Kiko Porto kept alive his slender hopes of snatching the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires title with a fine drive in the first of three races that will comprise this weekend’s VP Racing Fuels Grand Prix of Portland. Br azil’s Porto, the 2021 USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires champion, kept his head while others around him perhaps did not as he sped to his second victory in the last three races.
Right behind him in second place, however, was the man who already has one hand on the championship trophy, Pabst Racing with Force Indy’s Myles Rowe. The 22-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., now holds a commanding 52-point lead with a maximum of 66 points on the table from this weekend’s final two races of the season.
Porto’s DEForce Racing teammate Bijoy Garg secured his first ever podium finish with third.
Michael d’Orlando looked like being the man to beat. He was second fastest in official practice, then went one better for Turn 3 Motorsport in qualifying by clinching his fourth Cooper Tires Pole Award.
Unfortunately, d’Orlando’s rollercoaster ride this year continued in a familiar vein. He was able to retain the lead following chaos at the first corner, despite opting to take to the escape road at the notorious Festival Curves chicane. Behind him there was carnage as virtually the entire field attempted to occupy the same piece of asphalt. Seven cars were eliminated from the running.
Following a red-flag stoppage to reset the field, d’Orlando once again took to the escape road. This time both he and Lirim Zendeli, who had risen from sixth on the grid to second for TJ Speed Mo torsports, incurred penalties which dropped them to the back of the field.
The major beneficiary was Porto, who had qualified third and was one of the few to take a conventional line at the initial start. The Brazilian adroitly avoided all the carnage and emerged in the lead ahead of Rowe, who had started fifth and also kept his head at the start.