MDL Racing up-and-comer made the most of every session to exit Long Beach race with top-five finish

Owner/driver Matthew Di Leo's first foray into the Firestone Indy Lights series on Sunday (April 21) during the Long Beach Grand Prix proved to be a successful affair. The highly-regarded Canadian not only avoided the expected incidents on the famed California street circuit, but gained valuable race experience en route to a strong top-five finish. The stage is now set for Di Leo to enjoy further success behind the wheel of his MDL Racing entry in 2013. 

After two seasons of USF2000 Championship competition, which was highlighted by finishing fourth (tops among both the single-car and privateer contingents) in the 2012 title fight, Di Leo and MDL Racing elected to make the move up the motorsports ladder, joining the Indy Lights Series. Round Three on the streets of Long Beach, Calif., marked the first chance for the Canadian-based squad to go head-to-head against several of the top junior formula car racers and teams in North America. 

Given Di Leo entered the demanding southern California street circuit event having only previously done a two tests in his new Indy Lights racing steed, the goal was simple...learn as much as possible, and bring the car home in one piece. With that in mind, both Friday's first practice run and Saturday morning's second and final practice session featured the teenage racer turning plenty of laps. Completing 48 event-free tours over the two outings, Di Leo not only got acclimated to the concrete-lined 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary track, but became more and more familiar with the handling and characteristics of his No. 56 RES Precast Inc./MDL Racing entry. 

While the talented 18 year-old, who has winning record in both the Canadian F1600 and karting ranks, is always seeking to find more speed challenge for top honors, when the lone qualifying session took place on Saturday afternoon, he was focused on gaining more valuable seat time and gathering data to analyze. In the end, Di Leo posted the ninth quickest time, further improving his best lap. 

When the green flag waved for race three of the 12-race Indy Lights schedule on Sunday morning, Di Leo was well aware of the potential for incidents. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened, as three of the front-runners collided entering the first turn. Di Leo, determined to run trouble-free, promptly avoided the incident and debris before the safety car emerged to slow and gather the rest of the field. Unfortunately, during the full-course caution Di Leo spun, causing him to lose a lap and fall to the back of the pack. Di Leo, however, quickly put the incident behind him, keen to steadily find more speed as the race progressed. Avoiding another multi-car incident, the Innisfil, Ont., native ran mistake-free for the remainder of the 41-lap race, gaining vital race experience en route to strong top-five finish. 

"All in all Long Beach was a great learning experience for the team, and especially for me," stated Di Leo. "I'm going to do some more testing to better prepare myself for the upcoming race in Toronto." 

Di Leo and his MDL Racing outfit continue their rookie campaign in the Firestone Indy Lights series on July 13, when the squad races as part of its home event, the Honda Indy Toronto. 

Learn more about Matthew Di Leo and MDL Racing at www.MatthewDiLeo.com

Photo by John Cote / INDYCAR