Louisiana racer Alex Ardoin repeating his 2009 Trois-Rivieres victory driving a one-off race for Team GDT in Round 10 of the Star Mazda Championship at the 41st annual GP3R. Following him across the finish line was Venezuelan racer Jorge Goncalvez in the No. 9 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda, followed by polesitter and championship leader Conor Daly in the No. 22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda.
Finishing first in the Expert Series (drivers 30-44) was Texan J.W. Roberts in the No. 65 Team GDT / General Data Tech Mazda; Roberts is the owner of Team GDT and the man responsible for Ardoin being in the team's spare car. The leading Master Series driver (45 and older) was Puerto Rican racer Carlos Conde in the No. 31 Team GDT / Pronto-GMT / Olympus Securities Mazda. Altogether a great weekend for Team GDT, winning the main race (the team's first-ever main-event victory), as well as both the Expert and Master Series events that comprise the race within a race that are part of every Star Mazda Championship race.
"A week ago I had no idea I'd be here, much less winning the race, so this just goes to show how things can happen to your in life," says Ardoin who, although a three-season veteran of Star Mazda competition and previous race winner, hasn't driven a racecar in almost a year. "Paul Mata and the Team GDT crew gave me both a tremendous opportunity and a great car.
"I got a great start and was battling with Conor Daly and Anders Krohn at the start, but then there was a yellow flag that bunched up the field and I was able to move up a place on the re-start and then finally passed both Anders Krohn and Conor for the lead. He and I were pretty much nose to tail for the rest of the race and I feel it was a real accomplishment to win this race and give my career a shot in the arm right when it needs it most. J.W. Roberts and I have been friends and competitors since the tubeframe Formula Mazdas back in 2003, and I'm delighted to be part of this historic weekend for the team."
The result left the championship battle relatively unchanged since Ardoin was in as a one-off and thus not eligible for points. Daly's third-place finish left him leading the championship with seven poles, five wins and 409 points. Norwegian racer Anders Krohn, who started alongside Daly on the front row in his No. 47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda, remains second in the championship with 351 points, one pole, five podiums and a top-5 finish in every race so far this season. Brazilian racer Caio Lara, who drove his No. 19 JDC Motorsports / MLD / ATW Mazda to is first-ever victory in Race 1 / Round 6 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, finished sixth today but remains third in the championship with one win, three podiums, a top-10 finish in every race this season and 320 points.