TORONTO, Ont., Canada – Alessandro de Tullio executed a spectacular last-lap pass in this morning’s thrilling second leg of the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Toronto doubleheader to claim victory for Turn 3 Motorsport. It was the Miami, Fla., native’s fourth USF Pro 2000 win of the season.
Frankie Mossman, from Newport Beach, Calif., had to settle for second place after leading most of the 25-lap race for VRD Racing, while Jacob Douglas, from Christchurch, New Zealand, maintained his streak of podium finishes after taking third for Pabst Racing.
Qualifying for Race Two on Saturday morning saw de Tullio lay down his intentions following a difficult second half of the season. His best lap edged newly crowned champion Max Garcia (Pabst Racing), from Coconut Grove, Fla., by just over a tenth of a second. It was enough for his fourth Continental Tire Pole Award of the season, but his first since NOLA Motorsports Park in April.
De Tullio narrowly held onto his advantage at the rolling start, while Garcia opted for a cautious approach to the first corner which cost him a couple of positions to Mossman, who had started fifth but immediately stormed up on the inside line under braking for Turn One, and third-place qualifier Max Taylor (VRD Racing), from Hoboken, N.J.
Mossman’s bold move cost him momentum on the exit which allowed both Taylor and Garcia to sneak back ahead on the long drag along Lake Shore Boulevard to Turn Three. Then, through the ensuing left-handed kink at Turn Four, contact between Taylor and Garcia sent the latter spinning.
Miraculously, a furious Garcia kept his car off the wall and rejoined at the tail end of the field. He then posted a masterful recovery drive and posted the fastest lap of the race before finishing ninth. It was truly a champion’s performance.
Taylor lost a few positions following the contretemps, then retired only a few laps later following another incident, this time with hometown hero Mac Clark (Exclusive Autosport), from nearby Milton, Ont., at Turn Three.
Mossman executed a fine pass on de Tullio for the lead under braking for Turn Three on the sixth lap, but was never able to shake off his pursuer.
The two leaders remained in close formation, gradually eking out a small margin over a similarly tight battle for third between Liam McNeilly (Jay Howard Driver Development), from London, England, and Douglas.
Mossman began to feel the pressure in the closing stages, making sure, especially, that he left no opportunity for de Tullio to make a pass at the preferred overtaking point in Turn Three. Instead, de Tullio glimpsed the smallest of gaps under braking for Turn One on the very last lap and dived for the inside at the very last moment. There was no way for Mossman to respond.
Once into the lead, de Tullio kept his rival at bay for the final one and a half miles to win by far the most exciting race of the season thus far.
The battle for third also was decided in the final few laps. Only this time McNeilly was adjudged by Race Control to have made a defensive move in reaction to an attempted maneuver by Douglas, and was instructed to cede the position.
McNeilly did, reluctantly, and had to be content with fourth to cap a mightily impressive debut weekend.
Another late pass by Ariel Elkin (TJ Speed Motorsports) elevated the Israeli to fifth ahead of Pabst Racing’s Michael Costello, from Sarasota, Fla.
A little further down the order, Guadalajara, Mexico’s George Garciarce (DEForce Racing) lost a couple of positions late in the race to the recovering Garcia and Clark, who placed 10th after his earlier collision with Taylor, but even a 12th-place result was enough to secure him the Tilton Hard Charger Award after having started 18th.
Turn 3 Motorsport’s Peter Dempsey secured the PFC Award as the winning car owner.
The USF Pro 2000 championship is already won, but the battle for the other placings is very much alive and will be settled during a final doubleheader weekend, once again in conjunction with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Ore., on August 8-10.
Provisional championship points after 16 of 18 rounds:
1. Max Garcia, 430
2. Ariel Elkin, 315
3. Mac Clark, 312
4. Alessandro de Tullio, 302
5. Jacob Douglas, 290
6. Max Taylor, 239
7. Michael Costello, 190
8. Nicholas Monteiro, 185
9. Cooper Becklin, 179
10. Frankie Mossman, 168
Alessandro de Tullio (#44 AstroPay/Sport Summa/DTI Group/InterMS-Turn 3 Motorsport Tatuus IP-22): “We had a strong start to the season, and we had some setbacks that weren't really in our control. We found what was setting us back throughout the season starting in Indy, and clearly, we showed the pace to be back here. And then we had that issue yesterday and got taken out. It's finally so great to bounce back. I can't thank the team enough. They've worked so hard for this. Like I said, if it weren't for the problems that were out of our control this year, we would have been in the title fight all year no problem.”
Frankie Mossman (#84 Ethika/Jaxxon/Ivy Day Spa/Arai Americas-VRD Racing Tatuus IP-22): “It definitely hurts to not get the win. I haven't stood on the podium all year. We had a tough season so far. But the team's been doing a really perfect job getting me all together, and I feel like I'm learning so much every single weekend. I think we were a little bit hurt, you know, not having the tire advantage and they had. I tried my best. It's really important to drive your best on the last lap and not the first 24. And I messed up on that part. I'm going to take what I learned into Portland and hopefully we go win both races.”
Jacob Douglas (#19 DouglasFay Group/Fleet Cost & Care-Pabst Racing Tatuus IP-22): “It was a good recovery after we qualified sixth yesterday. I struggled a little bit at the start, but once the car got going, we were really fast. I managed to reel in P3 and get by him. Unfortunately, the leaders were a bit far gone at that point and I wish I could have been in the battle for it. But, we'll take some good points and a trophy and go to Portland, one of my favorite tracks, and try to get some wins.”