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PORTLAND, Ore. – Zanella Racing teammates Leonardo Escorpioni and Ty Fisher claimed a victory apiece in today’s pair of chaotic races that concluded the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Portland and the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire season. Escorpioni’s triumph in the opening race was enough to clinch the championship, while Zanella also tied up the Teams Championship by a comfortable margin.

Australian Liam Loiacono (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Australia, and Mexico’s Rodrigo Gonzalez (DEForce Racing) finished second and third in the first race of the day, while Escorpioni backed up his teammate Fisher by taking second in the concluding event ahead of Gonzalez’s younger brother Patricio.

Race 2 Results
Race 3 Results

The grid for this afternoon’s first race (and second of the weekend) was determined by each driver’s second-fastest lap during the lone qualifying session on Friday, and once again saw Escorpioni at the sharp end of the field to earn the talented, 15-year-old, Florida-domiciled Brazilian his fifth Continental Tire Pole Award of the season.

Escorpioni made another exemplary start from pole position, and was already well clear of his pursuers by the exit of the first couple of corners. Behind, it was a different story with much jockeying of position. Mexico City’s Rodrigo Gonzalez jumped from third to second on the opening lap, while Loiacono also was on the move, up to third from sixth on the grid.

Escorpioni continued to blaze a trail at the front, pulling out more than 2.5 seconds before his advantage was trimmed to nothing after five laps due to an incident further down the field which necessitated a full-course caution.

It was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Escorpioni once again jumped clear at the restart, and even though his closest title rival, Loiacono, was able to find a way past Gonzalez, there was no catching the Zanella Racing entry which continued to extend its lead.

Another full-course caution once again closed up the field and ensured that the race would finish under caution. Escorpioni was therefore assured of his sixth win of the season – and a well deserved scholarship valued at just under $250,000 to graduate to USF2000 next season.

Rodrigo Gonzalez prevailed for the final podium position, followed by Oliver Wheldon (VRD Racing), from St. Petersburg, Fla., who finally put a sequence of misfortune behind him, Patricio Gonzalez, Joao Vergara (VRD Racing), from Miami, Fla., and Fisher, from White Rock, B.C., Canada, who had been instructed by Race Control to cede one position for blocking.

Zanella Racing’s Diego Guiot, from The Woodlands, Texas, pocketed the Tilton Hard Charger Award after rising to eighth from 13th on the starting grid.

The second race later in the evening was equally dramatic and began with a couple of early full-course cautions due to a variety of incidents at the notoriously demanding first turn.

Escorpioni, after winning another Continental Tire Pole Award, took control from the outset, although at the first restart, which came on Lap Three, there was drama immediately in his mirrors as Loiacono was hit from behind and clattered into an unsuspecting and unfortunate Wheldon, who had been hoping to finish his season on a high. The incident sidelined Loiacono with a broken front wing, while Wheldon picked up a slow puncture that only really became apparent once the race had been restarted again. He duly lost a lap while a wheel was replaced in the pits.

Fisher, too, had some difficulties, running through the escape road after having been running directly behind Loiacono, which subsequently earned him a five-second penalty.

As soon as Wheldon found his car hobbled by the puncture at the restart, Fisher deftly moved through into second place ahead of P. Gonzalez.

A couple of laps later, Escorpioni slowed into Turn Seven, which allowed his teammate to move into the lead. Thereafter, Fisher was able to pull out enough of an advantage to overcome his penalty.

Once that had been achieved, Escorpioni displayed his true pace by setting the fastest lap of the race as he pulled clear of Gonzalez in third. On the last lap, Vergara attempted to sneak past Gonzalez at the final corner, but instead indulged in a quick spin which dropped him to sixth at the finish behind the elder Gonzalez and Guiot, who picked up another Tilton Hard Charger Award after having started 13th.

Jose and Jessica Zanella capped their day by picking up another pair of PFC Award as the winning car owners.

Escorpioni and Zanella Racing will reap the benefits of their season on Monday when USF Pro Championships holds its traditional Championship Celebration on the banks of the majestic Columbia River. After that, the focus will switch to a brand-new USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire season in 2026.

Provisional championship points after 16 of 16 races:

1. Leonardo Escorpioni, 403

2. Liam Loiacono, 332

3. Joao Vergara, 292

4. Ty Fisher, 285

5. Oliver Wheldon, 250

6. Rodrigo Gonzalez, 235

7. Vilho Aatola, 234

8. Patricio Gonzalez, 208

9. Diego Guiot, 198

10. Brenden Cooley, 166

Race 2 Quotes:

Leonardo Escorpioni (#55 Quilt/Peer 1/Mensalize-Zanella Racing Tatuus JR-23): “This is amazing. I am so thankful for the whole Zanella crew. I wouldn’t be here without them. The car this weekend has been surreal. It is the perfect way to close out the championship with two wins already. I am just happy and I am ready to go out for the third race and have some fun. Moving up to USF2000 has been on my mind the whole weekend. I am ready for it. It is a new challenge for me and the team so we will see how it goes. This has been a project in the making since I joined the team in 2021 in go-karts. [Team Owner Jose] “Naka” [Zanella] and I have been trying to win a championship since then. How much I have improved as a driver and how much Naka and I know each other now, it is almost surreal how far we have come and I am so proud of everyone there.”

Liam Loiacono (#6 Heli America Inc./JW Winco-Jay Howard Driver Development Tatuus JR-23): “We did what we could. Unfortunately, we didn’t go green in the end. I would have liked to have seen a huge move. To come from sixth to second is not too bad. It would have been nice to get a position forward and still have a chance at the title. After a sort of rubbish first half of the year, we managed to scrape something together.”

Rodrigo Gonzalez (#18 Arkansas State University Queretaro/Torre Skala-DEForce Racing Tatuus JR-23): “This one was tough. I lost second position there at the end and I had to defend for the last couple of laps. Overall, I think it was a good race with old tires. My pace was pretty good.”

Race 3 Quotes:

Ty Fisher (#37 Cedar Coast/Zanella Racing Tatuus JR-23): “It feels really good to finish the season with a win. We had the pace all weekend here and all year we really had the pace. No matter what track, what conditions, we have always been the fastest. To get the win here at the last race feels really good. A huge thanks to my teammate Leo. I couldn’t have done it without him and everyone at Zanella, and my family for coming here and supporting me. It was one of the most fun races I have had in a while.”

Leonardo Escorpioni (#55 Qwilt/Peer 1/Mensalize-Zanella Racing Tatuus JR-23): “I am so happy for Ty to finish off this weekend with a win. It was honestly amazing and I am so thankful for the team. This was the only race I was not tense at all [after clinching the championship]. I was having fun battling with people and it was really good way to end my last race in the series.”

Patricio Gonzalez (#15 Arkansas State University Queretaro/Torre Skala-DEForce Racing Tatuus JR-23): “The race was amazing. I managed to get a good start and managed to go with the three leaders. From there, it was hanging on with Escorpioni to stay in the tow and not make any mistakes.”