The penultimate round of the 2025 USF Pro 2000 Championship brought the field north to the challenging and unforgiving Streets of Toronto, where tight walls and limited track time pushed drivers to their limits.
Among those navigating the high-stakes weekend were New Zealanders Jacob Douglas and Sebastian Manson, who experienced vastly different fortunes in Rounds 15 and 16 of the season.
Toronto offered no margin for error. With just one 19-lap practice session on Saturday morning, teams and drivers had only a small window to fine-tune their setups before diving straight into two qualifying sessions that would determine the grids for the weekend’s doubleheader.
Jacob Douglas, piloting the #19 machine for Pabst Racing, quickly found his rhythm. He posted the 10th-fastest time in practice, 0.9631s off his teammate and championship leader Max Garcia, who set the benchmark at 1:09.6906.
Manson, driving the #28 machine for TJ Speed Motorsports, slotted into 12th, 1.2599s adrift.
Douglas stepped it up in qualifying, slashing nearly eight-tenths off his practice time to qualify a strong 4th for Race 1. He backed it up with an even better performance in the second qualifying session, securing 6th on the grid for Race 2.
Manson’s qualifying effort was hampered by a crash at Turn 7 in the first session, placing him 16th for Race 1. He recovered slightly for Race 2 with a 14th-place start, but the earlier incident foreshadowed more challenges to come.
Race 1:
The opening race took place under clear skies and got off to a clean start, aside from Nick Gilkes and Carson Etter heading to pit lane on the opening lap. Douglas capitalised immediately, climbing to third as front-row starter Alessandro De Tullio dropped back to sixth.
On Lap 2, De Tullio’s day worsened as he slowed on track and retired. Just two laps later, disaster struck for Manson: a heavy crash at Turn 11 left his car with significant right-side damage, bringing out a full-course yellow and ending his race weekend’s second incident early.
When the race resumed on Lap 6, Garcia led the field with Taylor and Douglas close behind.
The Kiwi kept the pressure on and seized the opportunity on Lap 17, diving down the inside of Max Taylor at Turn 1 to move into second, securing a 1-2 finish for Pabst Racing as Garcia crossed the line to clinch the 2025 USF Pro 2000 Championship.
Douglas’s second-place finish was crucial, bringing his points total to 268 and moving him within three points of De Tullio for fourth in the standings.
Taylor completed the podium, with Mac Clark and Ariel Elkin rounding out the top five.
Race 2:
With Garcia already crowned champion, the pressure shifted to those still fighting for the final Championship positions.
Douglas started Race 2 from sixth, while Manson, now in a backup car due to the damage in Race 1, lined up 14th with hopes of a bounce-back performance.
The opening corners were chaos: Garcia was spun at Turn 4 and dropped to the back. Douglas avoided the trouble, gaining ground to run fifth early on, while Manson climbed to 11th with an aggressive opening few laps.
Douglas continued his charge, passing Taylor on Lap 2 to move into fourth.
Manson, meanwhile, was locked in a tight battle just outside the top ten before mechanical issues forced him to retire on Lap 8, his second DNF of the weekend in a heartbreaking end to what had started as a promising race. He was ultimately classified in 18th place.
Up front, VRD Racing’s Frankie Mossman stormed into second from fifth at the start and kept the pressure on De Tullio, eventually taking the lead on Lap 7.
The battle intensified in the closing stages, with Douglas and Liam McNeilly fighting fiercely for third. McNeilly was later handed a penalty for blocking, handing the final podium position to Douglas.
On the last lap, De Tullio made a bold lunge on Mossman at Turn 1 and retook the lead but clipped the wall in the process. Mossman tried to retaliate but ultimately settled for second. Douglas held firm to claim third, his second podium of the weekend and fourth of the season.
Behind them, McNeilly and Elkin completed the top five, while Garcia recovered to finish ninth after his early spin.
Championship Standings Tighten Behind Garcia
With Garcia securing the title after the first race in Toronto, with 430 points, attention now shifts to the intense fight for the remaining top positions heading into the season finale at Portland International Raceway on August 7–10.
- 2nd: Ariel Elkin – 315 pts
- 3rd: Mac Clark – 312 pts
- 4th: Alessandro De Tullio – 302 pts
- 5th: Jacob Douglas – 290 pts
Douglas’s double podium weekend has kept him firmly in the mix. A strong outing in Portland could see him leap as high as second in the final standings with 66 points still up for grabs, an impressive feat in his rookie USF Pro 2000 campaign.
For Manson, Toronto was a weekend to forget. After two crashes and a mechanical retirement, the 17-year-old will be aiming for redemption in Portland, where he’ll look to convert his raw speed into a clean and competitive weekend to close out his season on a high note.
The 2025 USF Pro 2000 Championship concludes with a doubleheader in Oregon, where the final battles for podium positions in the championship will be decided. All eyes will be on Douglas to see if the Kiwi can cap off the year with a statement finish.
For TJ Speed Motorsports, which will also focus on the final round in Portland and Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit test sessions on October 25-26, TJ Speed will begin preparing for the Toyota Formula Oceania Trophy in New Zealand alongside HMD Motorsports. Interested parties are asked to contact TJ Speed.
Header Image: Gavin Baker Photography/USF Pro Championships
