Alessandro de Tullio on top in USF Pro 2000 pre-season testing

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio was fastest in USF Pro 2000 pre-season testing at NOLA Motorsports Park, which was shortened to one day.

Due to persistent rain leading to the cancellation of the sessions scheduled for Sunday (and all the test action for USF2000 and USF Juniors too), it meant just two 45-minute sessions on Saturday made up the entirety of pre-season preparations.

De Tullio topped both, setting a 1m29.0201s in the first to lead Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia by 0.3729 seconds. Garcia’s team-mate Jacob Douglas was the only other driver within a second of his pace, and ended the session 0.7974s behind de Tullio after setting a personal best on his final lap.

Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark was fourth, and just a third of a second separated him from Turn 3’s Tyke Durst down in 11th place.

The pace was lowered in session two, and everybody improved bar BN Racing’s Brad Benavides – the reigning Euroformula champion – who was absent from proceedings.

De Tullio’s new benchmark was a 1m28.0391s, which he set on his penultimate lap of the day, and again there was big gaps at the top as he led Garcia by 0.6143s. Michael Costello, who completes Pabst’s three-car line-up, was 0.9222s slower than de Tullio in third.

Clark was further away in fourth, 1.1695s off the pace, and Ariel Elkin pipped Douglas, Turn 3’s Elliot Cox and new TJ Speed team-mate Jace Denmark to fifth.

Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor completed a top 10 covered by 1.5s, and Benavides slotted into 20th overall with his session one time.

Test results