Archives for USF Pro 2000 PR
Telitz Edges O’Ward in Two-Day Pro Mazda Spring Training
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Andersen Promotions Announces USF2000/Pro Mazda Chassis Manufacturer
SOURCE: Andersen Promotions Andersen Promotions Announces USF2000/Pro Mazda Chassis Manufacturer New USF2000 Entry to be Unveiled during 2016 Indianapolis 500 PALMETTO, Fla. (October 29, 2015) – Andersen Promotions today announced that Tatuus has been chosen to design and manufacture the next generation of chassis for the first two levels of the Mazda Road to Indy…
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Double for Grist Promotes him to Third in Pro Mazda Points Chase
Double for Grist Promotes him to Third in Pro Mazda Points Chase
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Meet the Contenders: Urrutia and Alberico
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Andersen Promotions Announces New USF2000/Pro Mazda Chassis Plans
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Alberico Wins at Mid-Ohio to Maintain Pro Mazda Title Challenge
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Champions from Around the World to Contest Mazda Road to Indy Shootout
Unparalleled Program Rewards with $200K USF2000 Scholarship
LEXINGTON, Ohio (August 1) – The Mazda Road to Indy has attracted drivers from around the globe since its launch in 2010. For this weekend’s seven rounds of competition at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 13 countries are represented across the three development series’ grids in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Now the quest for a Mazda scholarship to enter the USF2000 ranks will have more global appeal following today’s announcement that the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout will include the champions of select junior level open-wheel and karting series in 2016 from around the world.
The Shootout will be an unprecedented event, bringing the champions of North American and international series together for the first time in a knockout-style format. Each participating series will be able to offer its 2016 champion an “entry ticket” to the Shootout, which will be a hotly contested event in the fall of next year. The winner will be awarded a $200K scholarship from Mazda to enter USF2000 in 2017.
A total of 15 drivers will be invited to take part in the Shootout program. Each participating series will be designated as an Official Feeder Series of the Mazda Road to Indy. Series currently confirmed include:
* BRSCC F1600 (England) sanctioned by BRSCC
* Formula Car Challenge Presented by Goodyear (USA) sanctioned by NASA
* Pacific F2000 (USA) sanctioned by SCCA/NASA
* Australian Formula Ford (Australia) sanctioned by Formula Ford Association Inc.
* F2000 Championship Series (USA) sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing
* F1600 Formula F Championship Series (USA) sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing
* ROTAX MAX Challenge (USA) sanctioned by MAXSpeed Group
* Skip Barber Race Series Champion (USA) sanctioned by Skip Barber
* Team USA Scholarship (USA)
* SCCA Runoffs – F1600 and FC (USA) sanctioned by SCCA
“Mazda prides itself on providing the most comprehensive scholarship and ladder system for drivers in open wheel and sports cars,” said John Doonan, Director of Mazda Motorsports in North America. “Now, with the Scholarship Shootout, we can expand the Mazda Road to Indy entry-level opportunity to young champions from around the world. From an aggressive grassroots program to a well-defined ladder system to the top levels of racing in North America, Mazda strives to help develop superstars of the future.”
Current drivers who have moved up the ladder with scholarship programs from Mazda include Luke Gabin, who entered USF2000 with a $200K scholarship in 2015 after winning the Skip Barber Championship Shootout; Florian Latorre, the reigning USF2000 champion who graduated to Pro Mazda; 2014 Pro Mazda champion Spencer Pigot, who has four wins and four poles to date this season in Indy Lights, the most by any driver; and Gabby Chaves, who drives for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Verizon IndyCar Series after capturing last year’s Indy Lights crown.
“The response from the various series about this new program has been incredible and we are thrilled to have them as partners as we help the rising stars of the sport take the next step in their career in USF2000 on the Mazda Road to Indy path,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “I have to thank our terrific partner Mazda for thinking outside the box and opening up this opportunity to so many more drivers. It will be exciting to bring together all of the series champions and watch them compete.”
Full details on all the series involved in the Shootout and competition details will be distributed in the coming months. A current and regularly updated list of all participating series can be found on the usf2000.com website under the “About” section.
The battle for supremacy on the Mazda Road to Indy – the only driver development program of its type in the world offering a clear, scholarship-funded path to the Verizon IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 – is poised to come down to doubleheader title fights at the scenic and challenging Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for its season finale on September 11-13. All three series will be in action with over $2.3 million in season-ending prizes and awards on the line.
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Urrutia Extends Pro Mazda Points Lead with Victory at Mid-Ohio
Lexington, Ohio – Points leader Santi Urrutia took another step toward his goal of winning the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires for Team Pelfrey by virtue of his victory this afternoon in the first of two races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course which will comprise the Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio.
Championship rival Neil Alberico (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing) bounced back to prominence with a second-place finish, while Timothe Buret completed the podium after finding a way past pole-winning Juncos Racing teammate Garett Grist on Lap 6.
Urrutia, from Miguelete, Uruguay, enjoyed a slice of good fortune when early race leader Alberico was instructed by Race Control to drop behind the Team Pelfrey driver after being adjudged to have anticipated the start with a little too much alacrity. At that stage Alberico, who qualified second, was pulling away from the pack, having leaped ahead of Grist at the start line, with Urrutia following him through from fourth on the grid at the rolling start.
Alberico throttled back to negate the 3.5-second advantage he had established, and skillfully managed to allow Urrutia past, as instructed, without losing any more positions.
Urrutia then controlled the remainder of the 30-minute race to secure his third win of the season, while Alberico had to be content with second place, albeit with the consolation of adding a bonus point for posting the fastest lap of the race.
Buret managed to squeeze past the unfortunate Grist when the Canadian was forced to lift off the throttle in order not to make contact with Alberico as the former race leader slotted in behind Urrutia as instructed. Try as he did, the disgruntled Grist was unable to redress the balance.
Florian Latorre (Cape Motorsports) finished fifth ahead of Weiron Tan (Andretti Autosport) and Pato O’Ward (Team Pelfrey), who secured the RePlay XD Move the Race Award for his pass on Victor Franzoni on Lap 7.
Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport) and Franzoni (M1 Racing) completed the top 10.
Contingency Awards included the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award, which went to Urrutia for making up three positions after starting from fourth on the grid, the PFC Award to the winning team, Team Pelfrey, and the Staubli Award to Daniel Burkett, who finished 11th for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing.
The second leg of this weekend’s Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, Round 14 of the 16-round Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, will start at 8:50 AM ET tomorrow. Urrutia holds a 38-point advantage over Alberico with three races remaining this season.
Santi Urrutia (#81 Ancap/BSE/Antel/Corporacion de Maquinaria/Agra Lavalle/Fadisol-Team Pelfrey): “I had a good start behind Neil. He was quite quick. When he got the penalty, I drove to P1. It was a really hard race; he was pushing behind me. But I really didn’t expect this. It was hard, knowing that the five drivers in the championship were the top five in qualifying. Everyone wants to win the championship, and it’s so competitive. We have to continue this way, not making any mistakes. The team has done a great job. This is good for us in the championship. We’ll start third tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens.”
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Six Nationalities Involved in Pro Mazda Championship Battle
By the Numbers Entering Mid-Ohio:
Current Points: Urrutia (251), Tan (224), Alberico (218), Buret (210), O’Ward (203)
Number of Race Winners: 6
Race Wins: Tan (4), Alberico (3), Urrutia (2), Buret (1), Grist (1), Latorre (1)
Number of Podium Finishers: 11
Podiums: Urrutia (6), Tan (6), Buret (6), Alberico (5), O’Ward (3), Latorre (3), Owen (2), Grist (2), Gutierrez (1), Burkett (1), Kellett (1)
Poles: Tan (6), Alberico (2), Urrutia (1), Buret (1), Grist (1), Latorre (1)
For proof of the global appeal of the Mazda Road to Indy, look no further than the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, in which a Uruguayan (Santi Urrutia), a Malaysian (Weiron Tan), an American (Neil Alberico), a Frenchman (Timothe Buret), a Mexican (Pato O’Ward) and a Canadian (Garett Grist) are separated by just 46 points with four races remaining this season. Their quest to win a MAZDASPEED scholarship worth $568,700 to assist in graduation to Indy Lights, the top level of the Mazda Road to Indy, in 2016 will continue this weekend with two races which will comprise the Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio.
Only O’Ward (Team Pelfrey), the youngest driver in the field at 16, has yet to win a race, although perhaps that milestone is just around the corner given his recent string of three podium finishes in as many starts. In fact, O’Ward has scored more points than anyone else during that period of time.
O’Ward’s teammate, Urrutia, holds a healthy 27-point lead in the standings following an impressively consistent first-ever season in North America after learning the tools of his trade in Europe over the past four years. Tan, too, has crossed the Pond after competing in the German Formula 3 series in 2014. The Malaysian has won four times with Andretti Autosport – more than anyone else – including a romp to victory last time out at Iowa Speedway.
Alberico (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing), from Los Gatos, Calif., and Grist (Juncos Racing), from Grimsby, Ont., are the only non-rookies among the top eight in the point standings. Alberico, who finished third in the 2014 title-chase, has struggled to match the form that brought victory in the first two races of the season, while Grist, who struggled in the early races, has found some speed of late after winning his home race in Toronto, Canada, then setting a blistering pace during a subsequent series test at Mid-Ohio.
Buret (Juncos Racing), from Montpellier, France also is in the thick of the points battle with one win and five additional podium finishes to his credit, while countryman Florian Latorre (Cape Motorsports), who won last year at Mid-Ohio en route to the USF2000 championship and a MAZDASPEED scholarship prize to graduate into Pro Mazda, has won once this year.
Mid-Ohio also will see the return of Michael Johnson (JDC MotorSports). The only paralyzed racer on the Mazda Road to Indy was injured in a heavy crash at St. Petersburg, Fla., earlier in the season but the native of Flint, Mich., has been working hard to prepare for his comeback and showed well during the recent open test.
The Pro Mazda teams will continue their preparations for the weekend with three test sessions on Thursday, July 30, followed by another 30-minute practice on Friday and a single qualifying session later in the afternoon. Race One will start at 1:00 PM on Saturday, August 1, and Race Two at 8:50 AM on Sunday. Live timing and commentary for all sessions will be available on the new Mazda Road to Indy App and at promazda.com with live streaming at racecontrol.indycar.com. Special features can be found at RoadToIndy.TV.
Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, Ohio – June 30-July 1, 2015
2.258-mile, 13-turn road course
Entry List
As of July 26, 2015
Track Records:
Qualifying – Ryan Justice 1:18.300 = 103.816 mph May 20, 2006
Race – Daniel Herrington 1:19.970 = 101.648 mph May 20, 2006
No. Driver Hometown Residence Team Sponsors
1. 2 Daniel Burkett (R) Winnipeg, Man., Canada Winnipeg, Man., Canada Cape Motorsports w/WTR Granite Financial Group Inc.
2. 3 Neil Alberico Los Gatos, CA Redlands, CA Cape Motorsports w/WTR Rising Star Racing/Mobe
3. 5 Garett Grist Grimsby, Ont., Canada Grimsby, Ont., Canada Juncos Racing Lander Property Management
4. 6 Timothe Buret (R) Montpellier, France Indianapolis, IN Juncos Racing Broadsign/TRAXX.FM/Driving Koncept
5. 7 Jose Gutierrez Monterrey, Mexico Monterrey, Mexico Juncos Racing Prisma
6. 10 Florian Latorre (R) Libourne, France Auriolles, France Cape Motorsports w/WTR MazdaMotorsports.com/AcSent du Sud-Ouest/COGNY/LATORRE Menuiserie/VISEZ/K1
7. 13 Bobby Eberle* Victoria, TX Houston, TX World Speed Motorsports GOPUSA.com/RaceCast.Me
8. 14 Alessandro Latif (R) London, England London, England World Speed Motorsports Corthay
9. 21 Victor Franzoni (R) Sao Paulo, Brazil Sao Paulo, Brazil M1 Racing AutoEnginuity/Novac Sports
10. 22 Weiron Tan (R) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Houston, TX Andretti Autosport Weiron Tan Andretti Autosport
11. 23 Will Owen (R) Plano, TX Castle Rock, CO Juncos Racing AMR
12. 28 Dalton Kellett Toronto, Ont., Canada Indianapolis, IN Andretti Autosport K-Line Insulators USA, Inc.
13. 54 Michael Johnson Flint, MI Flint, MI JDC MotorSports Universal Coating Inc./BraunAbility
14. 57 Bob Kaminsky* (R) Lockport, IL Lockport, IL Kaminsky Racing, Inc. Slick Locks
15. 80 Raoul Owens (R) Pembrey, England Boston, MA Team Pelfrey Brightspark Ventures
16. 81 Santiago Urrutia (R) Miguelete, Uruguay Miguelete, Uruguay Team Pelfrey Ancap/BSE/Antel/Corporacion de Maquinaria/AgroLavalle/Fadisol
17. 82 Pato O’Ward (R) Monterrey, Mexico San Antonio, TX Team Pelfrey Octane Energy Drink
18. 91 Kyle Connery Stuart, FL Vero Beach, FL JDC MotorSports Hi-Tide Boat Lifts/Connery Concrete
*Expert Class
R = Series Rookie
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Weiron Tan Moves into Title Contention with Runaway Iowa Victory
Newton, Iowa – Weiron Tan and Andretti Autosport kept alive their 100 percent record on the ovals this year by leading from flag-to-flag in this afternoon’s Pro Mazda Iowa 100 at Iowa Speedway, Round 12 of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
The victory was Tan’s second on the ovals and fourth overall during an impressive rookie campaign, vaulting him from fourth to second place in the points standings with just four rounds remaining in the 16-race season.
The 100-lap race was interrupted by just a single full-course caution which came after 16 laps when Alessandro Latif (World Speed Motorsports) spun and collected the wall between Turns One and Two. The Englishman was uninjured.
Tan by then had already established a four-second lead over his nearest pursuer, championship leader Santi Urrutia (Team Pelfrey), and even though that margin was slashed to nothing by the caution, Tan immediately pulled away again at the restart. No one was able to offer a challenge as he romped clear to an astonishing 9.7311-second margin of victory.
Urrutia, from Uruguay, ran confidently in second place for most of the race before coming under pressure firstly from teenaged teammate Pato O’Ward. Dalton Kellett, in a second Andretti Autosport entry, also made up ground in the middle stages of the race, moving up rapidly after a tardy start from fourth on the grid. Kellett fell briefly from fifth to sixth after the restart, then overtook Frenchman Timothe Buret (Juncos Racing), who had made excellent early progress after starting 11th.
Kellett next worked his way past Florian Latorre (Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing), who had run third in the early laps, then overtook the Pelfrey pair, O’Ward and Urrutia, in rapid succession to move into second place on Lap 69. The pass for third place on Lap 65 earned Kellett the RePlay XD Move of the Race Award. The Canadian could do nothing about his own teammate, Tan, who remained well out in front, but second place still represented Kellett’s best-ever finish.
Urrutia battled handling difficulties in the closing stages and slipped to fifth at the finish behind O’Ward, who snared his third podium finish in succession, and Canadian Daniel Burkett (Cape Motorsports), who charged from ninth in the early going to fourth.
Monterrey, Mexico’s Jose Gutierrez (Juncos Racing) earned the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award, passing Neil Alberico (Cape Motorsports) into Turn One for sixth place on the final lap to complete a stirring drive from 13th on the grid. Other contingencies included the PFC Award to the winning team, Andretti Autosport, and the Staubli Award to Kellett.
Urrutia now leads the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires by a margin of 251-224 over Tan. Alberico follows on 218, then Buret, who slipped to ninth by the finish, on 210 and O’Ward on 203 as the championship heads next to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for a pair of road course events on August 1-2.
Weiron Tan (#22 Andretti Autosport): “It was a tough race. 100 laps isn’t easy to begin with, but going around at such high speeds is especially difficult. Tire management is so important to keep the pace up. The Cooper tires did really well. This was a good comeback for us, after what happened in the first practice. The team really deserves it, coming in one-two. We worked hard with limited track time. We’re very lucky. We have really good guys around us to help us learn about the ovals. Especially for me, coming from Malaysia – oval track racing is not common. To be surrounded by experienced guys really helps us. We have four races to go and we’re never going to give up. We’re going to keep on pushing until the end and see what happens in the championship.”
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