Alessandro De Tullio vaulted himself into contention for the inaugural USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires championship title following a weekend sweep of the Cooper Tires VIR Grand Prix for Velocity Racing Development at VIRginia International Raceway. A couple of weeks shy of his 16th birthday, De Tullio made hard work of winning the second race Sunday morning, recovering after an early error dropped him to the back of the pack. He led the majority of this afternoon’s finale and held off points leader Mac Clark (DEForce Racing) by less than three tenths of a second.

Titus Sherlock (Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport) and Alan Isambard (International Motorsport) both claimed their maiden podium finishes following a dramatic race this morning, while De Tullio’s teammate, Sam Corry finished third in an all-green 15-lap weekend finale.

The morning race began with a sense of normality as Clark lined up at the head of the starting grid. Clark, having won each of the first four races of the season, secured his fifth Cooper Tires Pole Award by virtue of posting the fastest second-best lap among the field during the lone qualifying session on Saturday morning.

Start of Race 2. Jose Mario Dias

It didn’t stay that way for long. A hectic beginning to the race included a couple of full-course cautions, plus a brief red-flag stoppage while damaged cars were removed from the scene of an incident in Turn 15. Clark maintained his position in front through the opening dramas but was unable to break away from an array of challengers once the race was restarted for a four-lap uninterrupted run to the checkered flag.

Positions changed regularly as De Tullio powered through from the back of the pack after he had slipped off the road in Turn One earlier in the race. Remarkably, he made up eight positions in just three laps and was running fifth as the leading pack of cars began their final trip around the 3.27-mile circuit.

De Tullio’s task was eased by an incident at the end of the long back straightaway between Clark, who had held the lead, Corry and Nikita Johnson aboard another VRD Ligier JS. Corry crossed the line in second place but later was relegated to 12th after being served with a 30-second penalty for avoidable contact following an earlier clash with Jeremy Fairbairn (Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport). A disappointed Clark recovered to finish 10th, while Johnson, who fell to the back of the field, was also issued a penalty from Race Control for his part in the final-lap incident.

Sherlock and Isambard were credited with second and third, while Jake Bonilla (DEForce Racing), Elliot Cox (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development) and Andre Castro (International Motorsports) were within one second of the race winner at the checkered flag.

Sunday afternoon’s race was less dramatic but no less exciting as Clark, who once again started from pole position, waged a race-long battle with VRD teammates De Tullio, Corry and Johnson. Once again it came down to the final lap. This time it was relatively clean, although Johnson found himself on the grass at the exit of the Roller Coaster section less than a half-mile from the finish line, which resulted in him falling from second to fourth.

Isambard produced another strong result to finish fifth, well clear of Sherlock who narrowly headed Bonilla, Castro and Ethan Ho (DC Autosport w/Cape Motorsports).

Weekend sweep for Alessandro De Tullio. Jose Mario Dias