ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Colombian teenager Sebastian Garzon drove a perfect race for DEForce Racing late this morning in the Foundation Building Materials Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Garzon led throughout the 20-lap race around the unforgiving 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit to grasp an early lead in the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire points standings and an opportunity to win a scholarship valued at $409,816 to graduate onto the next step of the USF Pro Championships ladder, USF Pro 2000, in 2027.
Florida-based Brazilian and USF Juniors graduate Joao Vergara impressed by taking second place for VRD Racing, while fellow countryman and 2025 USF Juniors champion Leonardo Escorpioni capped an excellent USF2000 debut for Zanella Racing in third.
Garzon, 16, who claimed a fourth-place finish last year during his debut weekend in St. Petersburg, made his intentions clear in qualifying earlier this morning by grasping his first Continental Tire Pole Award. The Colombian was flanked on the grid by Canada’s Anthony Martella (Exclusive Autosport). The Pabst Racing Australian pair of Eddie Beswick and Brad Majman filled the second row of a 22-car field after a pair of JHDD powered by ECR cars were unable to take the start following incidents earlier in the day.
Unsurprisingly, there was drama at Turn One on the opening lap. The first corner often courts disaster as the field attempts to make a sharp right turn at the end of a long main straightaway which comprises a runway of the Alfred Whitted Municipal Airport, and this year was no exception. Garzon played it cool at the start, but behind, Martella lost control and spun, which sent the pack in all directions as drivers sought to avoid contact. Unfortunately, Martella’s Exclusive Autosport teammate, Evan Cooley, from Mokena, Ill., was unable to do so, and ended up perched atop Martella’s engine cover.
Vergara, who started fifth, emerged from the chaos in third, followed by Escorpioni, who qualified seventh, then the two Pabst cars of Beswick and Majman. Beswick, though, had sustained damage and was forced to the pit lane at the end of the next lap. He resumed in 20th and last.
The race was restarted after a couple of laps under yellow, after which it ran cleanly until its conclusion. Garzon gradually increased his pace through the first 11 laps, by which time his advantage had increased to over two seconds. He then controlled the field to masterfully secure a well-earned maiden victory.
Vergara and Escorpioni remained closely matched in second and third, reprising some of their tussles from last season, while Majman also was part of the fight before slipping back a little in the closing stages.
Majman still finished fourth, comfortably ahead of Pabst Racing teammate Lucas Nanji, from Montreal, Que., Canada, who was participating in only his second ever race weekend following an Italian F4 event last year at Monza.
An intense scrap over sixth place was led initially by VRD Racing rookie Colin Aitken, from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., who came under intense pressure from DEForce Racing’s Brady Golan.
Contact between the pair on Lap 15 allowed Exclusive Autosport’s Gabriel Cahan, from Santa Fe, N.M., through, only for South African Wian Boshoff (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development) to execute a fine pass for the position at Turn One with two laps remaining.
Boshoff ultimately finished sixth ahead of VRD Racing’s Ryan Giannetta, from Redondo Beach, Calif., who sliced past Cahan on the final lap. Aitken and another debutant, ENVE Motorsports’ Wesley Gundler, from Holly Springs, N.C., completed the top 10.
Australian Liam Loiacono also drove impressively for the JHDD powered by ECR team following a fuel pump failure in qualifying which relegated him to the back of the grid. Loiacono, another USF Juniors graduate, earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after rising from 22nd to 11th.
The first PFC Award of the new season went to David and Ernesto Martinez of DEForce Racing as the winning car owners.
The second race of the opening weekend of the season, the Andersen Interior Contracting Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, will see a green flag soon after the conclusion of the opening NTT INDYCAR SERIES race of the season at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Provisional championship points after 1 of 18 races:
1. Sebastian Garzon, 32
2. Joao Vergara, 25
3. Leonardo Escorpioni, 22
4. Brad Majman, 20
5. Lucas Nanji, 17
6. Wian Boshoff, 15
7. Ryan Ginanetta, 14
8. Gabriel Cahan, 13
9. Colin Aitken, 12
10. Wesley Gundler, 11.
Sebastian Garzon (#12 Orsolon Racing/Café Colombia-DEForce Racing Tatuus USF-22): “The beginning of the race was a little bit difficult because I almost went into a crash with the top two, but I could avoid it. Then I was P1 the whole race. I maintained my pace and got away from second and third and won the race. It was really good.”
Joao Vergara (#3 Cross/Carecode/Son Boronat/Arai-VRD Racing Tatuus USF-22): “It was a pretty decent race. I mean, of course I wanted to come out with the win but I think Sebastian was a little bit too fast today for us. I came in with a strong mentality. A couple days ago my grandpa passed away, so I wanted to do this for him and I felt he was with me today. He had the best view of the race so I'm happy to have gotten a good result for him, and good points in the championship. We'll move on from here and we'll just keep building and building.”
Leonardo Escorpioni (#55 USF Pro Championships/Qwilt/Peer 1-Zanella Racing Tatuus USF-22): “It was a good race. I just tried to stay clean. There's not much to do after the start. It's hard to make moves here, it's very tight. So I just tried to stay clean, finish the race and we came out P3. It was good.”