Lexington, Ohio – After a frustrating qualifying session on Friday, Rising Star Racing drivers Spencer Pigot and Neil Alberico were looking to move up in Race 1 of the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Saturday evening. And the duo did just that with Pigot advancing to fourth and Alberico scoring seventh at the checkered flag.

Pigot opened the race from eighth on the grid and delivered a brilliant start in the No. 7 Doug Mockett & Company/Rising Star Racing/VitaminPro App/California Scents/Juncos Racing car to progress up to sixth on the very first lap. A full course caution was immediately displayed shortly thereafter for a car off course and Pigot would restart sixth in line.

Running lap times as fast as the leaders, Pigot continued to work his way forward around the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio road course to take fourth at the finish.

“We were able to move up a few spots,” said Pigot of Race 1. “That was all we could really ask for today. Unfortunately there was quite a lot of safety car periods so we didn’t get a whole lot of green flag running. The track was pretty slippery, there wasn’t a lot of rubber down so we were sliding around quite a bit but it was the same for everyone. But we made up a few points and that’s all that really matters so we can’t be too disappointed.”

Similarly, Alberico cleanly maneuvered through the field at the drop of the green flag in the No. 2 Bondurant School/eFormulaCarNews.com/J&M Trophy/Rising Star Racing Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing entry and moved his way up to seventh position within the first seven laps of the race. Showing strong pace, Alberico was one of the first Pro Mazda competitors to dip into the 1:21-second lap range as he chased down the cars ahead.

He was able to capitalize and move up to sixth in the order when the field was slowed by a second full course caution. When the race went back to green with just 11 minutes to go, Alberico’s Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammate Scott Hargrove snuck by on the restart and Alberico brought the No. 2 machine home seventh.

“Once we settled in, it’s very tough to pass here,” offered Alberico. “Everybody is running virtually the same wing settings, so it’s hard to pass. But it’s just about out braking and waiting for someone to make a mistake. But we just need to capitalize tomorrow. IndyCar had a full day of track time so the track changed a bit but we need to do a better job tomorrow. We moved up today, but we’re still not on the podium so we definitely have some work to do.”