Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Braden Eves extended his USF2000 lead by winning the second race at Road America, following Hunter McElrea’s maiden success.

McElrea hold off Pabst Racing team-mate Colin Kaminsky in a duel for his first victory, taking the lead with an early move at Turn 1, as multiple cars were caught up in a first corner incident.

Cape Motorsports? Darren Keane was left limping back to the pits while Legacy Autosport’s Alex Baron was also involved.

Having been one of those who had benefited most from the incident at the start, Christian Rasmussen was taken out with just a handful of laps remaining in an incident with Jak Crawford.?The latter earned himself a 30-second penalty for the crash, dropping him to 14th.

Championship leader Eves finished fourth for Cape, 0.498 seconds behind Newman Wachs Racing’s Cameron Shields.

McElrea led Eves into Turn 1 from his race two pole position as the field emerged unscathed from the first few corners.

Eves then forced his way into the lead, with the battle for the positions behind heating up in the final laps. In total, four of the top six traded places – with Keane relieving McElrea of second on the penultimate lap. Kaminsky finished fourth.

Third for McElrea means he’s now 41 points behind Eves, who has picked up five wins this season.

Matt Round-Garrido joined BN Racing from Jay Howard Driver Development ahead of Road America, and qualified an impressive eighth for race two. He was shoved wide halfway through the opening lap, but managed to remain in the top 10, while team-mate Anthony Famularo had his race ended just a few laps in by a car problem.

Championship frontrunners Baron and Manuel Sulaiman both disappointed after clashing into each other, meaning they are now around 100 points behind Eves.

Christian Rasmussen had fought his way up to second in race two until a spin at Turn 5 relegated him back to fifth.

Results round-up
Race 1 (12 laps)
1 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 26m16.0432s
2 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing +3.5352s
3 Cameron Shields Newman Wachs Racing +4.3421s
4 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports +4.8401s
5 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing +7.0456s
6 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing +15.3371s
7 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing +20.4097s
8 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports +20.6873s
9 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports +21.5012s
10 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing +34.7268s
Pole: Kaminsky, 2m10.2675s
Fastest lap: Eves, 2m10.5846s

Race 2 (12 laps)
1 Eves 26m20.4264s
2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports +4.5908s
3 McElrea +5.0703s
4 Kaminsky +7.3739s
5 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development +10.0942s
6 Jak Crawford DEForce Racing +14.3073s
7 Barrichello +17.3643s
8 Matt Round-Garrido BN Racing +17.8063s
9 Shields +18.2941s
10 Gold +18.9009s
P: McElrea, 2m09.4266s
FL: Keane, 2m10.1826s

Championship standings
1 Eves 204? ?2 McElrea 163? ?3 Kaminsky 131? ?4?Keane 121? ?5?Shields 118? ?6 Sulaiman 105? ?7 Baron 92? ?8?Rasmussen 84? ?9?Gold 84? ?10?Tomaselli 79

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Cameron Shields took a dominant USF2000 victory at Lucas Oil Speedway, leading all 75 laps en route to the win.

Shields took the lead at the start under pressure from pole-sitter Colin Kaminsky but successfully held off the Pabst Racing driver.

He immediately set about building a comfortable lead of over three seconds in the opening stages to Kaminsky, setting consecutive fastest laps early on.

The green run came to an end on lap 44 as Manuel Cabrera was taken out of third position while lapping Bruna Tomaselli.

The two came together after interlocking wheels in turn two, sending the Exclusive Autosport driver into the barriers.

Racing resumed with 24 laps remaining and Shields set about restoring his lead from Kaminsky and Alex Baron, with a?great restart for the Newman Wachs driver putting him comfortably clear of the rest.

The yellow flag was back out on lap 60 as Jack Miller lost the rear of his Miller Vinatieri Motorsport car and shunted into the wall at turn three.

It set up a final eight-lap sprint to the finish for the win at the only oval on the USF2000 schedule.

Shields was able to hold off the chasing pack after a poor restart compared to his previous effort.

Baron was the driver on the move however, snatching second place from Kaminsky with just two laps remaining, while?Shields was able to build a gap to those behind him.

Championship contenders Braden Eves and Hunter McElrea had to fight back through the field after a disappointing qualifying session for both.

Points leader Eves had picked his way through the field up into sixth with a quarter of the race gone, and later took fifth behind Jak Crawford, but his rival McElrea languished on the fringes of the top 10 in 11th.

Race result (75 laps)

The post Cameron Shields leads lights to flag to win USF2000 Freedom 75 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Aaron Telitz will make a surprise return to Indy Lights with Belardi Auto Racing in Friday’s Freedom 100 race.

The 27-year-old raced in Indy Lights for the team for the last two seasons, picking up two wins, and switched to GT racing this year in a team co-ran by CART champion Jimmy Vasser.

Telitz finished second on his first Freedom 100 attempt in 2017, driving as a Mazda scholar, and was sixth last year.

?It?s a little last minute obviously, but I can?t think of another team I?d trust more than Belardi Auto Racing to have a perfectly prepared car and the opportunity to hop in last minute and try to go win the Freedom 100,” Telitz said ahead of the reunion.

“I also would not be able to make this happen without my sponsors stepping up and making this happen for me and the team.?

Belardi’s line-up for the race has now expanded to three cars, which is filled by full-season entrant Lucas Kohl and Chris Windom, whose entry is being co-run by Jonathan Byrd’s Racing.

The signing of Telitz comes just three days after it was announced Zachary Claman DeMelo would be leaving the team due to budget issues.

Qualifying for the Freedom 100 takes place on Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the race the day after and preceding the Indianapolis 500 weekend.

Colton Herta, the 2018 Indy Lights runner-up, will be starting the Indy 500 from fifth place for Harding Racing. Patricio O’Ward who beat him to last year’s title, failed to qualify with Carlin.

The post Aaron Telitz rejoins Indy Lights field for Freedom 100 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Braden Eves continued his perfect start to the 2019 USF2000 season by winning both races at the Indianapolis road course, extending his lead in the standings.

The Cape Motorsports driver took pole for both races at ahead of team-mate Darren Keane and Pabst Racing rival Hunter McElrea.

It was the poleman who got the best getaway in race two, while Keane got tagged behind by Exclusive Autosport’s Manuel Cabrera, pitching both drivers into a spin and down to last place.

Jack William Miller was one of several drivers to leap up the order, going from 11th to fourth on the opening lap, while NACAM Formula 4 title contender Jak Crawford dropped from fifth into 16th having made a poor start in his first race.

McElrea tracked Eves closely in the fight for the lead, gapping the rest of the field comfortably as they broke away from the rest of the pack.

Keane?s fightback brought him up to 15th by lap five, while Crawford and BN Racing?s Zak Holden also got busy overtaking having dropped outside the top 10 at the start.

McElrea eventually forced his way past Eves for the lead but the fight was long from finished as the drivers approached the penultimate lap.

Eves retook the lead out of the final corner, but his rival would pass him once again in an audacious move around the outside of turn one – setting up a last lap duel.

Through the infield section, Eves closed once more and sent his car up the inside of McElrea – who could do nothing but sit in Eve’s slipstream to the finish line. Their battle brought DEForce Racing’s Manuel Sulaiman onto their tails, and the podium trio was covered by 0.8658 seconds.

Crawford?s fight ended with a lap to go after contact with Miller sent both drivers into the gravel, while Keane?managed to slice his way back to sixth behind Pabst’s Colin Kaminsky and Newman Wachs Racing’s Cameron Shields.

Eves kept the lead from pole again in race two, with team-mate Keane following closely behind. McElrea and Sulaiman fought over third behind them until Sulaiman made a mistake on lap three, dropping to eighth.

The race was then put under caution after Miller and Matt Round-Garrido (Jay Howard Driver Development) tangled. There was no change at the front on the restart, and when McElrea did make a move for second the yellow flags were out again second later due to another Miller incident.

On the second restart McElrea was bettered by Keane, and he was unable to break the Cape duo’s grip on the top two through the remainder of the race. One of the later yellow flag periods was caused by a clash between Sheilds and Sulaiman, leaving Crawford to take fourth ahead of Edoardo Barrichello and Alex Baron.

Championship debutant and reigning US F4 champion Dakota Dickerson finished seventh for Legacy Autosport.

Results round-up
Race 1 (15 laps)
1 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports 21m28.2785s
2 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing +0.2998s
3 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing +0.8658s
4 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing +4.1820s
5 Cameron Sheilds Newman Wachs Racing +8.3125s
6 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports +12.2880s
7 Zach Holden BN Racing +14.8809s
8 Anthony Famularo BN Racing +15.2542s
9 Alex Baron Legacy Autosport +17.1490s
10 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing +18.3878s
Pole: Eves, 1m24.7198s
Fastest lap: Keane, 1m24.8876s

Race 2 (20 laps)
1 Eves 34m20.6445s
2 Keane +0.5455s
3 McElrea +0.8253s
4 Jak Crawford DEForce Racing +1.6128s
5 Edoardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports +2.6663s
6 Baron +3.7259s
7 Dakota Dickerson Legacy Autosport +4.1714s
8 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development +4.9963s
9 Famularo +5.3663s
10 Kaminsky +5.78723s
P: Eves, 1m24.5396s
FL: Eves, 1m24.7440s

Championship standings
1 Eves 127? ?2 McElrea 94? ?3 Sulaiman 65? ?4 Keane 65? ?5 Holden 54? ?6 Kaminsky 52? ?7 Tomaselli 50? ?8 Famularo 48? ?9 Baron 47? ?10 Rasmussen 40

The post Braden Eves continues perfect USF2000 start with Indy double appeared first on Formula Scout.

Neil Maclennan fought off huge pressure from Ross Martin to take victory in the final BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 race at Snetterton.

The race got underway with Clubman driver Max Marzorati leading the way from pole, while F1 Esports champion Brendon Leigh?s difficult day took another turn for the worse as he struggled to get away from the grid down in 17th.

Marzorati was only able to hold off those behind him for so long, as Maclennan made his way past him along with Martin.

Spike Kohlbecker ran wide at the exit of Murray?s coming to the third lap, allowing Cliff Dempsey Racing team-mates James Clarke and Jonathan Browne to close in, setting up a back-and-forth battle for the final podium position for the rest of the race.

Marzorati?s stint at the front came to an end on lap four of eight, spinning into Agostini and holding up the recovery drive of Rory Smith, who had made his way up into the top 10 after a complete rebuild of his car between races two and three.

Martin was able to close right up to Maclennan on the penultimate lap ? setting a Snetterton lap record in the process.?Despite the huge pressure on the final lap, Maclennan held on to take Kevin Mills Racing?s first podium and win of the season.

While the American rookie had the upper hand for much of the race, Kohlbecker finally had to relinquish third to Clarke after he made a move into the final corner on the penultimate lap. He still holds the points lead though, by just one point over Martin.

Smith?s recovery efforts landed him sixth after having started the race down in 15th, while John Svennson won the Clubman class with an eighth place place, finishing just a second ahead of rival Mazorati.

Race results (8 laps)

The post Neil Maclennan takes victory in third FF1600 race at Snetterton appeared first on Formula Scout.

American rookie Spike Kohlbecker picked up his first BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 win in a shortened second race at Snetterton.

Kohlbecker fought off Ross Martin and Neil Maclennan in a five-minute dash for the flag after several safety cars and then a red flag shortened the race.

Race two began with drama before the cars even moved off the line with race one winner Rory Smith not able to take his pole position and having to start from the pits.

It wasn?t long into the first racing lap when a safety car neutralised the field to recover the B-M Racing car of Nicole Woods, the rookie coming to a stop on the Bentley straight.

The restart didn?t last much longer in comparison as FF1600 rookie and F1 Esports champion Brendon Leigh span into the barriers, which brought out the red flags.

That meant the race was cut to just five minutes?due to the time lost to recover Leigh?s car and one of the two Oldfield Motorsport cars that had also come to a halt.

Kohlbecker was set to make amends for missing out on the win in race one but Martin and Maclennan kept close company, so much so that Team Dolan driver Martin was able to squeeze past into Brundle.

The CDR man wouldn?t be denied, forcing Martin to outbrake himself into the turn two hairpin allowing the American to get back through.

A recovering Rory Smith?s day came to a premature end after tagging the back of Morgan Quinn coming onto the main straight, taking out both drivers in the process.

With the run to the line still covered by yellow flags, Martin couldn?t get past Kohlbecker and he settled for second place, with Maclennan completing the podium in third.

James Clarke made a miraculous recovery from 19th to finish fourth, while Max Marzorati took the Clubman class win in eighth place.

Race results (3 laps)

The post Spike Kohlbecker wins disrupted National FF1600 race at Snetterton appeared first on Formula Scout.

Rory Smith stormed through the field from seventh on the grid to take the first win of the 2019 BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 season at Snetterton.

The B-M Racing driver held off championship newcomer Spike Kohlbecker in the closing laps, finishing 0.2 seconds apart.

Poleman Ross Martin led the field away comfortably on the opening lap, leaving Cliff Dempsey Racing trio James Clarke, Kohlbecker and – briefly – Jonathan Browne to battle behind.

Kohlbecker continued to hold off his team-mates for second but Smith was carving his way through and up to fourth by the end of lap two.

Martin?s defence of first came to an end as Smith, having demoted both CDRs on the same lap, forced his way past into turn one, which also allowed Kohlbecker through into second in the process.

The top five had begun to break away from the rest of the field but with two laps remaining, the leaders began to close up once again with Smith having to defend his lead hard in the closing stages.

Clarke was forced wide at the exit of Murray?s approaching the penultimate lap, which initially dropped him to ninth, before he retired with one lap remaining.

The incident allowed the top two a head-to-head fight on the final lap, with Smith holding on to the win just ahead of series newcomer Kohlbecker.

Reigning double Formula 1 Esports champion Brendon Leigh dropped from his starting position of fifth down to seventh off the start, while his Kevin Mills Racing team-mate Neil Maclennan initially moved into the lead battle.

But when Maclennan was edged out wide at the Bombhole at the end of the opening lap, it swiftly dropped him back down the order. Conversely, Leigh was able to climb back up to fifth place, which became fourth after Clarke’s off.

Leigh would be demoted to 10th after the chequered flag, however, after contact with Browne at the Wilson hairpin sent the CDR driver wide and down to 10th place. That became ninth after Leigh was handed his 15.5s penalty.

Jamie Sharp led home Leigh’s KMR’s Maclennan and Michael Macpherson, who finished fifth and sixth. Clubman class winner Max Marzorati was seventh overall, ahead of Team Dolan team-mate Morgan Quinn.

John Svensson had initially in the top 10 fight with Marzorati after a fantastic start from 13th, vaulting him up to ninth and highest-placed Clubman series driver.

His earlier hard work was undone around the half-way mark, however, as he fell back down the field and ended back in 13th.

Samuel Street had bounced back from electrical issues that had prevented him from running during qualifying, finishing 15th.?Scott Huntley started from pitlane with a 10s penalty, his car having been found underweight after qualifying.

Race results (8 laps)

The post Rory Smith charges through National FF1600 field to win season opener appeared first on Formula Scout.

Raghunathan had struggled in both the feature and sprint races and ended his debut F2 weekend on a strange note having been found to have completed an extra lap after the sprint race had ended.

Having been put a lap down by race winner Luca Ghiotto, the Indian driver continued at racing speed after the chequered flag had been waived to record the end of the 23-lap race.

His infraction has earned him a 10-place grid drop for the Azerbaijan feature race in four weeks time.

Prior to his surprise F2 move, Raghunathan was a winner in BOSS GP and raced in European Formula 3 and Italian Formula 4.

Despite his unusual penalty, Raghunathan was actually moved up a spot in the finishing order after Trident’s Giuliano Alesi was disqualified from 18th after he was found to have used a?tyre for the right-hand side of the car on the left. The unusual rule breakage breached Article 24.1 of the championship’s sporting regulations.

GP3 graduate Alesi had a difficult first weekend in F2, and his Trident team was one of two that failed to score points.

The post Mahaveer Raghunathan penalised for last lap F2 error appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Glenn Dunbar / FIA F2 Championship

Nyck de Vries has played down his test-topping performances in Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix this winter.

The Dutchman was 0.239 seconds clear of the field in the second pre-season test at Barcelona, where he topped three of the six sessions, and was fifth at Jerez, where he was also fastest in three of the six sessions.

His Barcelona time would’ve put him on pole for the 2018 race at the circuit, but the Dutchman was reserved in his assessment of his pace.

?Well, it?s only testing so far so it?s very early to judge,? he told Formula Scout.

De Vries, who won three races in F2 last season and finished fourth in the standings with Prema, was bullish about his chances ahead of the 2019 season, but was quick to point out that the points were handed out later.

“We?ve been competitive, which is positive, but it doesn?t mean anything yet. No points are given [for testing], so it?s good, but we?ve got to stay focused and look forward to the start of the season.”

This will de Vries’ third season in F2, having spent the first season with Rapax and then Racing Engineering. He graduated to the series after finishing sixth in GP3 with ART Grand Prix.

When asked how if it felt good to be back at ART, de Vries responded: “Definitely. It feels like coming home.”

ART won the F2 driver’s championship last year with George Russell, and finished second in the team standings. Were it not for multiple technical issues with the new Dallara F2 2018 car, the team would likely have won the double title.

The post Nyck de Vries: Formula 2 testing pace “doesn’t mean anything” appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Glenn Dunbar / FIA F2 Championship

Louis Deletraz has expressed confidence in his return to Carlin in Formula 2 this year ahead of what he expects to be a close Formula 2 season.

The Swiss driver drove for the team in two races in F2’s predecessor GP2, before spending the last two years in the championship with Racing Engineering, Rapax and Charouz Racing System. He finished 10th in the standings in 2018, picking up two podiums.

In pre-season testing this year Deletraz has been in the top five in eight of the 12 sessions held, was the third fastest overall at Jerez and fourth at Barcelona.

?I really enjoy working with Carlin.?Last year was great, but Carlin has a lot of experience so that?s great for me as well to be able to combine that,” Deletraz told Formula Scout.

Charouz, which ran Deletraz last year and now races under the Sauber Junior Team banner, made its F2 debut in 2018 just as a teething problem-heavy new car was introduced.

“I?ve worked with Carlin in the past. Also Stuart King is running me – I worked with him in World Series [FV8 3.5] with Fortec – so it?s like we know each other already before that so it?s great to start like this.”

?[Testing’s] gone really well, we?re quite happy. We have six days of [pre-season] testing and that?s the only time we?re testing because we go straight to racing and there are no more in-season tests.

?It?s a very important time and I?m quite pleased with the performance [runs] and then all the race stuff, practice starts ,pit stops etc., so good prep [for the season].

Deletraz is the son of former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Jean-Denis Deletraz. The younger of the two got his first taste of F1 machinery in last November’s Pirelli tyre test with Haas. That required extra physical training, something he has continued into the off-season.

“It?s always hard to judge before the first race [how much I’ve improved], but I?ve worked hard on myself on the physical side. There was a lot happening as well with the F1 test for me, so that?s been a step up, and even more motivation to do well in F2 to chase that [opportunity to drive a F1 car].”

Joining Deletraz at Carlin is Nobuharu Matsushita, who was a four-time winner in F2 before racing in Super Formula last year. He returns to the championship with three years of experience under his belt, which coupled with Deletraz’s two makes Carlin’s line-up one of the most experienced on the grid.

“[Nobuharu]?s got a lot of experience which is good for me and for the team so we can push each other. I’m pretty sure it will be close. It has been close in winter testing and the season is long so I?m looking forward to it!”

The post Louis Deletraz ‘really enjoying’ Carlin Formula 2 partnership appeared first on Formula Scout.