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| June 08, 2012 News |
| EFCN One-on-One: USF2000 Championship Leader Spencer Pigot |
 | Cape Motorsports with Taylor Racing's Spencer Pigot leads the USF2000 Championship title chase after five races
(Photo: USF2000 Championship - John Hendrick) |
Spencer Pigot has enjoyed a strong start to the 2012 season, leading the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda point standings. The eFormulaCarNews.com editorial staff recently had a chance to speak to Floridian about his race-winning run thus far in the Mazda Road to Indy series.
EFORMULACARNEWS.COM: Let's start things off by talking about your expectations entering the 2012 season. Being as you were returning for a second season of USF2000 Championship action, and you were now driving for the defending series champion Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, what were your goals for the season as a whole, and the opening few races?
SPENCER PIGOT: Well every year the plan is to improve on the previous season. Since I was second in the 2011 USF2000 Championship, the only way to build on it is to win the title this year, and that’s been the goal from day one. We want to win every race, but going into the start of the season we just wanted to get through the first few weekends without and problems. There are always a lot of cars at the opening rounds, so making it through clean and picking up good points was important.
EFCN: You had the added benefit of entering the 2012 season having already captured the Cooper Tires Winterfest title via a near perfect run of five wins in six races. How important was that in building momentum and chemistry within the team prior to the full USF2000 campaign getting underway?
PIGOT: The Winterfest title was really important for me. Even though I had done a year in the series already, I hadn’t worked much with the Capes before then. I was learning how they operated and what they expected from their drivers. It was a successful championship, and we worked really well together, which gave us all a lot of confidence leading into the main series.
EFCN: You've already shown this season you can win on variety of tracks, scoring victories on a road course (Sebring International Raceway), street circuit (St. Petersburg), and oval (Lucas Oil Raceway). How important is that?
PIGOT: It’s very important, not only for this season, but hopefully one day I’ll be racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series, which obviously races on everything. It’s great that the Mazda Road to Indy series visit each type of circuit, because they’re all extremely different. To get the experience switching back and forth between them is a good skill to learn for the future.
EFCN: What do you think has been the key to your early season success (four wins in five races)?
PIGOT: I think one of the keys has been being aggressive on the starts and restarts. Either being able to keep the lead, or getting into the lead, because the tracks we have raced at so far have been pretty difficult to pass on, especially St. Pete and Lucas Oil Raceway. Getting into the lead and being able to control the race from out front has been important. Also being consistent in the races has helped a lot. The car has been really good throughout the race distance, which allows me to do quick laps from start to finish and maintain the gap to second.
 | In winning four of the opening five races, Pigot has stood on the top step of the podium at a road course, street circuit, and oval
(Photo: USF2000 Championship - John Hendrick) |
EFCN: Thus far your biggest challenge for top honors has come from your rookie teammate Matthew Brabham. What has that been like? Is it easier or more difficult to be battling a teammate race after race?
PIGOT: Battling with your teammate always has its ups and downs, but so far the environment in the team is really good. We all get along really well and work together so that everyone improves. Obviously being teammates we can look at each other’s data, so we can see where we are gaining or losing time, which is a good and bad thing! It’s great to have if he’s doing a corner better than I am, but if I’m a bit quicker my toughest competitor knows how I’m doing it. I’m sure he feels the same way! But that’s what being a team is all about, helping and pushing each other to the limit. Matt has been extremely fast everywhere we’ve been, and I’m sure he will be for the rest of the year, which doesn’t make my job any easier!
EFCN: Looking ahead, what races are you most looking forward to, and which do you think will be the most challenging?
PIGOT: I think they’re all going to be tough. There are a lot of drivers that have been getting quicker each weekend, so I’m sure there will be more guys fighting for wins. Baltimore will be difficult, every street course is. Having said that, I’m really looking forward to going back there because it was a great event. I’m also excited to get to Mid-Ohio. We were fastest there in the series tests, so hopefully we will be able to keep that advantage in the races.
EFCN: Finally looking at the big picture, what do you think will be the key to potentially winning the USF2000 Championship title?
PIGOT: I think if we just keep doing what we’re doing, the title will take care of itself. The team and I are working great together. They’re giving me a car to win every weekend. It’s not going to be easy, Matt will be pushing me the entire way, but if we keep setting the car up as well as we have been, I’m confident we will be able to get it done.
EFCN: Thank you for taking the time to speak to us.
PIGOT: Thanks a lot for talking with. I always enjoy speaking with EFCN and its readers.
For additional EFCN One-on-One features, please visit HERE |
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