Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Lochie Hughes and Mac Clark topped USF2000’s two qualifying sessions at a resurfaced Road America, with a new track record being set.
Q1 was stopped after just two minutes as Jay Howard Driver Development’s Al Morey struck trouble. The session clock counted down from 30 minutes, with the option of finishing early if 20 minutes of green flag action was completed.
Hughes led the way after 10 minutes, the JHDD driver setting a 2m08.779s to lead Pabst Racing’s Simon Sikes by 0.128 seconds.
A minute later DEForce Racing’s Clark went to the top, setting a 2m08.714s while many other drivers also improved and Sikes pitted.
The top two both improved on their next laps, Hughes reclaiming first place with a 2m08.265s while Clark set a 2m08.366s.
Velocity Racing Development’s Sam Corry moved into third with 13 minutes to go, then Hughes set a new track record by breaking into the 2m07s.
Clark could not match that 2m07.8964s, only setting a 2m08.2069s in response before the chequered flag came out with 10 minutes to go. After the chequered flag he was knocked down to third by Sikes, who set a 2m08.0268s.
Jorge Garciarce was half a second back in fourth, with Corry shuffled down to fifth.
Q2 was held later on Friday and initially Pabst’s Max Garcia set the pace. Some drivers were already pitting for fresh tyres after seven minutes, while those who staye out improved their pace.
Hughes improved twice to lead the way on 2m08.5000s, with Garcia 0.104s behind in second place.
Clark then took over at the top after 13 minutes, his 2m08.3665s putting him 0.11s ahead of Sikes who also improved.
The next driver to better their pace was Corry in fifth, then there was a lack of gains being made before the chequered flag waved with 10 minutes still left on the clock.
Noah Ping spun after the session ended, while Hughes moved into third place with his final lap, which was just 0.1514s off the pole pace.
Hughes had been fastest in practice earlier in the day with a 2m08.1636s, and the day before set a 2m07.8670s to lead pre-event testing. However as that was not set during a race event, it did not count as the circuit’s new track record for USF2000.
Qualifying round-up
Q1 results
1 Lochie Hughes JHDD 2m07.8964s
2 Simon Sikes Pabst Racing +0.1304s
3 Mac Clark DEForce Racing +0.3105s
4 Jorge Garciarce DEForce Racing +0.5062s
5 Sam Corry VRD +0.6048s
6 Jacob Douglas Pabst Racing +0.7755s
7 Max Garcia Pabst Racing +0.8207s
8 Ethan Ho DC Autosport +0.9192s
9 Evagoras Papasavvas JHDD +0.9434s
10 Elliot Cox SFHRD +0.9469s
Q2 results
1 Clark 2m08.3365s
2 Sikes +0.1100s
3 Hughes +0.1514s
4 Garcia +0.2675s
5 Corry +0.3808s
6 Garciarce +0.4664s
7 Douglas +0.4805s
8 Nikita Johnson VRD +0.5586s
9 Danny Dyszelski VRD +0.8315s
10 Papasavvas +1.1445s