Team USA Scholarship Alumni Reap Success at Road Atlanta

Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. – The fast and challenging Road Atlanta venue in Braselton, Ga., last weekend proved to be a happy hunting ground for Team USA Scholarship alumni.

The latest contingent, Spencer Pigot and Felix Serralles, who were confirmed as the 21st annual scholarship winners last Thursday, maintained their momentum by playing starring roles just one week before they leave for England to commence preparations for the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch on October 16/17.

Pigot, from Windermere, Fla., who celebrated his 17th birthday last Wednesday, set the ball rolling the following morning when he claimed pole for Round 13 of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda. A few hours after the well-attended Team USA announcement, which was hosted by the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, Pigot wrapped up his first championship title since his karting days in style by emerging ahead of a snarling five-car pack that featured a constant shuffling of positions. Pigot timed his final move to perfection, securing his third win of the season and a prize which will enable the MAZDASPEED Development Driver to graduate into the USF2000 National Championship in 2011.

Serralles, 18, from Haines City, Fla., also featured among the lead pack, as did 2010 Team USA nominee Ashley Freiberg. Both led laps during the hectic 14-lap affair before Serralles ultimately crossed the line in third and 18-year-old Freiberg, from Homer Glen, Ill., in sixth.

Friday’s equally frantic race saw all three once again take turns in the lead before being out-foxed on the final lap by first-time winner Nick Andries and having to be content with second (Serralles), third (Freiberg) and fourth (Pigot).

Serralles continued his excellent form into the two USF2000 National Championship races, finishing fifth on Thursday before guiding his Liberty Motorsports Van Diemen-Mazda to a second-place result in Friday’s season finale.

Also on Friday, 2009 Team USA Scholarship winner Connor De Phillippi, from San Clemente, clinched Rookie of the year honors and third place overall in the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear by virtue of a lights-to-flag victory for JDC Motorsports.

2008 Team USA alumni and close friend Conor Daly chased home De Phillippi before a penalty dropped him to third in the final results. It made little difference. The 18-year-old from Noblesville, Ind., already had clinched the championship after a dominant season with Juncos Racing which included a record seven wins and nine poles.

Not to be out-shone, veteran Tony Ave, from Maiden, N.C., won the final SCCA Trans-Am race of the season in his self-built Chevy Corvette – also from the pole – to claim his first major championship title since winning the Oldsmobile Sports 2000 Pro Series crown in 1992 – the same year he earned a Team USA Scholarship.

Fellow alumni Andy Lally (1999) and Joey Hand (2000) also picked up some silverware during the busy Road Atlanta weekend. Lally, from nearby Dacula, Ga., snatched a narrow victory in the GT Challenge class of the Petit Le Mans classic, the final round of this year’s American Le Mans Series, sharing the Freescale/TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with Henri Richard and Duncan Ende, while Hand, from Sacramento, Calif., helped secure both the ALMS GT Manufacturer and Team Championships for BMW/Rahal Letterman Racing.