Lexington, Ohio – Rising Star Racing drivers Spencer Pigot and Neil Alberico will be back in Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires race action this weekend at Mid-Ohio as the duo returns from a brief break in the 2014 schedule for a double header event. Pigot, who currently leads the Pro Mazda championship, will start Race 1 from eighth on the grid and Neil Alberico will start directly behind him in 10th.
Pigot appeared to be well on his way to yet another pole position as the No. 7 Doug Mockett & Company/Rising Star Racing/VitaminPro App/California Scents/Juncos Racing car sat at the top of the time chart for the majority of the 30-minute qualifying session. But in the waning laps, several competitors hit the track for fast flying laps on new tires and Pigot found himself eighth in the order. A red flag shortened the session and he was unable to put down another hot lap on his new tires to improve his starting position for Race 1.
“Unfortunately, I just got stuck in traffic on our second new tire run,” said Pigot of the qualifying effort. “When I finally did get some clear track ahead of me, the red flag came out so I never got a quick lap in. It’s disappointing but we know the fast way around this track so we still feel confident for the race. The Juncos Racing car was good as always, and we’ll fight hard tomorrow!”
The result was disappointing for Pigot as he had led both of Thursday’s Pro Mazda practice sessions and was third in Friday morning’s final practice. Similarly, Alberico was left wanting more after also having several good practice runs.
“It’s not where we want to be for the start of tomorrow’s race, but unfortunately the track conditions changed and we underestimated how much,” said Alberico who drives the No. 2 Bondurant School/eFormulaCarNews.com/J&M Trophy/Rising StarRacing Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing machine. “The track had so much more grip and the set up for the car just flip flopped. But we have 28 hours now to think about what we need to do for the first race tomorrow. We’re just going to keep digging and hopefully we can come away tomorrow with a positive result.”
Pigot and Alberico got their weekend off to a positive start when the pair visited Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio Thursday evening with the Austin Hatcher Foundation. The drivers decorated wooden cars with the children and then raced against the children and one another on a plastic track.