martella ended his race at turn eight.

The restart was not until lap six, and it did not last long as Exclusive’s Connor Aspley had stopped on track after turn 10 and his car needed recovering. JHDD’s Liam Loiaconi pitted during the next caution period, so was at the back for the lap nine restart.

Garzon was instantly alongside Beswick and swept past on the outside before entering turn one, with Escorpioni following through at turn four. A wide moment at turn five for Escorpioni two laps later allowed Beswick back through, and Garzon began pulling away but could not get more than 1.2s ahead.

The top three held their positions through the race’s second half, and Majman was a lonely fourth. DEForce’s Brady Golan overtook Vergara on the lap nine restart for fifth, with Giannetta chasing them through the rest of the race.

VRD’s Teddy Musella climbed two spots from 13th on lap one, and another two on lap nine. On lap 11 he overtook Exclusive’s Ayrton Cahan for eighth.

Race results (20 laps)

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

DEForce Racing’s Sebastian Garzon had a stellar opening day of the USF2000 season in St. Petersburg, taking pole and converting it into victory.

Pole position was only narrowly claimed by Garzon, who pipped Exclusive Autosport’s Anthony Martella by 0.0425 seconds. Pabst Racing’s Eddie Beswick and Brad Majman were 0.1212s and 0.2673s behind in third and fourth, with everyone else more than half a second off the pace. However a second still covered the top 12.

Exclusive’s Evan Cooley, who came sixth in USF2000 last year, was sixth fastest and 2025 championship runner-up Teddy Musella was only 10th on the grid in a new car run by Velocity Racing Development.

Liam Loiacono, USF Juniors runner-up in 2025, set no laptimes in qualifying due to a fuel pump failure so the Jay Howard Driver Development by Ed Carpenter Racing driver lined up 23rd and last on the grid.

Martella and Beswick got ahead of Garzon either side of him on the run down to the race’s opening corner, but Martella spun when he reached it and team-mate Cooley then drove over the top of him.

Others went deep but avoided Martella’s car, while Garzon was alone up front until a caution period was called for as Beswick fell to 12th.

At that point, Garzon led Joao Vergara (VRD) and Leonardo Escorpioni (Zanella Racing), up from fifth and seventh, with Majman holding fourth ahead of team-mate Lucas Nanji who had started 11th. After pitting for repairs, Beswick was 20th.

Racing resumed on lap four and Garzon was unvrivalled. He grew his lead on all but three of the laps, and ended the 20-lap encounter 2.5s clear of Vergara.

The top four gradually distanced themselves from Nanji, and further back was a six-car group led by VRD’s Colin Aitken in sixth. Musella was initially in that group, but after some kerb-riding on lap seven he fell to 15th behind Beswick and in a train of cars led by Enve Motorsports’ Wesley Gundler in 12th.

Gundler’s group was approaching the rear of Aitken’s by lap 15, as he faced attacks from behind. DEForce’s Brady Golan looked to get by but contact meant he had to pit, and other squabbles at the final corner led to Exclusive’s Gabriel Cahan and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development’s Wian Boshoff passing Aitken.

Loiacono was now ninth, and Beswick was 12th but had damage and fell to the rear of the field again. VRD’s Ryan Giannetta overtook Loiacono and Aitken next time by, then on the last lap Boshoff and Giannetta cleared Cahan.

Gundler also made an end-of-race move, taking 10th from Loiacono after he had been gapped by Aitken ahead. Musella was right behind him at the finish, and after several laps holding off Exclusive’s Ayrton Cahan, and Golan was a lapped 19th.

Race results (20 laps)

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

DEForce Racing’s Sebastian Garzon was quickest in the first practice session of the USF2000 season on the streets of St. Petersburg.

He pipped Pabst Racing’s Eddie Beswick by a tiny 0.0592 seconds, with a second covering the top 14 in the 24-car field.

Exclusive Autosport’s Evan Cooley was 0.1349s behind in third, and there was a 0.3018s gap to Jay Howard Driver Development’s Liam Loiacono in fourth. Just 0.0447s thenh split Loiacono, Joao Vergara (Velocity Racing Development) and Anthony Martella (Exclusive).

There was a surprise addition to DEForce’s line-up, as Brady Golan was at the wheel. The 18-year-old came fifth in Formula Regional Americas last year, and was 18th in his half-season in USF2000.

He has signed with Turn 3 Motorsport to step up to USF Pro 2000 for 2026, which will rule him out of making further USF2000 appearances due to the two series racing on the same dates on IndyCar’s support bill.

JHDD which has partnered with IndyCar team Ed Carpenter Racing, has a four-car line-up in USF2000 and three of its drivers were announced in the last week.

Swedish racer Erik Holm starts his single-seater career with JHDD, having spent last year in shifter karting. The 20-year-old came 13th in the WSK Super Master Series’ KZ2 kart class, and was 37th in the WSK Final Cup the year before. He has also tested a FRegional-based Eurocup-3 car.

Liacono graduates to USF2000 after being USF Juniors runner-up with JHDD. He won five races and claimed two other podiums, and that followed the YACademy Winter Series where he was ninth in the standings. The 18-year-old Australian spent three years in his home country’s Formula Ford scene prior to 2025.

The team’s line-up is completed by Naim Saleh, who takes two steps up the road to Indy after coming third in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series last year. That uses Formula 4 cars, which he also got experience of on home soil in Brazilian F4’s Formula 1-supporting non-championship round at Interlagos.

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

DEForce Racing’s Sebastian Garzon set the pace in USF2000 pre-season testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The lastest additions to the 2026 grid, announced before testing, are Eddie Beswick at Pabst Racing and Wian Boshoff at Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development.

Beswick, 20, hails from Australia and won the title in his home country’s national Formula Ford championship in 2024. He also made his USF2000 debut that year, joining Exclusive Autosport for the street races in Toronto, then joined the grid full-time in 2025 as Synergy Motorsport’s sole driver.

While Beswick was usually in the top 10, facing new tracks each round and being part of a small outfit made for a hard rookie campaign but he still came 10th in the standings. The importance of experience showed in Toronto, the only circuit he did know, as he finished second in race one there.

Boshoff is embarking on a second season with SFHRD, having come 17th in his rookie campaign. He missed the final round, and four 10th places were his best results. The South African also raced in Indian Formula 4, where he was ninth in the points table.

There were five test sessions at Homestead across Monday and Tuesday (although six were scheduled), and Jay Howard Driver Development by Ed Carpenter Racing’s Naim Saleh topped the first. They set a 1m19.6016s to lead Velocity Racing Development’s Joao Vergara by a tiny 0.018 seconds, with Garzon 0.0889s behind and just 0.0001s ahead of Saleh’s team-mate Liam Loiacono.

Gabriel Cahan (Exclusive Autosport) was 0.354s back in fourth, and a slim 0.0574s split him and Colin Aitken (VRD) in ninth.

Ryan Giannetta (VRD) lowered the pace to 1m19.4150s in session two, edging Aitken by 0.0936s. Vergara and Loiacono were less than 0.18s behind, and Garzon was fifth.

Garzon moved to the front in session three, posting a 1m19.0521s. He took top spot by 0.2304s over Aitken, and Gabriel Cahan (Exclusive Autosport) moved into third overall with a 1m19.4137s lap. Pabst Racing’s Brad Majman was 0.4092s behind in fourth, as only 11 of the drivers recorded laptimes.

Session four the next day was the fastest, and Garzon set a 1m18.3373s that would not be beaten. Six drivers lapped sub-1m19s, with Loiacono and Vergara 0.108s and 0.1396s off the pace-setter with two very late efforts. Giannetta was only 0.1797s off the top in fourth, and Garzon had a 0.298s gap to Aitken in fifth. Saleh was sixth, and a second covered the top 11.

Garzon broke the 1m19s barrier again in session five, which he topped. His 1m18.8116s put him 0.5271s clear of Vergara, and Lucas Nanji (Pabst) trailed by 0.6016s in third. Cal Peter (JHDD by ECR) was the only improver.

Test results

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

USF Juniors has attracted a big field for this week’s opening round on the Homestead-Miami Speedway roval.

The event will be officially called the ‘USF Juniors Grand Prix of Homestead’, although it has not been stated whether that will also be the title of one of the three races taking place.

There are three teams fielding four or more cars, including the huge seven-car line-up at Zanella Racing. Their signings include Maddie Colleran, who was 20th last season, Ligier Junior Formula Championship podium-finisher Max Mokarem, Victor Couto and Leonardo Serravalle. The latter two recently came third and seventh in the YACademy Winter Series, which uses USF Juniors cars.

A notable pre-season signing is Ivan Machado Perez at the joint Velocity Racing Development and Pole Position Motorsports operation. The 2025 Skip Barber Formula Race Series champion had previously tested with Olivia Racing.

Jay Howard Driver Development, which has now partnered with IndyCar team Ed Carpenter Racing, has four drivers in its garage. Its international talents are Max Cuthbert, who moves into single-seaters after coming third in Britain’s entry-level sportscar series Ginetta Junior as a sophomore last year, and Nordic 4 race-winner Casper Nissen from Denmark.

Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series runner-up Bex Cranston has joined Exclusive Autosport, YACademy Winter Series runner-up Karol Pasiewisz will drive for local team Olivia Racing (previously known as International Motorsport) and NACAM Formula 4 race-winner Elias Vignola is part of DEForce Racing’s line-up.

Pre-event testing at Homestead took place on Monday. Cuthbert set the pace in session one, a 1m23.8310s putting him 0.1564s ahead of Machado Perez and 0.1877s clear of Cranston.

Machado Perez posted a 1m23.9582s to top session two, with a gap of 0.176s to Cranston in second place. Cuthbert and Exclusive’s Brenden Cooley were also within 0.3s of the pace.

In session three all but four drivers improved, one of those being the absent Alex Berg (Berg Racing). Machado Perez lowered the pace to 1m23.687s, pipping Cranston by 0.058s, Cuthbert by 0.1183s and Pasiewicz by 0.1814s.

Test results

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Series sophomore Sebastian Garzon leads the latest group of drivers who have joined the 2026 USF2000 grid.

The 16-year-old Colombian came eighth in USF2000 last year as a single-seater rookie, ending the season with his maiden podium finish. He drove for DEForce Racing, and remains with the team for his second campaign.

“2025 was the year I learned; every challenge made me stronger. Now, in 2026, I’m ready to give everything I have to fight for the championship,” he said.

Pabst Racing has signed Brad Majman and Lucas Nanji, with the former switching allegiances from Jay Howard Driver Development. After coming third in Formula 4 Western and fifth in the Ligier Junior Formula Championship, the 16-year-old Australian did just under three quarters of the 2025 USF2000 season and picked up a podium and four other top-five finishes. However due to missing rounds, he was only 12th in the standings.

“It’s a massive privilege to be able to drive for a team that’s won a championship in the last three years between USF2000 and USF Pro 2000,” Majman said of joining Pabst.

His 17-year-old team-mate hails from Canada and has previously raced for Prema in F4. He contested the 2025 E4 finale with the team, which marked his single-seater racing debut.

“Although the goal is always to win, I’m realistic about the challenge of stepping straight into USF2000 and skipping Juniors,” said Nanji.

“It’s a big jump, and I know that. Still, it’s a challenge I’m ready for. My focus is simple: work as hard as I can to deliver the best performance possible, both in and out of the car. I don’t take this opportunity lightly, and I’ll give my absolute best every single day.”

JHDD has announced karting graduate Cal Peter will be in its USF2000 line-up for 2026. He tested with the team through last year.

“I am beyond excited to compete in the 2026 USF2000 season,” the 17-year-old said. “This has been my dream and my goal for as long as I can remember. I could not be more grateful to my parents, Jay and the entire JHDD team, and Ed Carpenter Racing for believing in me.”

After debuting in the 2025 season finale, Enve Motorsports will be on the grid full-time this year. It is based at The Thermal Club circuit, and owned by the bicycle manufacturer Enve which is best known for its racing wheels.

Wesley Gundler is its first confirmed driver, after testing for the team at its home track, and the American steps up into slicks-and-wings after coming third in the 2025 F1600 Championship Series.

The team was co-founded by Matteo Nannini, who was an F4 champion and made it up to Formula 2 and Indy Nxt. His seven-race campaign in the latter three years ago marked the end of his racing career, despite taking a lights-to-flag victory on his third start. Nannini is still only 22 years old, and aims to get his team up to IndyCar.

The post Title-targeting Garzon leads latest bunch of USF2000 signings appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Zanella Racing has announced it will expand into USF2000 next year, which will be its third in single-seater racing, and retain Leonardo Escorpioni in its line-up.

The American team is best known for its exploits in karting, and at the start of last year it ventured into cars with a multi-car entry into the YACademy Winter Series.

It ran Escorpioni to fourth in the standings, with one victory and one other podium, and he was also in its three-car USF Juniors line-up. In that championship he made the podium once.

This year started on an immediate high, as its drivers Ty Fisher and Escorpioni started the YACWS season finishing one-two. Escorpioni went on to take the title and Fisher was third in the standings, with the team claiming three victories and four other podiums from six races.

Their form continued into the USF Juniors season, and the team won both titles. Escorpioni was victorious six times en route to becoming champion, and there was only one race which Zanella failed to make the podium. Fisher won three times and came fourth in the points table.

Escorpioni’s prize for taking the USF Juniors title was a $249,675 (£189,882) scholarship to spend on stepping up to USF2000 and the 15-year-old Brazilian will use it at Zanella.

“We are very proud to expand our programme with the addition of three USF2000 cars for the 2026 season,” said the team-owning Naka Zanella, who added “having Leonardo continue his journey with us in USF2000 is a tremendous honour”.

“His growth with the team has been remarkable, and we are excited to support him as he takes the next step in his career. This expansion is proof that our driver development programme continues to work, and our ultimate goal is to take our drivers all the way to IndyCar.”

Also confirmed to be racing in USF2000 next year are Anthony Martella and Thomas Nordquist at Exclusive Autosport and DEForce Racing respectively.

The touring car racing-experienced Martella got his first experience of single-seaters last year in YACWS then competed part-time in USF2000 and USF Juniors.

After being runner-up in Sports Car Championship Canada’s TCR touring car class, the 17-year-old Canadian focused fully on single-seaters for 2025 and came seventh in USF2000 with Jay Howard Driver Development. He had two top-five finishes, one of them being a controlling victory on his oval racing debut in the Freedom 75.

Nordquist drove in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series in 2024, and raced for DEForce this year in IndyCar’s support series. The 21-year-old came 17th in USF Juniors with a best finish of ninth, and made a USF2000 cameo at Road America.

The post Leonardo Escorpioni and Zanella Racing to step up to USF2000 together appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ivan Machado Perez

Ivan Machado Perez was fastest for the rebranded Olivia Racing team in USF Juniors’ post-season test last weekend on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.

Previously known as International Motorsport, the Miami-based team changed name at the start of this month and announced Machado Perez will be part of its 2026 driver line-up after he topped the test.

The 23-year-old Spaniard leads the Formula 4-spec Skip Barber Formula Race Series with one round to go, having won nine races so far. He topped four of USF Juniors’ six test sessions at IMS, each lasting 35 minutes.

Also joining the championship is Berg Racing, the team founded and run by ex-Formula 1 driver and Mexican Formula 2 champion Allen Berg. Its sporting director and first confirmed driver is Berg’s teenaged son Alex, who won the Team Canada Scholarship and came seventh in United States F4 in 2023, was 14th in British F4 last year and 16th in GB4 in 2025.

DEForce Racing has made a 2026 driver signing too, retaining Vilho Aatola for a second season. The 16-year-old Finn came seventh this year with two podiums.

Testing started last Saturday with Exclusive Autosport’s Brenden Cooley setting a 1m30.8132s to lead Zanella Racing’s Max Mokarem by 0.4127 seconds. Only two others were within a second of him, and two drivers were disqualified for having underweight cars.

Machado Perez lowered the pace to 1m29.8826s in session two, 0.1354s faster than Cooley, as all but two of the 17 drivers on track improved. Zanella’s Leonardo Serravalle was disqualified from the results for being underweight again.

That violation was committed with four cars in session three, and those who did set laptimes that counted improved their pace. A 1m29.1521s put Machado Perez way clear of the rest, lapping 0.4151s faster than Cooley, whose team-mate Justin Di Lucia was a further 0.0505s behind. Mokarem was the only other driver within a second of the pace.

On Sunday, Cooley got within 0.1316s of the time to beat with his last lap of session four, which he topped by 0.025s over non-improver Machado Perez. Serravalle also failed to improve, while Jay Howard Driver Development swapped out Kekai Hauanio and Josh Main and brought in Indy Anderson.

Machado Perez was back on top in session five, setting a 1m29.3029s. Cooley was second, 0.1148s off and 0.0406s ahead of Di Lucia who was fastest of the eight improvers.

Testing concluded with another Machado Perez-led session and just 13 drivers on track. Only two drivers set personal bests, and there were big gaps. Machado Perez set a 1m29.2367s to be fastest by 0.4283s over Cooley, and Olivia’s Karol Pasiewicz was 0.7053s off in third.

Test results

The post Machado Perez joins Olivia Racing in USF Juniors after setting test pace appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Jacob Douglas edged Pabst Racing team-mate Max Garcia to first place in USF Pro 2000 practice on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.

It was an interesting Thursday for the paddock, with two test sessions and then free practice for round three of the season.

Joining only for the test was Seb Murray at Jay Howard Driver Development. The Scot came 18th in GB3 last year, and is currently 17th in Indy Nxt, the step above USFP2000.

JHDD had lost Frankie Mossman, who is currently 15th in the USFP2000 standings and has switched to Velocity Racing Development for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old had raced exclusively with JHDD since 2022, and came eighth in USFP2000 last year with two podiums.

He replaces Owen Tangavelou, who had signed for the first two rounds only but is staying on the grid at IMS and for round five at Road America in June by joining DEForce Racing. The Eurocup-3 race-winner currently sits ninth in the points table.

Tangavelou in return replaces Nicholas Monteiro, who has switched to Turn 3 Motorsport for the remaining rounds. The Brazilian is 13th in the standings at present, the position he finished in last year.

Bringing Turn 3’s line-up back up to five cars is debutant Brady Golan, who has also committed to doing the rest of the season. On IndyCar’s support bill he had been racing for DEForce since 2022, coming 13th in USF2000’s 2024 season and contesting the first two rounds of 2025. He is also a Formula Regional Americas title contender at present, having won in the opening round.

Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark was quickest in test session one, setting a 1m21.6037s to lead points leader Garcia by 0.1991 seconds. Turn 3’s Alessandro de Tullio was third, 0.2357s behind, and Douglas pipped TJ Speed’s Ariel Elkin to fourth by 0.01s. VRD’s Max Taylor was sixth, and a second covered a top 13 completed by Murray.

Garcia brought the pace down to 1m21.3808s in session two, edging de Tullio by 0.0409s and Douglas by 0.0774s. Taylor was 0.0307s ahead of non-improver Clark in fourth, and this time eight drivers were within 0.5s of Garcia. Murray was 1.0645s off the pace in 15th, and Tangavelou failed to set any laps.

When it came to practice at the end of the day, JHDD’s Tanner DeFabis and Exclusive’s Carson Etter were no-shows. A 1m21.3916s was enough to put Douglas on top, albeit by a tiny 0.0215s over Garcia. Mossman and Taylor were just 0.1078s and 0.1085s off top spot respectively, with de Tullio a slim 0.0259s slower than Taylor.

Clark completed a top five covered by 0.25s, and a second split the top 14.

Free practice results

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Teddy Musella topped USF2000 practice on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, as 2023 champion Simon Sikes made a surprise series return.

Sikes, now aged 24, raced part-time in USF2000 with Legacy Autosport from 2020 to ’22, claiming four podiums from 26 races. He then joined Pabst Racing for a full-time attack and took the title with six wins, which led to him stepping up to USF Pro 2000 with the team last year.

Despite claiming two victories and coming fourth in the standings, Sikes could not find a seat for 2025 and it is Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development that has enabled his racing return back on the rung below.

“I’m back! Super thrilled to join SFHRD for the [Indianapolis races] in USF2000,” said Sikes of his cameo return.

“I want to give a massive thank you to Andy [O’Gara, team principal] and Sarah [Fisher] for the opportunity. I can’t wait to drive for such an esteemed organisation, and I’m looking forward to a great week in Indy!”

Sikes will be using his experience, which includes wins at IMS in USF2000 and USFP2000, to support his team-mate Wian Boshoff who is a car racing rookie.

The first opportunity to get back in the USF2000 car came in pre-event testing. Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers topped session one, setting a 1m25.4617s to lead Pabst’s G3 Argyros by 0.1939s. A smaller gap covered second to seventh place, with Caleb Gafrarar (Pabst), Brad Majman (Jay Howard Driver Development), Thomas Schrage (Velocity Racing Development), Anthony Martella (JHDD) and Musella (VRD) all within 0.38s of the pace. Remarkably, half a second covered the top 12 and a second split the top 17.

Down in 16th was Sikes, 0.9784s off Jeffers, and ahead of him were USF Juniors podium-finishers Liam Loiacono and Rodrigo Gonzalez. While JHDD’s Loiacono was a test-only entrant, Rodrigo and his brother Patricio will be making their USF2000 debut this weekend with DEForce Racing.

In session two, Jeffers lowered the pace to 1m25.1461s and increased his advantage over the rest of the field. Musella was 0.3984s behind in second, and Schrage and team-mate Christian Cameron were the only others within half a second of him. This time a second still split the top 13, and Sikes narrowly improved in 16th.

Absent from proceedings was JHDD’s points leader Liam McNeilly, unbeaten so far in 2025, and that continued into free practice at the end of Thursday.

Jeffers looked to be quickest again after posting a 1m25.2246s on his 12th lap, but on his penultimate effort Musella went 0.1353s faster than him.

Cameron, who has finished no higher than seventh so far, continued to show strong pace by being 0.287s off Musella in third, and Schrage trailed by 0.3724s in fourth. Sikes found more time again and just broke into the 1m25s, which was enough to put him in 11th. Little over a tenth of a second split him and Exclusive’s Ayrton Houk, who was the last driver within a second of Musella down in 15th.

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