Carlin’s Zachary Claman De Melo took his maiden win in Race 2 at Road America for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. Claman De Melo quickly moved up from his fourth starting position to overtake pole sitter Colton Herta in the opening laps with an inside move between turns 5 and 6. The 19-year-old Canadian dominated the race from there to win by more than ten seconds.
“It’s such a great feeling, I’m just really at a loss for words,” said a jubilant Claman De Melo, who now sits seventh in the championship following his win. “I can’t thank the people who helped get me here enough. It was such a great turnaround from Race One. Getting the win – and by such a big margin – shows that I am here to win races and fight for the championship.”
Kyle Kaiser outdueled Herta for second, which will see him extend his points lead, while Herta held on for a much needed podium, his best result since his victory in Race 2 at Barber Motorsports Park.
Matheus Leist was fourth while Aaron Telitz rebounded from a difficult Race 1, in which he finished 11th, to finish fifth in Race 2.
Of note: Santi Urrutia had the scariest moment of the race on the final lap, when his left-rear tire exploded on the run to Canada Corner. However, he was able to limp back around to finish tenth.
Kaiser now leads Leist by 27 points, with Herta 38 points out of the lead in third. Nico Jamin (-40) and Aaron Telitz (-50) complete the top five in the championship.
Results are below. Race 2 will air Monday June 26 at 12:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Congratulations to 19-yr-old Canadian @ZCD13 on his first Mazda Road to Indy victory. Another dominating performance by @CarlinRacing. #MRTI pic.twitter.com/Jc3sM6H9QJ
— Mazda Motorsports (@MazdaRacing) June 25, 2017