AVONDALE La. – Florida-based Brazilian Joao Vergara narrowly headed VRD Racing teammate Oliver Wheldon in perfect weather conditions to win the opening race of the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire season at NOLA Motorsports Park. Vergara took the lead from early pacesetter Leonardo Escorpioni (Zanella Racing) on the sixth lap and fought off a determined challenge from Wheldon, from St. Petersburg, Fla., to secure a well-deserved maiden USF Juniors victory.
Brazil’s Escorpioni rounded out the podium in third.
An impressive push on the final lap of the first qualifying session on Friday afternoon was enough for Wheldon to capture the first Continental Tire Pole Award of the new season, edging out Escorpioni by a 10th and a half.
The two front row qualifiers refused to cede any advantage as they rounded the first two corners in side-by-side formation before Escorpioni was able to inch ahead into Turn Three. The move cost top rookie Wheldon a little momentum which allowed Vergara, up from fourth on the grid, to slip into second place.
The top three immediately put some space between themselves and their pursuers, especially after third-fastest qualifier Liam Loiacono (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Queensland, Australia, slipped all the way back to ninth after the first lap of the 2.74-mile road course.
Escorpioni managed to put a little space between himself and Vergara in the opening stages, but his slender advantage didn’t last for long. By lap 5, the top three were back together again, and at the end of the back straightaway, under braking for Turn Nine, they were almost three abreast before Vergara was able to slip through into the lead. Wheldon followed him through, but try as he might, there was no opportunity to find a way past Vergara, who held on to score a fine win.
Wheldon not only became the youngest ever USF Juniors podium finisher, at a tender 14 years and 24 days, he also claimed a new fastest race lap, fractionally faster than his older brother Sebastian had managed just one year ago.
Zanella Racing’s Ty Fisher, from White Rock, Canada., hustled his way from eighth on the opening lap to a solid fourth after passing Mexican Rodrigo Gonzalez (DEForce Racing) a couple of laps from the finish.
Diego Guiot, from The Woodlands, Texas, earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award by rising from 14th on the grid to seventh at the checkered flag for Zanella Racing. Belgium’s Karel Staut (Jay Howard Driver Development), Michael Suco (InterMS), from Auburn, Ala., and JT Hoskins (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Sarasota, Fla., completed the top 10.
Vergara’s victory snagged the PFC Award for VRD Racing’s Dan Mitchell as the winning car owner.
The Continental Tire Grand Prix of Louisiana will continue with two more 12-lap races tomorrow with green flags set for 8:45 a.m. and then later in the day at 1:35 p.m. CDT.
Provisional championship points after 1 of 16 races:
1. Joao Vergara, 31
2. Oliver Wheldon, 27
3. Leonardo Escorpioni, 22
4. Ty Fisher, 19
5. Rodrigo Gonzalez, 17
6. Liam Loiacono, 15
7. Diego Guiot, 14
8. Karel Staut, 13
9. Michael Suco, 12
10. JT Hoskins, 11
Joao Vergara (#10 Cross/Carecode/Son Boronat/Arai-VRD Racing Tatuus JR-23): “It's the best way to start off the year – for me with the win and for the team with the one-two. At the start of the event, I don't think a lot of people expected this. I mean, we were a bit off pace, but we worked hard. We always work hard and we found our way up to the top. The race was just about being smart throughout. There was never a chance to take a breath there, to rest, because they were on top of you. Oliver was putting pressure on all race long. I think once we got by Leo, me and Oliver worked pretty well together, not fighting a lot so we could get the gap a little bit. But at the end, I was glad I saved tires. It paid off. I want to thank VRD Racing. What an amazing team.”
Oliver Wheldon (#98 Gainbridge/Big Machine Racing-VRD Racing Tatuus JR-23): “It was a pretty good race. It was pretty hard in the end because the tires were falling off, and I was trying to push in the middle of the race to catch Joao. But overall, it was a good first race, and I am glad that we got one-two. We worked so hard with the team, and I can't wait for Races 2 and 3.”
Leonardo Escorpioni (#55 Peer 1/Mensalize-Zanella Racing Tatuus JR-23): “My race was pretty good. We were able to get into first after starting P2. After that, I knew they were both really quick and they just got by me on Lap 5 or so. It was about staying there, trying to stay there and wait for the last shot but, unfortunately, they didn't fight it out. They played together really good as a team, and we came in third.”