AVONDALE, La. — Gastón Irazú led from lights to checkers in Ligier Formula Junior Championship (Ligier JFC) to win an all-green Race 3 at NOLA Motorsports Park on Sunday morning.
After a penalty on Friday, Irazú showed great resilience, winning two of the weekend’s three races and finishing second in the other. With the results, the Uruguayan leaves the NOLA SpeedTour as the Ligier JFC points leader.
The event aired LIVE on SPEED SPORT 1.
After setting the fast lap in Race 2, Irazú led the field down the starting grid with Harbir Dass (No. 23 Northcoast Medical Group / Dass Psych LLC/Berg Racing Ligier JS F4) to his outside. When the lights went out, the field flanked three wide, with Max Mokarem (No. 46 Momentum Motorsports Ligier JS F4) getting the best jump from his fourth-place starting position and taking the lead as they raced toward Turn 1. With a slight lock up for Mokarem in Turn 4, Irazú was able to pull wheel to wheel with the youngster and regain the lead.
Irazú focused his attention forward, pulling away from the field, while those behind him jockeyed for position. The opening laps were filled with fierce battles and side-by-side racing. The fight for second was especially heated, as Mokarem was challenged by Daniel Cará (No. 10 Tenuta Foppa & Ambrosi Wines/WorkHub Ligier JS F4), Dass and Drew Szuch (No. 28 Berg Racing Ligier JS F4).
Cará finally established his holding on the position after a side-by-side battle with Dass, where the two made contact after getting loose in Turn 6. With Cará emerging as the frontrunner, Dass was left to duke it out with teammate Szuch and Mokarem. Cleared from traffic, Cará, like Irazú, was able to start gapping the competition while a train of Ligier JS F416s followed in his wake, looking for the right opportunity to pick up a position.
As the race neared its halfway point, Irazú held a more than seven-second lead over Cará. Six seconds behind Cará, Mokarem had settled into third. With the race staying green for the entire 30 minutes, all three drivers were able to slowly build a gap of their own as they sailed toward the finish line.
Taking the checkered flag, Irazú held a 7.381-second margin, with Cará in second and Mokarem in third.
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