MARKHAM, Ontario — A chaotic, crash-filled second leg of the inaugural Continental Tire Grand Prix of Markham for USF2000 ended with Brad Majman, from Melbourne, Australia, taking the checkered flag for Pabst Racing.
Majman’s third win of the season moved him to within 13 points of points leader and yesterday’s winner, Colombian Sebastian Garzon, whose DEForce Racing Tatuus was involved in one of a series of melees during the 40-minute encounter.
VRD Racing’s Oliver Wheldon, from St. Petersburg, Fla., one of only very few drivers not to be involved in an incident, was credited with second place, while Majman’s teammate Eddie Beswick, from Sydney, Australia, took third.
The cancellation of qualifying on Saturday meant that today’s grid was set according to each driver’s fastest lap during the first race of the weekend, which enabled Garzon to snare his third Continental Tire Pole Award of the season.
The first two laps out of 20 were nice and clean with Garzon out in front ahead of Majman and hometown hopeful Anthony Martella (exclusive Autosport), from nearby Woodbridge, Ont., who had nipped ahead of Wheldon for third in the opening exchanges. Teammate Evan Cooley, from Mokena, Ill., ENVE Motorsports’ Wesley Gundler, from Holly Springs, N.C., and Beswick all maintained their starting positions, while Gabriel Cahan (Exclusive Autosport), from Sante Fe, N.M., ran eighth aboard another Exclusive Autosport entry.
So far so good. But then came the craziness, which began with a multi-car accident at the tight hairpin at Turn Five and was triggered when Quebecois Lucas Nanji (Pabst Racing) ran into the back of VRD Racing’s Ryan Giannetta, from Redondo Beach, Calif. Remarkably, after pitting for a new rear wing, Giannetta still contrived to finish seventh.
The next two attempted restarts were aborted after cars came together even before the green flag at Turn 10. Then, with eight laps completed, another restart lasted only a few corners before Garzon seemed to slow at the exit of Turn Two and was immediately passed by both Majman and Martella. Two corners later there was another, larger pileup at Turn Five which eliminated a handful of midfield contenders. Yellow again.
This cleanup took rather longer, and unfortunately, what turned out to be the final restart also was short-lived. This time the consequences were far greater for the frontrunners. A late lunge for the lead under braking for Turn Three saw Martella briefly nose ahead of Majman, only for solid contact at the exit of the corner to send Martella spinning directly into the path of Garzon. Both were out on the spot.
Majman somehow survived the carnage, and when the checkered flag flew with the field still under yellow and only 17 of the 20 laps completed, he was duly credited with the victory.
A slew of sanctions were issued post-race by Race Control, including a five-second penalty for Garzon, who was deemed responsible for one of the earlier incidents. He was eventually classified 15th. Garzon did, however, earn the extra point for fastest race lap. He also claimed the GhostLap Fastest Race Lap of the Weekend Award for his quickest lap during Saturday’s race.
