HOUSTON – After much work to secure re-entry into the United States in order to compete in the next round of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, Brazilian race driver Kiko Porto (Banco Daycoval / Petromega / DEForce Racing / Speed Group) finally landed in Houston, Texas, this past Tuesday.

Now the goal is to start preparations for the Mid-Ohio tripleheader at the end of this month, the second stop for drivers and teams on the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. Porto missed the 2020 season debut at Elkhart Lake’s Road America due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented Brazilians from embarking to the United States during this period.

The DEForce Racing driver is at the team's headquarters where he is getting ready for his season debut. On the 29th and 30th of July, he and the other USF2000 drivers will meet at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a permanent road course in the city of Lexington, for three races of the championship.

“I can't say how happy I am to finally be able to go back and do my first race in USF2000. All these months of expectation and uncertainty are left behind and now all I want to do is get in the car and do my job. I will do my best to make sure our results make up for the time we lost due to the pandemic,” said Porto.

Even with losing the season-opener, Porto still has 16 races ahead, counting the triple and double rounds going forward. The season is expected to end in October.

Events that remain on the USF2000 calendar:

July 29-30 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (triple round)

August 7-9 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (triple round)

August 21 – Lucas Oil Raceway (single round)

September 3-4 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (triple round)

September 11-13 – Portland International Raceway (double round)

September 18-20 – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (double round)

October 23-25 – Streets of St. Petersburg (double round)