2013 Toronto - USF2000

The USF2000 National Championship made its debut in 2010. The series serves as one of the rungs on Mazda's Road to Indy and is sanctioned by IndyCar. The program aims to provide a scholarship fund path to reach the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. The Road to Indy has attracted driving talent from all over the world. Last year's champion, Matthew Brabham, is participating in the season's Star Mazda Championship.

This year the program offers over $500,000 in prizes and awards, with the USF2000 champion receiving a scholarship valued at $375,000 to advance to the Star Mazda Championship.

Formula 2000 cars first appeared in North America during the mid-80s. The category was particularly popular in Canada, with series' sponsored by Export A and Canadian Tire. The early cars were powered by a four-cylinder, 2.0-liter overhead-camshaft Ford engine, which produces approximately 150-horsepower. Mounted to the engine is a Hewland Mk 9 gearbox with four forward speeds and one reverse. The single-seater chassis is a tubular spaceframe design fitted with an aluminum floor pan and fiberglass bodywork. The cars also use wings mounted at the front and rear. The whole package weighs just under 1,200-lbs.

Today's Formula 2000 cars conform to many of the same rules, but advances in technology and aerodynamics have allowed them to be faster.

The 2013 USF2000 series has two classes:

Championship Class: Teams in the division are limited to a Van Diemen chassis manufactured from 2001 to 2010. The cars in this category are powered by a Mazda MZR engine. The power plant is a four-cylinder, double-overhead camshaft, fuel-injected, two-liter motor which produces 170-horsepower. The Championship Class winner receives a scholarship package from Mazda to contest the 2014 Star Mazda Series.
National Class: Last year, cars 1998 and newer that conformed to Sports Car Club of America's Formula Continental rules were allowed to compete in the National Class. This season the Sports Car Club of America's Formula Enterprise (FE) car is eligible for the National category. The FE is a Van Diemen DP06 powered by a less powerful 2.3-liter Mazda MZR engine. The National Class winner receives a scholarship package to advance to the Championship Class for 2014.

The 2013 schedule consists of fourteen races held over seven race weekends on seven tracks – three street circuits, one oval, and three permanent road courses. The races supported the IZOD IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series.

March 14-15 - Sebring International Raceway
March 23-24 - Streets of St. Petersburg
May 25 - Lucas Oil Raceway
July 13-14 - Streets of Toronto
August 3-4 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
September 7-8 - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
October 5-6 - Reliant Park

Rounds six and seven of the 2013 USF2000 National Championship were held at Toronto's Exhibition Place. Drivers would compete on the 1.755-mile eleven-turn temporary street course.

Neil Alberico's 2013 season got off to a poor start. Alberico won race two in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway, but his record also included twentieth, twenty-ninth and thirtieth place results. He put the No. 2 Cape Motorsports Van Diemen DP08 on the pole for race one in Toronto and went flag-to-flag for his third victory of the year. Alberico started first in the finale but dropped to fifth on the final restart.

Danilo Estrela drove the No. 11 Belardi Auto Racing Van Diemen DP08. Estrela qualified eleventh for Saturday's contest in Toronto. He charged to the front and on the final lap, Estrela had contact in turn eight with Henrik Furuseth, which gave him a third-place finish. On Sunday, he started on the outside of the front row. Estrela fell to third place in the race but fought back to pass the leader, Neil Alberico, for the victory.

With three victories and a runner-up result, Canadian Scott Hargrove was the points leader driving the No. 38 Cape Motorsports Van Diemen DP08. He started the weekend's first contest on the outside of the front row. Unfortunately, Hargrove damaged his suspension when there was contact with Florian Latorre. He finished fifteenth. Hargrove ended the weekend with a runner-up result after starting in the fifth spot.

Florian Latorre collected his first series podium in round six at Toronto. The sixteen-year-old qualified third fastest. During the second restart, there was contact between him and Scott Hargrove. The No. 91 JAY Motorsports Van Diemen DP 08 was unaffected and Latorre chased down the winner, Neil Alberico, for a runner-up result. He was gridded third for Sunday's race. The positions around him changed, but he hung on to third.

There were just three National Class entries at Toronto – the usual suspects – Scott Rettich, Ryan Verra and James Dayson. In the first four rounds, Rettich dominated the proceedings in the No. 71 Alliance Autosport Van Diemen DP06. He qualified twenty-fifth overall for race one and finished twentieth, which was good for the category victory. In the finale, he collected another win after finishing seventeenth.

POS	START	DRIVER	ENTRANT	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Neil Alberico	Cape Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
2	3	Florian Latorre	JAY Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
3	11	Danilo Estrela	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
4	5	Henrik Furuseth	PRL Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
5	4	RC Enerson	ZSports w/Team E	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
6	9	Michael Epps	PRL Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
7	12	Dalton Kellett	Pabst Racing Services	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
8	17	Felipe Donato	ArmsUp Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
9	7	Stefan Rzadzinski	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
10	16	Daniel Burkett	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
11	14	Peter Portante	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
12	13	Brandon Newey	Afterburner Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
13	19	Matt McMurry	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
14	18	Arthur Oliveira	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
15	2	Scott Hargrove	Cape Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
16	26	Jesse Lazare	Pabst Racing Services	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
17	22	Steve Bamford	Rice Race Prep	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
18	21	Michael Johnson	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
19	23	Timothy Paul	ArmsUp Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	25	-
20	25	Scott Rettich	Alliance Autosport	Van Diemen DP06/Mazda MZR	25	-
21	28	Ryan Verra	Alliance Autosport	Van Diemen DP06/Mazda MZR	25	-
22	8	Garett Grist	Andretti Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	22	-
23	29	James Dayson	ArmsUp Motorsports	Van Diemen DP06/Mazda MZR	21	Did Not Finish
24	15	Wyatt Gooden	Afterburner Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	15	Did Not Finish
25	20	Clark Toppe	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	13	Did Not Finish
26	6	Jeroen Slaghekke	Cape Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	12	Did Not Finish
27	24	Austin Cindric	Andretti Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	9	Did Not Finish
28	27	Sergio Pasian	Britain West Mtrspts	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	9	Did Not Finish
29	10	Jason Wolfe	Pabst Racing Services	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	3	Did Not Finish
-	-	Luca Forgeois	ZSports w/Team E	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	-	Did Not Start

POS	START	DRIVER	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	Danilo Estrela	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
2	5	Scott Hargrove	Cape Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
3	3	Florian Latorre	JAY Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
4	6	Peter Portante	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
5	1	Neil Alberico	Cape Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
6	11	Garett Grist	Andretti Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
7	7	Felipe Donato	ArmsUp Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
7	10	Michael Epps	PRL Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
9	12	Dalton Kellett	Pabst Racing Services	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
10	14	Brandon Newey	Afterburner Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
11	9	Daniel Burkett	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
12	20	Wyatt Gooden	Afterburner Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
13	24	Austin Cindric	Andretti Autosport	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
14	22	Steve Bamford	Rice Race Prep	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
15	19	Michael Johnson	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
16	23	Timothy Paul	ArmsUp Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
17	25	Scott Rettich	Alliance Autosport	Van Diemen DP06/Mazda MZR	21	-
18	15	Jesse Lazare	Pabst Racing Services	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	21	-
19	29	James Dayson	ArmsUp Motorsports	Van Diemen DP06/Mazda MZR	21	-
20	8	RC Enerson	ZSports w/Team E	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	17	Did Not Finish
21	4	Henrik Furuseth	PRL Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	12	Did Not Finish
22	26	Clark Toppe	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	12	Did Not Finish
23	27	Sergio Pasian	Britain West Mtrspts	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	12	Did Not Finish
24	16	Jason Wolfe	Pabst Racing Services	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	6	Did Not Finish
25	21	Arthur Oliveira	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	6	Did Not Finish
26	28	Ryan Verra	Alliance Autosport	Van Diemen DP06/Mazda MZR	5	Did Not Finish
27	13	Stefan Rzadzinski	JDC MotorSports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	1	Did Not Finish
28	17	Jeroen Slaghekke	Cape Motorsports	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	1	Did Not Finish
29	18	Matt McMurry	Belardi Auto Racing	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	0	Did Not Finish
-	-	Luca Forgeois	ZSports w/Team E	Van Diemen DP08/Mazda MZR	-	Did Not Start

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