Turn 3 Motorsport will return to the street course as reigning USF Pro 2000 race winners
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Turn 3 Motorsport is set for the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Continental Tire season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida this weekend. The team will return to the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit as the reigning pole and race winners in both 2022 and 2023 and will field five cars in the competitive development series with drivers Adam Fitzgerald, Danny Dyszelski, Tyke Durst, Lochie Hughes and Ethan Ho.
Driving the #2 Galway Hooker car will be 20-year-old Adam Fitzgerald from Galway, Ireland who most recently competed in the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship and the 2022 British Formula 4 Championship and Italian Formula 4 Championship where he earned several top-10 finishes. Following a successful pre-season test program with Turn 3 Motorsport, Fitzgerald is ready for his USF Pro 2000 racing debut in St. Petersburg this weekend.
#2 Adam Fitzgerald:
“I'm very excited to get the season started, and starting it at St. Petersburg definitely adds to that excitement. Racing on a street circuit is a new experience for me, but I'm as prepared as possible, and that gives me a lot of confidence. My goal for the weekend is to strike the balance between being on the limit when it matters and being controlled when I need to be. You can't win the championship in the first round, but you can easily cause yourself more trouble than needed. It's important to complete all the laps and get that valuable experience to carry forward into the rest of the season.”
In the #3 Vera Guitars / Formula Imports / Charlotte Mechanical car will be 15-year-old Danny Dyszelski from Charlotte, North Carolina. The young American had a busy season in 2023, driving in both the USF2000 Championship and the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America Pro 1500 Championship before joining Turn 3 for his USF Pro 2000 debut at the Portland International Raceway season finale where he qualified seventh and had a best result of ninth in Race 3. Now, Dyszelski is set to take on his first full season campaign in the USF Pro 2000 series as a championship contender.
#3 Danny Dyszelski:
“I’m really excited to start the USF Pro 2000 season with Turn 3 Motorsport in St. Petersburg this weekend. We have had a strong pre-season test program to get ready for the season, and I hope that I can learn as much as I can over the doubleheader race weekend and have a good start to the season.”
In the #33 FHI / Relay Payments / Drive Toward a Cure car will be 20-year-old Tyke Durst from Charlotte, North Carolina. Durst is joining the USF Pro Championships ladder as a rookie driver after running in two seasons in the F4 U.S. Championship where he earned multiple top-ten finishes in the series. Although relatively new to the sport, Durst has showed commitment and dedication to being competitive quickly; he proved this by ending up fifth fastest in Test Session 2 at Spring Training in NOLA last week, showing great potential for a strong debut in the USF Pro 2000 series.
#33 Tyke Durst :
“I’m excited to get going with the wonderful Turn 3 Motorsport team here in St. Petersburg. The work we have put in ahead of the season has put us in a good position going into the opening round. The most important thing this weekend with the #33 car is to complete every lap and maximize what we have. If we can do that, then the results will take care of themselves.”
Driving the #44 car for Turn 3 Motorsport is USF2000 Hyperco Rookie of the Year and third place finisher Lochie Hughes from Gold Coast, Australia. In his USF2000 debut on the streets of St. Petersburg last year, the 21-year-old rookie claimed the first pole position and subsequent win of the season followed by another podium finish in Race 2, leaving the weekend with the championship lead in hand. Just last week, Hughes claimed the fastest overall time at official Spring Training in NOLA, setting a strong benchmark for the start of the USF Pro 2000 season.
#44 Lochie Hughes:
“I’m really looking forward to getting the season underway this weekend. Pre-season testing with Turn 3 Motorsport has been really good, so I’m feeling excited to get the championship going on the streets of St. Petersburg and seeing what we can do in the #44 car!”
Rounding out the five car lineup for Turn 3 Motorsport is Ethan Ho from Los Angeles, California in the #68 Fubon Bank / Triple S / KRC / Molecule / JiuZhou car. The 18-year-old Taiwanese-American is moving up to the USF Pro 2000 series after competing in both USF Juniors and USF2000 last year – the first two rungs of the USF Pro Championships ladder – where he achieved a best result of third at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in USF Juniors and fifth at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in USF2000.
#68 Ethan Ho:
“I’m super excited for my first USF Pro 2000 race here in St. Petersburg. We have done a lot of preparation and testing throughout the off season, and I feel ready to tackle the streets of St. Petersburg this weekend. I can’t wait to get on track and get the weekend started.”
“I’m really looking forward to getting the 2024 USF Pro 2000 season underway this weekend in St. Petersburg,” added Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “Our pre-season testing has gone really well, and all five of our drivers are ready for the challenge of the streets of St. Petersburg. I’m excited to get out there and see what we can do.”
Weekend events begin on Friday with official Practice and Qualifying sessions. Saturday and Sunday will each host a 25-lap race for the USF Pro 2000 Series. Live video coverage will be available on the USF Pro Championships app and YouTube channels throughout the weekend.