Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Andretti Steinbrenner Racing’s Devlin DeFrancesco took a comfortable win in the first of three Indy Pro 2000 races of the weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

It marked the return of the series to the circuit after a 10-year absence, with Mikael Grenier and Conor Daly having been the last winners in 2010.

DeFrancesco started from pole and got an excellent launch to take himself into the lead right away.

From there, he was able to open up a gap to championship leader Sting Ray Robb. Over the 25-lap race it opened up to over five seconds, earning the Canadian his second win of the season and first on a road course in IP2000.

Juncos Racing’s Robb had a small gap over DEForce Racing’s Manuel Sulaiman as the pair rounded out the podium.

There was a moment of peril mid-way through the race as Turn 3 Motorsport’s Danial Frost came to a halt on the front stretch. The caution flag was prepared, but officials decided to continue the race without the interruption.

Sulaiman’s team-mate Parker Thompson was fourth, ahead of Juncos’s Artem Petrov and Pabst Racing’s Hunter McElrea.

Pabst driver Colin Kaminsky slipped to seventh after starting sixth but ended up towards the back of the pack at the end of the opening lap. He had run wide but was able to pick off the drivers in front later in the race to recover the lost positions.

Turn 3’s Antoine Comeau, Abel Motorsport’s Jacob Abel and DEForce’s Kory Enders rounded out the top 10. Enders also had a difficult opening lap and was last by the end of the opening tour but struggled to make up ground.

FatBoy Racing’s Charles Finelli was the last runner, two laps down.

A notable absentee from the circuit was DEForce’s Moises de la Vara, who injured his back while training for the race weekend and was reccomended by doctors to rest rather than compete.

Race results (25 laps)

The post DeFrancesco dominates first IP2000 race held at New Jersey since 2010 appeared first on Formula Scout.

The Texas-based team has retained Kory Enders and Moises de la Vara for its IP2000 squad, with the pair having finished seventh and eighth in the championship standings this year.

Enders, a winner in NACAM F4, missed the Mid-Ohio round but did score podiums at the Gateway oval and Laguna Seca.

The 22-year-old also took a third place finish from a US F4 cameo with the team at Circuit of the Americas, when the championship was supporting Formula 1.

NACAM F4 champion de la Vara, also 22, joined DEForce in IP2000 for five races in 2018. He ended this season with his only top-five finish of the year, which matched the fourth place he achieved when he was a part-time entrant.

Parker Thompson, who was IP2000 runner-up in 2018 and was third in the standings this year, and reigning NACAM F4 champion Manuel Sulaiman have also tested with DEForce in the off-season,

Kiko Porto is the first signing for DEForce’s USF2000 operation for 2020 after being the lead driver in the team’s US F4 line-up this year.

The Brazilian joined US F4 midway through 2018, and finished no higher than 10th, but was immediately on the pace once the 2019 season got underway.

He won three races and took a further five podiums, scoring enough points to put him second in the standings.

Nico Christodoulou, another NACAM F4 racer, will take Porto’s place in DEForce’s US F4 team.

The post DEForce Racing reveals first 2020 drivers for Road to Indy and F4 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Both already have experience of IP2000, previously known as Pro Mazda, with the team and Enders is also a winner in USF2000, the bottom run of IndyCar’s support package.

?I’m looking forward to this 2019 season with DEForce Racing as we have been working hard together and we are expecting to have an exciting and successful year,” said de la Vara, whose part-season last year resulted in one top five finish and 15th in the standings.

?I?m super excited to be joining DEForce Racing in the 2019 season, the first season of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship,” added Enders.

“I think it will be a great year and we have already made a lot of great progress with the car in the off-season. Additionally, I have made a lot of personal progress. It will be exciting to see where we wind up. We are shooting to be first, so we will be pushing all season.?

Ernesto Martinez, DEForce Racing team owner, commented: ?We are looking forward to the 2019 season. The past two years have consisted of a lot of preparation from our team, so we will really show what all we have developed.

“We are very glad to have our two drivers come back for a third year with our program. This proves the confidence and satisfaction with DEForce.?

The team made its IP2000 debut in the championship’s National class in 2016, with de la Vara and Enders heading their line-up. It returned to the championship in a part-time role last year, the first season of the new Tatuus PM-18 car.

The post DEForce Racing signs NACAM F4 stars for Indy Pro 2000 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Scuderia Martiga EG

Moises de la Vara put in a dominant performance at Monterrey to win the 2017-18 NACAM Formula 4 title with one round to go.

The Scuderia Martiga EG driver won all three races and is now 90 points clear of his nearest rival Igor Fraga, with only 75 points on offer in the last three races in Mexico City.

His championship prize, a ticket to the 2018 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, is not guaranteed though due to a drug-related ban he is serving in America.

de la Vara secured a lock-out of wins, while Fraga had to make do with a fourth and fifth place. A triumphant de la Vara posed on the podium holding a broom to represent his clean sweep.

Fraga was lucky to have scored any points at all, as it was only down to the heroics of his mechanics that he got on track in the first place. Despite posting some table-topping times in free practice, he was unable to start race one due to a serious turbo problem.

He picked up enough points in races two and three to cement his second place in the championship, an unassailable 88 points ahead of Michael Santos.

Martiga EG had drafted in extra drivers for the weekend, the best of which was Kory Enders, who normally races in USF2000. The American posted two seconds and a third place. The team also ran Chara Mansur and Francisco Porto, who are both rookies. Porto took the fastest lap in the first race.

Noel Leon Vasquez was another new face in the championship, driving for Ram Racing. The inexperienced Vasquez had an impressive debut with two podium finishes. He was particularly strong in the second race and got within two second of de la Vara. He was deputising for Santos, who was in Germany negotiating a future sponsorship deal.

Emiliano Jauregui and Inigo Leon were the only other series regulars on duty at Monterrey. Leon had secured a seat with Prop Car alongside Fraga, after the dramatic departure of his former team MomoF4 after the Yucatan meeting. Jauregui continued in his role as RAM?s second driver.

Results
Race 1 (20 laps)
1 Moises de la Vara Scuderia Martiga EG 24m17.768s
2 Kory Enders Scuderia Martiga EG +5.972s
3 Noel Leon Vasquez Ram Racing +9.775s
4 Inigo Leon Prop Car Racing +29.430s
5 Emiliano Jauregui Ram Racing +48.197s
Ret Chara Mansur Scuderia Martiga EG
Ret Francisco Porto Scuderia Martiga EG
Pole: de la Vara, 1m11.042s
Fastest Lap: Porto, 1m11.567s

Race 2 (20 laps)
1 de la Vara 25m24.320s
2 Vasquez +1.876s
3 Enders +10.365s
4 Igor Fraga Prop Car Racing?+25.876s
5 Porto +29.349s
6 Leon +29.720s
7 Jauregui +31.778s
8 Mansur +1m01.031s
FL: de la Vara, 1m11.276s

Race 3 (20 laps)
1 de la Vara 25m04.320s
2 Enders +1.963s
3 Fraga +7.537s
4 Vasquez +16.689s
5 Leon +25.572s
6 Jauregui +26.465s
7 Mansur +1 lap
8 Porto +1 lap
P:
FL: de la Vara, 1m11.925s

Championship Standings
1 de la Vara 361? ?2 Fraga 271? ?3 Alexandra Mohnhaupt 184? ?4 Michael Santos 183? ?5 Leon 163? ?6?Jauregui 151? ?7 Santiago Lozano 97? ?8 Enders 51? ?9 Vasquez 45? ?10 Mariano Martinez 44

The post Moises de la Vara crowned NACAM F4 champion with triple win at Monterrey appeared first on Formula Scout.

Igor Fraga won twice at Aut?dromo Internacional de Aguascalientes, but it is still Moises de la Vara who holds a healthy lead in the NACAM Formula 4 standings, despite electrical problems threatening his weekend.

The Martiga EG driver lost power to his car all through Saturday and could only limp home in seventh place in the first race at Aguascalientes, four laps down. He had been running as high as third.

Fraga was the main beneficiary of de la Vara?s troubles. He won the first race comfortably after a series of yellow flags for slow-moving cars curtailed his battle with Michael Santos and Alexandra Mohnhaupt, who were second and third respectively.

Victory for Fraga meant he started from pole for the second race, which he duly converted into another win. A recovering de la Vara was second. The Martiga team had worked hard to fix the electrical fault and de la Vara?s car was back at full power.

He then claimed his fifth win of the season in the final race of the weekend, extending his championship lead to 47 points over Mohnhaupt.

Mohnhaupt, who made history last month by becoming the first female winner of an FIA F4 race, had an indifferent weekend. She settled for third in the first race, although she had been looking for another win. The Momo F4 driver almost got another podium in the second race, but dropped two places very late on when her car developed engine trouble, slipping to fifth. She was fourth in the third race, behind her team-mate Inigo Leon.

Fraga remains third in the championship behind the BRDC F3-bound Mohnhaupt, due to a non-finish in the third race. He recorded the fastest lap by a third of a second, but mechanical problems intervened six laps before the end, and he had to retire. He was classified eighth.

Santos had his best weekend of the season so far. He earned two seconds and one third place, splitting the main championship contenders. He has now passed the absent Santiago Lozano for fourth in the championship.

Mexican touring car driver Regina Sirvent made her single-seater debut over the weekend. She managed to keep herself out of trouble and had a best finish of fifth in her first race.

Results
Race 1 (27 laps)
1 Igor Fraga Prop Car Racing 29m41.302s
2 Michael Santos Ram Racing +1.492s
3 Alexandra Mohnhaupt MomoF4 +2.012s
4 Mariano Martinez Telcel RPL Racing +4.620s
5 Regina Sirvent Prop Car Racing +1 lap
6 Inigo Leon MomoF4 +3 laps
7 Moises de la Vara Scuderia Martiga EG +4 laps
8 Emiliano Jauregui Ram Racing +8 laps
Pole: Fraga, 55.723s
Fastest Lap: Fraga, 56.047s

Race 2 (27 laps)
1 Fraga 25m38.310s
2 de la Vara +10.790s
3 Santos +16.832s
4 Leon +20.119s
5 Mohnhaupt +27.119s
6 Jauregui +39.105s
7 Sirvent +1 lap
8 Martinez +2 laps
FL: Fraga, 55.915s

Race 3 (27 laps)
1 de la Vara 26m41.006s
2 Santos +2.718s
3 Leon +10.947s
4 Mohnhaupt +12.402s
5 Jauregui +14.835s
6 Martinez +43.866s
7 Sirvent +1 lap
8 Fraga +6 laps
P: Mohnhaupt, 57.343s
FL: Fraga, 56.172s

Championship Standings
1 de la Vara 231? ?2 Mohnhaupt 184? ?3 Fraga 172? ?4 Santos 136? ?5 Santiago Lozano 98? ?6 Leon 97? ?7 Jauregui 91? ?8 Martinez 44? ?9 Jose Manuel Vilalta 39? ?10 Daniel Forcadell 38

The post Igor Fraga wins twice at Aguascalientes as Moises de la Vara extends NACAM F4 championship lead appeared first on Formula Scout.

Moises de la Vara extended his championship lead in the NACAM Formula 4 races supporting the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix.

De la Vara, who drives for the Esteban Gutierrez-linked Scuderia Martiga and is in his third season of F4, finished fifth and first in the two races, with Prop Car Racing driver Igor Fraga winning the other, sharing the wins just as they did in the opening two races last month.

Fraga, who is the 2017 F3 Brasil Academy champion and also one of the finalists in the inaugural Formula 1 eSports competition, recovered from problems in qualifying to take pole, with?Alexandra Mohnhaupt alongside him on the front row and de la Vara’s team-mate Sergio da Silveira behind them in third. De la Vara qualified last, having been unable to set a time during the session.

The first race was close, with Fraga just holding off Mohnhaupt to take his second victory of the season. RPL Racing driver Santiago Lozano was third, ahead of Martiga pair da Silveira and de la Vera.

In the second race de la Vera was dominant, taking a remarkable nine second victory over his team-mate, with third placed Jose Manuel Vilalta a staggering 17 seconds further back.

After early contact with Mohnhaupt damaged his front wing, Fraga could only manage seventh, almost a minute back, and is now seven points behind de la Vara in the standings.

British F4 driver Manuel Sulaiman did not attend the meeting, having previously announced he would enter with the British JHR Developments team, and use his usual British F4 chassis.

Results round-up
Race 1 (13 laps)
1 Igor Fraga Prop Car Racing 26m28.785s
2 Alexandra Mohnhaupt MomoF4 +0.853s
3 Santiago Lozano RPL Racing +1.770s
4 Sergio da Silveira Scuderia Martiga EG +1.995s
5 Moises de la Vara Scuderia Martiga EG +4.118s
6 Jose Manuel Vilalta Prop Car Racing +5.220s
7 Michael Santos Ram Racing +5.532s
8 Manuel Cabrera RPL Racing +5.714s
9 Inigo Leon MomoF4 +6.632s
10 Emiliano Jauregui Ram Racing +7.190s
Pole: Fraga, 1m46.040s
Fastest Lap: Fraga, 1m46.790s

Race 2 (15 laps)
1 de la Vara 26m41.305s
2 da Silveira +9.456s
3 Vilalta +26.908s
4 Cabrera +41.613s
5 Santos +48.192s
6 Sergio Martinez Marepsi +52.526s
7 Fraga +54.784s
8 Daniel Forcadell easy-shop.com +54.988s
9 Jauregui +55.879s
10 Mariano Martinez RPL Racing +1m01.216s
FL: de la Vara, 1m46.098s

Championship Standings
1 de la Vara 78? ?2 Fraga 71? ?3 Mohnhaupt 51? ?4 Lozano 39? ?5 da Silveira 30? ?6 Santos 28? ?7 Vilalta 23? ?8 Jorge Herrera 20? ?9 Cabrera 16? ?10 Juan Jose Diaz 16

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