GB4 race winner Liam McNeilly enjoyed a sensational opening round of the USF Juniors series last weekend (6-7 April), as the season got underway at NOLA Motorsports Park.
The British driver, who won in GB4 at Oulton Park and Donington Park last season with Fox Motorsport, has made the move to the USA for his latest campaign, and made an instant impression with two pole positions and a win, plus two further podiums.
McNeilly qualified first for his maiden USA single-seater contest, lapping over half a second quicker than the nearest rival in his qualifying group, and though he was demoted to third on the first lap, he fought back to second in the opening encounter.
From second on the grid in race two, his fortunes were reversed when he overtook Sebastian Wheldon (son of late IndyCar champion Dan) after a wheel to wheel battle following a safety car restart, and then led the remainder of the contest to take his first win.
His excellent season starter came to a strong end with his third podium of the meeting, this time a third place in the final event.
McNeilly sits second in the early championship standings, just nine points behind Wheldon and 19 clear of the nearest other runners.
“I had a good day here at Nola” McNeilly said. “I qualified second overall and managed to convert that to a win in race two. I was on pole for race three, I had a good start and then dropped back a few places. I managed to get my way back up to third, which I managed through the rest of the race. A good start to the season and hopefully we will build on that for Barber.”
