Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas claimed pole in a shortened USF2000 qualifying session on the streets of Toronto.
Papasavvas was fastest with his first two laps, then approaching the five-minute mark Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia set a 1m14.0952s to move to the top.
Lochie Hughes was next to set the pace, pipping Garcia by 0.0814 seconds with his third lap. Papasavvas returned to first place on his next lap, breaking into the 1m13s. He did not stay on top for long as Pabst’s Jacob Douglas went 0.0312s faster.
Papasavvas continued to improve, and his fifth lap put him back on provisional pole by 0.0890s over Hughes. Garcia reduced that gap to 0.0054s, but Papasavvas then grew it back up to 0.0351s at the session’s halfway mark.
Velocity Racing Development’s Nikita Johnson got within 0.0037s of Papasavvas’s pace, then on his next lap took the top spot with a 1m13.1752s.
Papasavvas responded by setting a 1m13.0509s, then there was drama as VRD’s Gordon Scully lost his front wing. Two minutes later Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing’s Elliot Cox hit the wall at the timing line.
The session was not disrupted by Scully’s wing being on track, and Douglas got into third place then Papasavvas improved the pole pace to 1m12.8236s. Nobody had a chance to beat him before red flags were then waved as JHDD’s Logan Adams spun into the wall exiting turn eight and came to a stop facing backwards.
Qualifying results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evagoras Papasavvas | JHDD | 1m12.8236s | 13 | |
| 2 | Nikita Johnson | VRD | 1m13.1640s | +0.3404s | 12 |
| 3 | Jacob Douglas | Pabst Racing | 1m13.2521s | +0.4285s | 11 |
| 4 | Max Garcia | Pabst Racing | 1m13.3216s | +0.4980s | 11 |
| 5 | Lochie Hughes | JHDD | 1m13.4052s | +0.5816s | 10 |
| 6 | Simon Sikes | Pabst Racing | 1m13.5401s | +0.7165s | 11 |
| 7 | Jorge Garciarce | DEForce Racing | 1m13.5743s | +0.7507s | 13 |
| 8 | Al Morey | JHDD | 1m13.6431s | +0.8195s | 13 |
| 9 | Sam Corry | Velocity Racing Development | 1m13.6465s | +0.8229s | 11 |
| 10 | Nico Christodoulou | VRD | 1m13.7283s | +0.9047s | 12 |
| 11 | Chase Gardner | Exclusive Autosport | 1m13.7613s | +0.9377s | 12 |
| 12 | Mac Clark | DEForce Racing | 1m13.8194s | +0.9958s | 11 |
| 13 | Logan Adams | JHDD | 1m14.1118s | +1.2882s | 13 |
| 14 | Elliot Cox | SFHR | 1m14.4267s | +1.6031s | 10 |
| 15 | Maxwell Jamieson | DEForce Racing | 1m14.8338s | +2.0102s | 13 |
| 16 | Gordon Scully | VRD | 1m14.8496s | +2.0260s | 13 |
| 17 | Avery Towns | Exclusive Autosport | 1m15.1264s | +2.3028s | 13 |
| 18 | Joey Brienza | Exclusive Autosport | 1m16.0758s | +3.2522s | 12 |