Yacaman Victorious in Toronto After Guerrueri and Vautier Make Contact

When title rivals Esteban Guerrieri and Tristan Vautier made contact before the race even got to the first turn, it opened the door wide open for other drivers to take advantage. On lap 13, Gustavo Yacaman dove up the inside of then leader Victor Carbone and then set sail, cruising to his third career Firestone Indy Lights wins.

I was really happy with how the race went and when I got to the front I knew I had a winning car. We had some gear box issues but still stayed in first position even though Sebastian Saavedra was right behind me the whole way. Hey it's another win and out pockets - it's so good to win in Toronto. This is great for the whole team. We win again.I am so happy."

However, he admitted that the first corner was too close of a call for his taste. "That was a wild first corner. I am not sure what those guys were thinking. We're not in bumper cars, you know, drivers were banging all around. I was lucky to stay out of trouble, and I got hit from behind and got bounced around but nothing happen to me or my car."

At the start, Tristan Vautier attempted an outside pass on Guerrieri, who jumped around Carbone and into the lead as the field approached turn one. However, the teammates made hard contact, damaging Guerrieri's front wing and sending Vautier into the outside wall, which damaged his suspension and front wing. Guerrieri would get back to the pits and fit on a new nose cone, allowing to come back and finish sixth. But, Vautier would spin later on during the first lap and fail to finish.

"It's a big shame," explained a heartbroken Vautier afterward. "I had a very good run at the start. I was next to Esteban and it's hard to tell how much room he had, so I decided to go very wide. Through the corner, my ends were straight and he clipped me. I want to watch the video again. We're racing for a championship. For sure, we were all running very hard. I feel like I gave him enough room. It's too bad. We had a fast car. We were the fastest on the dry yesterday. We were P1 when this happened. I realized the car was broken in Turn 1, but I didn't know how damaged it was. So, I kept driving it. It's a shame and so disappointing. But it's racing and just a part of it."

Guerrieri admitted that he bogged down somewhat, allowing Vautier a run at him, which ultimately set the stage for their trouble. "We had a very slow start. In the first corner I got hit from the back and Tristan was on my outside," said the points leader. "Tristan and I made contact and unfortunately Tristan went into the wall. It was a crazy start. I ended up breaking my front wing on the front left tire though. Our strategy was good after the incident because we stopped once during the caution to change the tire and went back out to avoid going one lap down. We then came back in a second time still under caution to change the front wing. Unfortunately we got stuck behind the safety vehicle and ended up going a lap down."

Up front, Sebastian Saavedra would pass Carbone for second on lap 14, but couldn't get close enough to challenge Yacaman. Still, he was pleased to end the day second. "It's great, second place, I'll take it any day," said the AFS/Andretti Autosport driver. "Crazy start, I knew it was going to be crazy but not that much. I was able to take advantage and pass a couple of guys, a couple guys went out, and from then on I just battled with the front gusy. A big thanks to the No. 27 car and AFS Racing, amazing race for us. Very good for the championship points, and looking forward to whatever comes next."

Carbone would hold on for third. "It was hard work," said the exhausted Brazilian driver. "I didn't have a good start. Esteban (Guerrieri) got in front of me, but then he got together with Tristan (Vautier) and just tried to keep my nose clean to be honest. And then those two guys (Saavedra and Yacaman) just had less downforce. They were able to run at more top speed than me, and I was able to get a good run as I wanted to keep them behind. So another third place, and I'm happy, but we need to improve from here on, so we'll see."

The Firestone Indy Lights now takes a week off before heading to Edmonton, Alberta in two weeks.

Full results of the race on Toronto

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