New Zealand Grand Prix winner Liam Sceats featured on the podium in the opening two USF Pro 2000 races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course before finishing fifth in the finale.
The results shoot the Kiwi to fourth in the standings, just 11 points behind top rookie Lochie Hughes from Australia, who is third overall.
VRD Racing’s Nikita Johnson’s two victories and a second place extends his championship lead to an impressive 88 points over Hunter Yeany.
Sceats qualified on the front row for the opener, setting a 1:22.3090, two-tenths shy of Johnson’s pole-setting time.
The Kiwi briefly took the lead on Lap 1 of Race 1 but was overcome by the pole-starter before the following lap.
The two remained in that order when the first caution was shown on Lap 5 of 25 when Frankie Mossman stopped at Turn 6.
Hughes took second off the Kiwi shortly after the Lap 7 restart and was a nose ahead when another Safety Car was called on Lap 8 when Exclusive Autosport’s Braden Eves and Pabst Racing’s Jace Denmark came together. The latter was sent to the back of the field as a penalty for avoidable contact.
The race resumed on Lap 11, and the remaining circuits were caution-free. Johnson pulled clear for a comfortable 4-second win from Sceats, who overcame Hughes and pulled a gap of 3.9 seconds over the Australian for second.
“It was a good race,” said Sceats. “The start was really important. We managed to get into the lead and I am not really sure how. I think at one point, we were going three wide.
“Early on, I struggled a bit with rear grip, which allowed Nikita to have that edge on me. I also lost out to Lochie and dropped to P3, but the pace from mid-to-end was really good.”
The grid for Race 2 was set by each driver’s second-best qualifying lap, with the Tony Quinn Foundation-backed driver again second, behind Johnson.
Sceats again led off the line but was overcome by VRD’s driver entering Turn 2 through a tidy over-under maneuver.
The race stayed green for all 25 laps, with Johnson crossing the line 6.8 seconds ahead of the Kiwi, who withstood a strong challenge from Hughes for the entirety of proceedings.
Denmark, who finished fourth, was over seven seconds behind the lead trio.
“The race was kind of the same as yesterday,” said Sceats. “I got into the lead in Turn One, which was good. I was aggressive, but early in the race, I just didn’t have the pace for Nikita.
“I struggled a bit on cold tyres and probably didn’t maximize the limited grip I had. I made some minor mistakes, which cost me a little bit of time, even for him to get in the tow and drive by me.
“Once he was past me, honestly, he was too quick. Lochie kept the pressure on the whole race. It was nice to have no cautions, but at the same time, I would have liked to have a shot at the win.”
Sceats started Race 3 for third, behind Johnson and Simon Sikes, who had bettered his second-best qualifying time with his fastest lap in Race 2.
Starting fourth, Hughes was quickly to the front, but Johnson returned to the lead on Lap 2, and Sikes followed through for second a lap later.
Sikes took the lead on Lap 19 and remained there for a 0.7085-second victory over Johnson, who had Hughes on his tail at the chequered flag.
Yeany took fourth off Sceats, his teammate, with four laps remaining to finish just 0.68 seconds ahead, with sixth-placed Denmark three-tenths behind.
USF Pro 2000 returns for Round 9 on the Indianapolis oval on May 23-24.
Header Image: Liam Sceats Motorsport
