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The USF Pro 2000 Championship, presented by Continental Tire, has been around in some form since 1998.
The current series is the third official step on the USF Pro Championships ladder.
The series champion is awarded a scholarship package valued at $681,500 to move to INDY NXT in 2025.
This division originated in the late '90s. Drivers completed in the Star Formula Mazda, which was powered by a Mazda 13B rotary engine. The newest car introduced for the 2022 season is the Tatuus IP-22. The Tatuus IP-22 uses the latest developments in race car technology. The chassis is a full carbon composite and aluminum honeycomb monocoque that meets current FIA 2020 GEN 1 requirements. Continental tires are mounted on Motegi alloy wheels – 13 inches in diameter X 10 inches wide on the front and 13 inches in diameter X 12 inches wide on the rear. Stopping the Tatuus are Performance Friction calipers, pads and rotors with a driver-adjustable brake bias. The car is powered by a 2-liter Mazda MZR-PM18A, which produces 275 horsepower. The power is transmitted to a Sadev SL82 six-speed sequential transmission. The 2024 season consists of nine race weekends and eighteen rounds.
Some of the series’ alums are competing in this season’s NTT IndyCar championship, including 2019 champion - Kyle Kirkwood, 2018 champion – Rinus Veekay and 2010 champion - Conor Daly. Rounds fourteen and fifteen of the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship were conducted at Toronto's Exhibition Place. Drivers would compete in two twenty-five races around the eleven-turn 1.755-mile temporary street circuit. |
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The pace lap for round fifteen of the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship at Toronto's Exhibition Place. Leading the field of seventeen starters through corner nine is the pole-sitter and points leader, Lochie Hughes, driving the No. 44 Turn 3 Motorsport Tatuus IP-22. Beside Hughs is the No. 17 VRD Racing Tatuus IP-22 of Nikita Johnson. Occupying row two are Jace Denmark driving the No. 20 Pabst Racing Tatuus and Cooper Becklin in the No. 28 Tatuus. |
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The points leader heading into the final two rounds of the USF Pro 2000 series is Lochie Hughes. The 2022 US Formula 4 champion made his series debut this year. Lochie qualified on the outside of row one for the weekend's first contest. At the start, he had contact with Danny Dyszelski. Lockie pitted to have the car checked. Restarting from the back of the pack, he finished fifth. On Sunday, he redeemed himself with a flag-to-flag victory. |
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The incident between Turn 3 Motors teammates Lochie Hughes and Danny Dyszelski in the first corner of race one allowed the third-fastest qualifier, Simon Sikes, to grab the lead. The driver of the No. 18 Pabst Racing Tatuus IP-22 came under pressure from his teammate Jace Denmark but prevailed to secure his second victory of the year. Sikes started round fifteen in seventh position and finished eighth. |
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The driver of the No. 20 Pabst Racing Tatuus IP-22 is Jace Denmark. The fourth fastest qualifier, Denmark, was also a beneficiary of the incident between Lochie Hughes and Danny Dyszelski. He moved into second and finished 0.3101 seconds behind the winner, Simon Sikes. In the final race of the weekend, Denmark finished third. Although he has yet to win a race, Denmark sits second in the title chase, with thirty-five markers behind the points leader, Hughes. |
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Rookie Liam Sceats won round seven at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit, driving the No. 26 TJ Speed Motorsports Tatuus IP-22. Saturday's contest would not be one of Sceat's better events. He qualified in the sixth spot. On the first lap of the race, he was eliminated at turn three after being rear-ended by Nikita Johnson. Sceats was classified with a sixteenth place result. He ended the weekend with a runner-up result after starting sixth. |
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Ricardo Escotto drives the No. 77 Tatuus IP-22 prepared by BN Racing. Escotto qualified tenth for Saturday's contest. He took advantage of the incidents on the opening lap to move up four positions. Escotto was in third by lap 14 and held the position to the checker. As a result, he was given the Tilton Hard Charger Award. In the second event of the weekend, Escotto started ninth but was eliminated by a three-car incident on the first lap. |
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Currently third in the standings is Nikita Johnson. Johnson collected victories at St. Petersburg, NOLA, Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit and swept the Mid-Ohio weekend. Unfortunately, his championship hopes took a hit in Toronto. The early season points leader opened the event by qualifying eighth but retired on the opening lap after contact with Liam Sceats. On Sunday, Johnson started second; however, a crash in turn ten ended his day. |
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The podium for round fifteen of the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship at Toronto's Exhibition Place. The winner and current points leader, Lockie Hughes, stands in the center. The Australian leads the title chase by thirty-five markers with two races remaining. On the left is the rookie contender and runner-up, Liam Sceats from TJ Speed Motorsports. Completing the rostrum is the third-place finisher, Jace Denmark. |
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| POS | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Simon Sikes | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Pabst Racing | 25 | - |
| 2 | 4 | Jace Denmark | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Pabst Racing | 25 | - |
| 3 | 10 | Ricardo Escotto | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | BN Racing | 25 | - |
| 4 | 11 | Alessandro De Tullio | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | BN Racing | 25 | - |
| 5 | 2 | Lochie Hughes | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Turn 3 Motorsport | 25 | - |
| 6 | 7 | Mac Clark | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | DEForce Racing | 25 | - |
| 7 | 12 | Jorge Garciarce | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | DEForce Racing | 25 | - |
| 8 | 13 | Frankie Mossman | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Jay Howard Driver Development | 25 | - |
| 9 | 14 | Cooper Becklin | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | TJ Speed Motorsports | 25 | - |
| 10 | 9 | Nicholas Monteiro | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | DEForce Racing | 25 | - |
| 11 | 15 | Logan Adams | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Comet/NCMP Racing | 25 | - |
| 12 | 16 | Tyke Durst | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Turn 3 Motorsport | 25 | - |
| 13 | 1 | Danny Dyszelski | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Turn 3 Motorsport | 15 | - |
| 14 | 17 | Shawn Rashid | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | VRD Racing | 6 | - |
| 15 | 5 | Glenn van Berlo | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Pabst Racing | 0 | - |
| 16 | 6 | Liam Sceats | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | TJ Speed Motorsports | 0 | - |
| 17 | 8 | Nikita Johnson | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | VRD Racing | 0 | - |
| POS | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Lochie Hughes | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Turn 3 Motorsport | 25 | - |
| 2 | 6 | Liam Sceats | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | TJ Speed Motorsports | 25 | - |
| 3 | 3 | Jace Denmark | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Pabst Racing | 25 | - |
| 4 | 10 | Mac Clark | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | DEForce Racing | 25 | - |
| 5 | 13 | Jorge Garciarce | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | DEForce Racing | 25 | - |
| 6 | 11 | Frankie Mossman | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Jay Howard Driver Development | 25 | - |
| 7 | 12 | Nicholas Monteiro | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | DEForce Racing | 25 | - |
| 8 | 7 | Simon Sikes | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Pabst Racing | 25 | - |
| 9 | 4 | Cooper Becklin | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | TJ Speed Motorsports | 24 | - |
| 10 | 15 | Logan Adams | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Comet/NCMP Racing | 24 | - |
| 11 | 17 | Glenn van Berlo | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Pabst Racing | 24 | - |
| 12 | 2 | Nikita Johnson | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | VRD Racing | 19 | - |
| 13 | 16 | Shawn Rashid | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | VRD Racing | 8 | - |
| 14 | 14 | Tyke Durst | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Turn 3 Motorsport | 7 | - |
| 15 | 5 | Alessandro De Tullio | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | BN Racing | 0 | - |
| 16 | 8 | Danny Dyszelski | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | Turn 3 Motorsport | 0 | - |
| 17 | 9 | Ricardo Escotto | Tatuus IP-22 / Mazda | BN Racing | 0 | - |
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