LEXINGTON, Ohio – Turn 3 Motorsport delivered a dominant performance over the Fourth of July weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Leonardo Escorpioni swept all three races to take the lead of the Drivers Championship following Rounds 8, 9 and 10 of the USF Pro 2000 presented by Continental Tire. Escorpioni converted two pole positions into victories before charging from third to complete the weekend sweep in Race 3, while Michael Costello added a third-place finish in Race 2 to secure a double podium for the team. Turn 3 Motorsport leaves Mid-Ohio leading both the Drivers and Team Championship standings.

 

The weekend began with encouraging pace across the Turn 3 Motorsport program as Costello topped the opening test session before Escorpioni secured pole position for the first two races of the tripleheader. With weather forcing Saturday’s second race to be postponed until Sunday morning, the team faced a demanding final day that featured two races surrounding the NTT INDYCAR SERIES event.

Escorpioni controlled Saturday’s opening 30-lap race from pole position, holding the lead through the opening lap before beginning to build an advantage following an early caution period. By the halfway point, the #4 machine had stretched its lead to more than four seconds before a second full-course caution erased the gap.

 

Escorpioni continued to control the race through the first restart, quickly rebuilding his advantage at the front of the field. Following a second caution period, he came under pressure from the #6 car of Andres Cardenas on the ensuing restart but held the lead as the battle unfolded behind him. A third and final restart followed later in the race, and Escorpioni once again quickly rebuilt his advantage, ultimately crossing the finish line 2.5 seconds clear of the second place #92 car of Jack Jeffers. He also earned bonus points for the fastest lap and most laps led to begin the weekend with a maximum-points victory.

 

Behind the leader, the remainder of the Turn 3 Motorsport lineup battled through a more eventful opening race. Costello advanced from eighth to fifth before an off-course excursion while avoiding contact forced him to pit, dropping the #2 machine down the order. He continued to fight through the closing laps to finish 10th. Sebastian Manson steadily advanced from 12th to finish eighth, while Brady Golan and Tyke Durst battled through challenging races to finish 13th and 14th, respectively.

With Race 2 postponed due to weather, the field returned Sunday morning for the second race of the weekend. Escorpioni once again controlled the race from pole, immediately building a two-second advantage within the opening two laps before stretching the gap to more than four seconds by the halfway point.

 

Costello provided the second half of Turn 3 Motorsport’s strongest combined result of the weekend. Starting fourth, he immediately applied pressure to the #18 car of G3 Argyros for the final podium position before completing the pass on Lap 6. From there, the #2 machine held third place to the checkered flag, joining Escorpioni on the podium and securing a double-podium finish for the team.

 

Golan advanced to eighth in Race 2, while Manson moved forward to ninth to give Turn 3 Motorsport four cars inside the top 10. Durst completed the race in 12th.

 

As track conditions improved throughout Sunday morning’s race, drivers were able to set faster lap times than those recorded during qualifying, setting the starting order for the final race of the weekend. Escorpioni lined up third, with Costello sixth and Durst seventh, while Manson and Golan started 13th and 14th, respectively.

 

The final race began with immediate drama as an opening-lap incident involving Durst brought out the first caution of the race. Golan avoided the chaos to climb six positions into eighth, while Escorpioni held third before the restart on Lap 4.

 

Once racing resumed, Escorpioni quickly went on the attack. He passed Argyros for second on the restart before taking the lead from Jeffers on Lap 6 in an impressive move to the outside at Turn 1. Another caution followed shortly afterward, but Escorpioni once again executed a strong restart and immediately began building a gap at the front.

 

From there, the #4 machine controlled the remainder of the race to complete a perfect three-for-three sweep of the Mid-Ohio weekend. The result marked Escorpioni’s fourth victory of the 2026 season and propelled him into the Drivers Championship lead after 10 rounds of competition.

 

Golan delivered one of the strongest recovery drives of the weekend in the finale. After starting 14th, the #44 machine navigated the opening-lap incidents and continued advancing through the field, climbing as high as fifth before ultimately finishing sixth. His eight-position charge earned him the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

 

Manson also recovered from an eventful opening lap that required an early visit to pit lane, remaining on the lead lap and working his way back through the field to finish ninth. Costello’s promising final race was cut short following contact with the #77 car of Frankie Mossman in Turn 2, while Durst’s race ended following the opening-lap incident.

 

The Mid-Ohio sweep capped a pivotal weekend in Turn 3 Motorsport’s championship campaign. Escorpioni’s three victories moved him into the Drivers Championship lead, while the team strengthened its position atop the Team Championship standings as the 2026 season moves into its second half.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. The team gave me an incredible car from the first session, and everything came together. Winning all three races, taking two poles, and coming away with the championship lead is exactly what we were hoping to accomplish. The final race was especially satisfying because we had to fight our way to the front instead of leading from the start. A huge thank you to everyone at Turn 3 Motorsport for all of their hard work. Now we have to stay focused and carry this momentum into Portland.”

“Mid-Ohio was a weekend where we hoped for more, but we didn’t quite get the outcome we wanted. I want to thank everyone at Turn 3 Motorsport for all of their hard work throughout the weekend, as always. We’ll regroup during the break and come back ready to bounce back at Portland.”

“I can’t really tell if Mid-Ohio likes me or not. This weekend I just couldn’t quite put everything together on my end, but we still managed to come away with a sixth- and an eighth-place finish. I feel like my race craft has been one of my strengths this season, and we’re not far away from finding that last little bit. We’ll keep working, and I know it will come. As always, thank you to everyone on the #44 car. You all take incredible care of me, and I can’t thank you enough for all of the hard work. We’ll be back stronger.”

“It was a pretty solid weekend at Mid-Ohio. We didn’t quite make the most of qualifying, which made some of the races more difficult, but we finished all three races inside the top 10 and came away with some good points. I’m looking forward to the next round at Portland. A huge thank you to everyone on the team for all of their hard work in the heat, and what an amazing way to spend the Fourth of July weekend.”

“It was a really tough weekend at one of my favorite tracks. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the sessions, but unfortunately the good moments never seemed to come at the right time. We have a long break ahead of us to look at what went wrong, learn from it, and come back stronger for Portland in August.”

“It was an incredible weekend for Leo (Escorpioni) and the entire team. We came into Mid-Ohio knowing we needed to rebound after a difficult weekend at Road America, and this event presented plenty of challenges of its own. Between Leo being sick, the extreme heat, and the constantly changing track conditions as we went from racing ahead of INDYCAR to taking the track after them, there were a lot of variables to manage. The entire team arrived fired up and ready for the challenge, and I think that was the key factor in our success. Everyone put everything they had into the weekend, and we came away with some incredible results.

 

“With three races and so many points available, this was a massive weekend for the championship, and I’m extremely proud of Leo for maximizing every opportunity. A huge thank you goes to all of our staff for pushing through the heat and executing at such a high level throughout the weekend. We have a great group of people that we’re incredibly proud of, and I’m happy to see them rewarded with a weekend like this. Now, our focus shifts fully to Portland, and we’ll work as hard as we can to finish the season strong.”

The USF Pro 2000 Championship presented by Continental Tire now enters a month-long break before returning to action Aug. 6-9 at Portland International Raceway. Turn 3 Motorsport will look to carry its championship-leading form into Rounds 11 and 12 as the 2026 season enters its final stretch.