De Tullio denies Mossman victory in USF Pro 2000’s second Toronto race

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Alessandro de Tullio denied Frankie Mossman victory with a last lap move in USF Pro 2000’s second race in Toronto.

Mossman spent most of the race at the front of the field, but could never shake de Tullio. The Turn 3 Motorsport driver waited until the last lap to make an overtake, diving past Mossman and tapping the wall as he passed.

Although he tried to fight back, Mossman had no opportunities to retake the lead before the chequered flag.

De Tullio had started from pole with the newly crowned champion Max Garcia alongside him. Garcia was shuffled backwards through the first corners and was then sent into a spin, coming to a stop sideways across the track. Everyone behind managed to avoid the stationary car, and Garcia got going again behind the rest of the field.

Mossman had climbed up from fifth on the grid to second, ahead of Max Taylor, Liam McNeilly and Jacob Douglas. McNeilly and Douglas passed Taylor, and joined Mossman close behind de Tulio. 

On lap six, Mossman passed de Tulio to take the lead. Initially, the top six were evenly spaced, but in the closing stages of the race they split into three separate two-car battles. De Tullio kept the pressure on Mossman and waited until the final lap to make a move. He narrowly found a way through and crossed the line just 0.6457 seconds ahead.

Behind them, McNeilly was battling to keep Douglas behind him. Both drivers locked up while battling for position but managed to keep going. However, McNeilly was penalised for blocking and had to hand the place to Douglas, giving the latter his third consecutive podium finish.

The third duo on track were Ariel Elkin and Michael Costello. The spaces had originally been occupied by Taylor and Mac Clark, but the duo had a coming together. Taylor had tried to move past Clark at turn three and both drivers made contact. Taylor limped back to the pits after contact with the pit wall, while Clark continued down the order.

Sebastian Manson also retired in the pits a few laps later.

On track, Elkin held off Costello to take fifth. Nicholas Monteiro finished seventh ahead of Cooper Becklin and a recovering Garcia. Clark finished the race in 10th.

Race results (30 laps)