Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio set the pace in USF Pro 2000’s second qualifying session at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Pabst Racing’s Jacob Douglas was first to the top, but once everyone had completed a flying lap it was de Tullio who led the way. He had set a 1m30.526s, with TJ Speed’s Ariel Elkin posting a 1m30.557s to sit between him and Douglas.
On the second flying laps it was again de Tullio and Elkin who were the benchmarks, improving to 1m29.783s and 1m30.192s respectively, and Velocity Racing Development’s Owen Tangavelou and Max Taylor were next best having both lapped in the 1m30.5s. Douglas did not improve, and TJ Speed’s Sebastian Manson was sixth.
De Tullio found even more pace on third lap, keeping himself ahead by lowering the track record to 1m29.769s. Elkin continued to hold second by posting a 1m29.912s, and Pabst’s Michael Costello set a 1m30.199s in third. Douglas was 0.006 seconds behind im fourth, and Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark went fifth fastest with his second lap.
Taylor set a new personal best in seventh, but seven-and-a-half minutes in Turn 3’s Cooper Becklin took over the position. Few found the peak of their tyres on their fourth tour of the circuit, but Pabst’s Max Garcia did and a 1m30.427s brought him up to fourth.
With further improvements unlikely, the field headed to the pits for fresh rubber and a chance of a second run on a lower fuel load. As with the first, Douglas went straight to the top by setting a 1m29.708s.
This time Garcia established himself quickly on new rubber, and a 1m29.876s brought him up to third. Costello also improved in fifth with a 1m30.107s.
De Tullio got within 0.054s of Douglas with seven-and-a-half minutes to go, and soon Taylor and TJ Speed’s Denmark set personal bests in fifth and seventh.
Garcia again found the most pace on the fourth lap of his run, and a 1m29.247s put him on provisional pole with little over five minutes left of qualifying.
Costello stamped in a 1m29.370s in second while Tangavelou and Taylor set 1m29.6s laps to also move ahead of de Tullio. Clark and Denmark improved in sixth and seventh, then red flags waved due to Exclusive’s Joey Brienza getting beached after a spin.
During the stoppage, Denmark, DEForce Racing’s Jorge Garciarce and TJ Speed’s Sebastian Manson oddly headed back out on track, and when qualifying resumed the Pabst trio filling the top three positions stayed in the pits.
That proved costly, as with a minute left on the clock de Tullio improved to 1m29.204s to snatch race two pole. Garcia provisionally has race three pole, with a grid based on second-best laptimes, by 0.033s over Douglas. Taylor, who moved up that order after the chequered flag, and de Tullio were only 0.056s and 0.124s off pole respectively.
Tangavelou qualified fifth overall, and Turn 3’s Tyke Durst won a late battle to be 10th fastest.
Qualifying round-up
Race 2 grid
1 Alessandro de Tullio Turn 3 Motorsport 1m29.204s
2 Max Garcia Pabst Racing +0.043s
3 Michael Costello Pabst Racing +0.166s
4 Jacob Douglas Pabst Racing +0.397s
5 Owen Tangavelou Velocity Racing Development +0.412s
6 Max Taylor Velocity Racing Development +0.432s
7 Ariel Elkin TJ Speed +0.567s
8 Mac Clark Exclusive Autosport +0.619s
9 Jace Denmark TJ Speed +0.649s
10 Tyke Durst Turn 3 Motorsport +1.086s
Race 3 grid
1 Garcia 1m29.638s
2 Douglas +0.033s
3 Taylor +0.056s
4 de Tullio +0.124s
5 Elkin +0.274s
6 Tangavelou +0.311s
7 Costello +0.469s
8 Denmark +0.618s
9 Nicholas Monteiro DEForce Racing +0.769s
10 Clark +0.830s