American teenagers RC Enerson, from New Port Richey, Fla., and Clark Toppe, from The Woodlands, Texas, scored emphatic victories as the first three races of the Cooper Tires Winterfest for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda concluded on Saturday (February 22) at NOLA Motorsports Park.
The 17-car field enjoyed cool, clear conditions at the 16-turn, 2.75-mile road course situated just across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans. They certainly proved to the liking of 16 year-old Enerson, who started from the pole in Round Two, and quickly established his superiority over an extremely competitive field.
His advantage grew to as much as three seconds by lap 11, whereupon day one's winner, Brazilian Victor Franzoni (Afterburner Autosport) fully hit his stride and began to whittle away at the deficit. The gap was down to 1.4 seconds with just two laps remaining, but Franzoni's hopes of being able to mount a serious challenge were dashed by a full-course caution after the erstwhile third-placed car of Danilo Estrela (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) ground to a halt on the backside of the race track.
Enerson was therefore assured of a well-deserved first victory both for himself and Team E Racing. Franzoni had to settle for second, while Estrela's teammate, Jake Eidson, from Littleton, Colo., completed the podium finishers.
Scott Andrews (JDC MotorSports, from Torquay, Victoria, Australia, finished a strong fourth to complete a fine comeback following a disappointing first race, when he was involved in an accident on the first lap. Norway's Henrik Furuseth (JAY Motorsports) and Frenchman Florian Latorre (Belardi Auto Racing) ensured there were six different teams represented among the top-six.
"The race was pretty much a flawless race," stated Enerson. "I started from pole, took the lead at the start and then there was a full course yellow. I was able to hold the lead on the restart, managed a gap and held it as long as I could. It went yellow at the end with around a lap to go and that is how it finished. My first win feels great and I want to hold onto this feeling."
Aaron Telitz (ArmsUp Motorsports) started from the pole for the afternoon's final race by virtue of posting the fastest race lap in race two, whereupon a self confessed "lack of aggression" saw him relegated to seventh on the opening lap.
Toppe, 16, who started alongside on the front row, took full advantage, taking the lead at turn one and pulling inexorably away from his rivals to score an accomplished victory for JDC MotorSports.
Franzoni, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, continued his excellent form by running second in the early stages, only to make a mistake on lap six, which saw him off-course in turn six. Eidson, the winner of last year's F1600 Championship Series, took over in second and held off a race-long challenge from Englishman Michael Epps (Belardi Auto Racing), who became the weekend's sixth different podium finisher.
Andrews again ran fourth after a protracted battle with the recovering Telitz, who overtook Enerson on lap nine, but was unable to find a way past Epps.
"I couldn't ask for a better day," added Toppe. "The first race didn't go that well and this race was perfect. I got out in front and led every lap. The car was great. JDC MotorSports gave me a great car. Thank you so much to my parents and everyone supporting me to be here. It is unbelievable and definitely feels great."
Enerson, who finished third in Friday's mini-series opener and sixth in race three, holds a slim six-point advantage, 70-64 over Eidson, with Franzoni, 61, Toppe, 58, and Furuseth, 56, also in close contention as the action moves on to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., for three more races next Tuesday and Wednesday (February 25-26).
The top-three will be posted following every session on the EFCN Facebook page, and EFCN Twitter page.
USF2000 Championship Cooper Tires Winterfest
Round 2 - Race Results
February 22, 2014
NOLA Motorsports Park - New Orleans, Louisiana
Pos. Driver Team Diff. Fast Time
1. RC Enerson Team E Racing - 1:36.434
2. Victor Franzoni Afterburner Autosport 0.393 1:36.051
3. Jake Eidson Cape Motorsports/Wayne Taylor Racing 0.804 1:36.198
4. Scott Andrews JDC MotorSports 1.106 1:36.290
5. Henrik Furuseth JAY Motorsports 2.484 1:36.484
6. Florian Latorre Belardi Auto Racing 3.984 1:36.704
7. Nico Jamin Belardi Auto Racing 4.304 1:36.951
8. Clark Toppe JDC MotorSports 6.078 1:35.686
9. Gustavo Myasava Afterburner Autosport 6.845 1:38.254
10. Santiago Lozano M2 Autosports 7.188 1:39.302
11. Juan Diego Maldonado M2 Autosports 1:03.312 1:43.264
12. Michael Epps Belardi Auto Racing 1 Lap 1:36.194
13. Jeroen Slaghekke Afterburner Autosport 1 Lap 1:36.823
14. Aaron Telitz ArmsUp Motorsports 2 Laps 1:35.650
15. Danilo Estrela Cape Motorsports/Wayne Taylor Racing 2 Laps 1:36.920
16. Will Owen Pabst Racing Services 7 Laps 1:37.218
17. Austin Cindric Pabst Racing Services 12 Laps 1:43.938
USF2000 Championship Cooper Tires Winterfest
Round 3 - Race Results
February 22, 2014
NOLA Motorsports Park - New Orleans, Louisiana
Pos. Driver Team Diff. Fast Time
1. Clark Toppe JDC MotorSports - 1:35.823
2. Jake Eidson Cape Motorsports/Wayne Taylor Racing 6.952 1:36.169
3. Michael Epps Belardi Auto Racing 7.736 1:36.150
4. Scott Andrews JDC MotorSports 9.747 1:36.200
5. Aaron Telitz ArmsUp Motorsports 10.191 1:36.062
6. RC Enerson Team E Racing 11.741 1:36.186
7. Henrik Furuseth JAY Motorsports 16.754 1:36.569
8. Austin Cindric Pabst Racing Services 16.755 1:36.333
9. Will Owen Pabst Racing Services 27.716 1:36.811
10. Florian Latorre Belardi Auto Racing 28.780 1:36.439
11. Danilo Estrela Cape Motorsports/Wayne Taylor Racing 29.415 1:36.769
12. Jeroen Slaghekke Afterburner Autosport 30.502 1:36.961
13. Gustavo Myasava Afterburner Autosport 53.873 1:38.842
14. Santiago Lozano M2 Autosports 1:03.394 1:38.748
15. Juan Diego Maldonado M2 Autosports 1 Lap 1:42.046
16. Victor Franzoni Afterburner Autosport 6 Laps 1:36.346
17. Nico Jamin Belardi Auto Racing 7 Laps 1:36.741
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