Bowmanville, Ont., Canada – Scott Hargrove is on a roll. Just one week after claiming his first two wins in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the 19-year-old Canadian traveled north of the border to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park where he underscored both his talent and his versatility during a sensational sports car debut by winning the opening two rounds of the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. Hargrove’s regular rival in the Pro Mazda open-wheel ranks, Spencer Pigot, also played a starring role by leading Saturday’s race and finishing third in Race Two on Sunday.
Hargrove and Pigot continued their hot duel this season during qualifying on Friday, with Hargrove prevailing for the pole by a scant 0.045-second margin. The youngster from Vancouver, B.C., was justifiably thrilled with his effort in his very first sports car race after securing a late deal to drive Christian Chia’s #69 OpenRoad Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
“The car was phenomenal,” said Hargrove after posting a new lap record of 1:20.609. “First weekend in the car and we put it on pole. You can’t ask for much more than that. Hopefully it will continue into the race. I’m just excited to be here and about the opportunity.”
Pigot, the Pro Mazda points leader after six races, was second in qualifying at 1:20.654 in the #21 Alegra Motorsports entry.
Pigot took the lead into Turn One on Saturday but was adjudged to have anticipated the green flag and assessed a drive-through penalty which dropped him to the rear of the 19-car field. Hargrove also slipped behind fellow Canadian Chris Green in the opening stages before making his pass for the lead at Turn Eight on Lap 13. He then held off a determined challenge from Green following a late full-course caution to take the checkered flag just 0.840 clear of his rival. Pigot fought back to sixth, only to be assessed a time penalty following an incident in the late stages which relegated him to 14th in the final results.
After starting Race Two today from the pole, Green was passed for the lead by Hargrove on Lap Two. Hargrove then led the remainder of the distance, despite intense pressure from both Green and Pigot and another full-course caution.
“We're really, really quick on the starts and the restarts, and Chris (Green) definitely had a lot for me in the middle of the race,” said Hargrove. “But that caution helped me out, and I knew that once I cooled my tires down, I would be good to go until the end of the race. Really, a phenomenal weekend for us, and hopefully we will be back and be able to run more races this year.”
Green, who finished second in the championship least year, just held onto second from Pigot, who was just over one-tenth of a second behind at the flag.
“It was a good, hard race,” said Pigot. “The top three were really close, and I just couldn't find a way by Chris. Overall, I'm happy with the race, and I can't thank Alegra enough for having me here.”
Pigot and Hargrove will return to Pro Mazda action later this week when the series visits the five-eighths-mile Lucas Oil Raceway oval for the 69th Annual Visit Hendricks County Night Before the 500 and the Allied Building Products Pro Mazda Oval Challenge on Saturday, May 24.