Australian Lochie Hughes took no time transitioning to his new Turn 3 Motorsport team when he secured pole position on Friday morning for the first USF Pro 2000 race of the season.

Hughes was just on the cusp of breaking the 70-second barrier with his pole-setting time of 1:10.161. He finished ahead of Turn 3 teammate Danny Dyszelski who finished three-tenths behind with a 1:10.479. Just behind the both of them, reigning New Zealand Grand Prix winner and TJ Speed Motorsports driver Liam Sceats rounded out the top three.

The USF2000 session started after and had a brief red flag period due to an incident involving Pabst Racing’s Hudson Schwartz where he collided with the wall in turn four. His teammates Max Garcia and Sam Corry had better luck for the session, securing a front-row lockout for Pabst Racing.

Garcia finished qualifying in first with a 1:13.331. Corry was right behind him with a 1:13.494 in second place, putting him three-tenths above reigning USF Juniors champion and DEForce Racing driver Nicolas Giaffone, who capped off the top-three spots with a 1:13.795.

There are two USF Pro 2000 races this weekend. Race 1 will take place tomorrow at 11:55 a.m. local time in Florida while the second race will be on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. local time.

The two USF2000 races are at 4:20 p.m. local time this afternoon and then 4:45 p.m. tomorrow.

This is the only qualifying session for both series. The grids for the second races will be decided on either the drivers second fastest lap in qualifying or their fastest lap in the first race based on whichever is quickest.

Attached are the full unofficial USF Pro 2000 results (R indicates series rookie):

1. Lochie Hughes – 1:10.161
2. Danny Dyszelski (R) – 1:10.479
3. Liam Sceats (R) – 1:10.526
4. Christian Brooks – 1:10.551
5. Nikita Johnson – 1:10.568
6. Jace Denmark – 1:10.622
7. Simon Sikes (R) – 1:10.646
8. Ricardo Escotto – 1:10.647
9. Frankie Mossman – 1:10.694
10. Braden Eves – 1:10.700
11. Mac Clark (R) – 1:10.770
12. Ethan Ho (R) – 1:10.808
13. David Morales (R) – 1:10.834
14. Tyke Durst (R) – 1:10.882
15. Hunter Yeany – 1:10.891
16. Nicolas Baptiste (R) – 1:10.931
17. Adam Fitzgerald (R) – 1:11.136
18. Shawn Rashid (R) – 1:11.388
19. Nicholas Monteiro – 1:11.552
20. Jorge Garciarce (R) – 1:11.664
21. Logan Adams (R) – 1:11.674
22. Avery Towns – 1:11.849

Attached are the full unofficial USF2000 results (R indicates series rookie):

1. Max Garcia – 1:13.331
2. Sam Corry – 1:13.494
3. Nicolas Giaffone (R) – 1:13.795
4. Evagoras Papasavvas – 1:13.900
5. Elliot Cox – 1:13.976
6. Nico Christodoulou – 1:14.010
7. Max Taylor – 1:14.056
8. Quinn Armstrong (R) – 1:14.245
9. Michael Costello (R) – 1:14.255
10. Ayrton Houk – 1:14.346
11. Jack Jeffers (R) – 1:14.409
12. Joey Brienza (R) – 1:14.481
13. Xavier Kokai (R) – 1:14.567
14. Cole Kleck (R) – 1:14.586
15. Thomas Schrage – 1:14.744
16. Maxwell Jamieson – 1:14.976
17. Carson Etter – 1:14.987
18. Lucas Fecury (R) – 1:15.105
19. Brady Golan (R) – 1:15.284
20. Hudson Schwartz (R) – 1:16.245