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Franzoni and Juncos Racing Dominate Pro Mazda GP of Road America

Posted by  on Friday, June 23rd 2017     
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Despite losing the advantage of his pole position on the opening lap, Juncos Racing’s Victor Franzoni swept effortlessly past primary Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires rival Anthony Martin (Cape Motorsports) to take the lead of this afternoon’s Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products. The talented and popular Brazilian then drove off into the distance. Los Angeles-based Russian Nikita Lastochkin earned his first podium finish with a solid run to third for Team Pelfrey.
Franzoni, who also won last year at Road America in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, comfortably secured the pole position during a damp qualifying session yesterday afternoon. He duly led the field toward the green flag in picture perfect conditions less than 24 hours later, only to fall victim of the draft as Martin slingshotted past him to grasp the lead at Turn One.
The pair battled mightily for the first couple of laps before Franzoni finally managed to sneak past under braking for Turn 12, Canada Corner. He was never seriously challenged thereafter as he romped to his third consecutive victory, this time by a margin of almost 12 seconds over Martin.
Lastochkin displayed renewed confidence, especially during the opening stages when he ran in the wheel tracks of the two leaders after fighting past Brazilian teammate Carlos Cunha at the start. Lastochkin was unable to maintain that pace but still remained well clear of the chasing pack. He also took home the Staubli Award.
His task was made easier when Cunha ran briefly off course on the second lap and then, to the consternation of his crew, made an unscheduled pit stop to report that his front shock absorber cover had fallen off. Cunha was quickly sent on his way. He circulated at the same pace as the drivers who finished on the podium but could salvage no better than ninth by the finish of the 30-minute, 14-lap race. TJ Fischer, driving a third Team Pelfrey car, also was out of luck, his streak of podium finishes ended by a faulty fuel pump.
Idaho teenager Sting Ray Robb finished a distant fourth for World Speed Motorsports, although he was being challenged in the closing stages by Milwaukee’s Max Hanratty, who took fifth after making a welcome return to the series for the locally based ArmsUp Motorsports team.
Jeff Green, from Peoria, Ill., earned the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award by rising from 12th on the grid to a career-best sixth, not far behind his much younger rivals, while veteran Bob Kaminsky, from Homer Glen, Ill., won the National Class with a seventh-place overall result.
Franzoni, who secured another PFC Award for the winning Juncos Racing team, now leads the championship by a 14-point margin, 149-135, heading into tomorrow’s sixth round – the midway point in the 12-race season. But he will likely have to work much harder after some unfortunately timed red flag stoppages during this morning’s qualifying meant he was unable to record a representative lap time and therefore will be required to start from the back of the field.
The green flag for tomorrow’s race will fly at 3:05 p.m. EDT. Live timing and live streaming will be available on the Road To Indy TV App, at RoadToIndy.TV, promazda.com and indycar.com.
Victor Franzoni (#23 Juncos Racing): “This is the best feeling in the world. There really are no words when you get to the checkered flag for the win. The championship is really close so we both have to go for the wins. I have to open the biggest gap in points that I can, but it’s not going to be easy. Now the fights are getting more exciting – and more difficult. Anthony and I were really hard with each other but clean. I couldn’t get away on the first lap so he got around me, then we started just passing back and forth. But I had a great car today. Ricardo Juncos pushes me very hard so we can go to Indy Lights together and then go on to IndyCar together. If we win here and win in Indy Lights, we can do that. They have so much going on with Indy Lights and IndyCar that they could just forget about Pro Mazda, but they don’t – they keep pushing. And that’s been great.”
category: Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires

Matheus Leist Holds off All Challengers to Take Freedom 100 Spoils

Posted by  on Friday, May 26th 2017     
Matheus Leist Holds off All Challengers to Take Freedom 100 Spoils
Brazilian Rookie Claims First Mazda Road to Indy Victory in Style for Carlin Team
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Matheus Leist led from pole position to checkered flag in today’s Freedom 100 to earn a well-deserved maiden Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires victory. But this was no walkover for the Carlin team’s Brazilian rookie, who came under intense pressure from several other contenders during an exciting 40-lap, 100-mile race in front of a bumper crowd on Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Fellow rookie Aaron Telitz (Belardi Auto Racing) barely edged Canadian Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport) for second place on the run to the flag.
Weather conditions were markedly improved over yesterday, when persistent rain forced qualifying to be delayed for more than four hours. Instead sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted the talented field of 14 drivers as they assembled on the historic Brickyard oval.
After country music star (and mother of Indy Lights racer Shelby Blackstock) Reba McEntire’s rousing rendition of the National Anthem, the action began early as Canadian Zachary Claman DeMelo made a storming start from fifth on the grid to tuck in behind Carlin teammate Leist at Turn One. Behind, Kellett also got a run on Colton Herta, who started on the front row for Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing. Unfortunately, in trying to hold off Kellett at Turn Two, Herta barely clipped his teammate’s front wing which in turn tipped him into a spin. Worse, teammate Ryan Norman, from Aurora, Ohio, who had qualified a fine fourth, was unable to avoid the spinning #98 car. Exit two contenders even before the field was fully up to speed.
After five laps of caution to clear away the wreckage, Leist held on to his advantage over Claman DeMelo at the restart, followed by the third Carlin Dallara-Mazda IL-15 of Neil Alberico, who leapfrogged Kellett with a bold outside line pass into Turn One.
The race soon settled into a rhythm with Leist turning consistent laps at an average speed of around 195 mph at the head of the field. Claman DeMelo held onto second until Lap 13, when Kellett drafted past his countryman on the inside line at Turn Three. Telitz took advantage of Claman DeMelo’s slight loss of momentum to move into third, then, on Lap 19, second when he drafted past Kellett on the entrance to Turn Three.
Six cars ran virtually nose to tail for the majority of the race, with Leist holding onto the lead ahead of Telitz, Kellett, Alberico, Claman DeMelo and Santi Urrutia (Belardi Auto Racing), who, after starting 12th, moved up steadily through the pack during the middle portion of the race to claim the Tilton Hard Charger Award.
Telitz, too, was looking especially racy. Last year’s winner of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires made his first challenge for the lead on Lap 30, only to be rebuffed, then tried again a couple of laps later – around the outside at Turn One. Leist barely clung onto the lead as they sped into Turn Two, whereupon Telitz tried again at Turn Three. Once again, Leist held his ground, leaving Telitz to lose a little valuable momentum – and a position – to Kellett.
That was as close as anyone got to usurping the 18-year-old Brazilian, who held on to claim the win. After finishing a career-best third in last year’s Freedom 100, Kellett was unable to make a move on Leist in the final stages, and instead found himself passed on the run to the line by a fired-up Telitz.
Alberico maintained his strong run of recent finishes in fourth, while the expected challenge from Urrutia, who posted the fastest lap of the race at a new record of 198.104 mph, failed to materialize after he glanced the wall at Turn Two with a few laps remaining. Urrutia maintained control of his car and held on to finish fifth ahead of Claman DeMelo, who also brushed the wall in Turn One.
Californian Kyle Kaiser, despite finishing a disappointed ninth for Juncos Racing, actually stretched his championship lead by one point to 14 over Frenchman Nico Jamin, who struggled to a distant 10th for Andretti Autosport.
The Indy Lights contenders will be in action next at Elkhart Lake’s famed Road America in Wisconsin on June 23-25.
Matheus Leist (#26 TMA-Carlin): “I can’t believe it, this is a dream come true. The track is just amazing; it’s so fast. To win here is unbelievable. We had a perfect car today so we were able to lead the whole race. I kept the same line the whole race to try to keep Aaron behind me, but it was so tough. I was nervous early in the race because I thought it would be really close. I thought Aaron would overtake me when he pulled even with me – we were side-by-side for three or four corners. I tried to relax and do my job and he wasn’t able to get by me. We led my first ever oval practice Monday and the car was just amazing – I knew we had a winning car. I spent this week at the hotel watching the races from the past few years and I knew they were all decided on the last corner so I studied everything. I’m so thankful for this; the Carlin guys worked so hard this week. This is my first time here on the oval so hopefully I can win the Indy 500 here in the future.”
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
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Americans Lead the Way as Indy Lights Drivers Prepare for Freedom 100

Posted by  on Monday, May 22nd 2017     
Mazda Road to Indy’s Feature Race Set for Carb Day
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – The annual Freedom 100 represents the most prestigious race of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season. Taking place on the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval directly after the traditional final practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Carb Day this Friday, May 26, it is the race every driver particularly wants to win.
No fewer than 24 of the 33 starters in this year’s 101st Indianapolis 500 have graduated to the pinnacle of American open-wheel racing via Indy Lights, including 10 series champions dating back to Tony Kanaan in 1997. Four of them – Ed Carpenter, Josef Newgarden, Jack Harvey and Gabby Chaves – will have an opportunity this coming Memorial Day weekend to etch their name in the record books as the first to win both the Freedom 100 and the Indianapolis 500.
This year’s 15th annual Freedom 100 is the seventh of 16 races that will comprise the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires title-chase. Four different drivers have claimed victory from the opening six races of the season, and while seven different nationalities will be represented on the starting grid, four of the current top five championship contenders are young Americans, headed by series veteran Kyle Kaiser, from Santa Clara, Calif. Ultimately at stake is an opportunity for the season champion to claim a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1 million to ensure entry into three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2018, including the 102nd Indianapolis 500.
The high-quality field of 14 drivers today began preparations for Friday’s Freedom 100 with a pair of 90-minute test sessions on the hallowed 2.5-mile superspeedway oval. Second-generation Indy Lights racer Colton Herta, 17, from Valencia, Calif., led the speed charts with a lap of 44.9842 seconds – an average speed of 200.070 mph – this morning at the wheel of his No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Dallara-Mazda IL-15.
All 14 drivers recorded times within seven-tenths of a second (or 2.7 mph) of Herta’s best, suggesting the possibility of another photo-finish to match last year’s race when Dean Stoneman claimed the closest margin of victory ever recorded at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – by a scant 0.0024 second over eventual series champion Ed Jones (who, incidentally, posted the second fastest lap, 228.118 mph, during today’s IndyCar practice session) – or perhaps the remarkable 0.0443 second which blanketed the top four finishers in 2013.
As a measure of the series’ unpredictability, points leader Kaiser ranked only 13th on the charts today for Juncos Racing, fractionally ahead of Frenchman Nico Jamin, who already has won twice this year for Andretti Autosport and currently lies second in the standings, just 13 points shy of Kaiser.
Aaron Telitz, from Birchwood, Wis., the winner of last year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, posted the second fastest lap today for Belardi Auto Racing at 199.610 mph.
Rookie Matheus Leist, from Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, was third fastest overall and quickest this afternoon at 199.568 mph for the Carlin team, edging out teammate Neil Alberico, from Los Gatos, Calif., and Team Pelfrey’s Juan Piedrahita, from Bogota, Colombia.
The Freedom 100 protagonists will return to the track on Thursday for a pair of 30-minute practice sessions at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. EDT, followed by single-car qualifying at 1:30 p.m. The green flag for Friday’s race  – which will air live on NBCSN – will fly at 12:30 p.m. All times are EDT.
Live timing and live streaming of practice and qualifying will be available on the Road to Indy App, RoadtoIndy.TV, indylights.com and indycar.com.
Kyle Kaiser (#18 Juncos Racing): “We didn’t really run qualifying trim. Our focus has been working on the race car. We had a lot of downforce so our trap speeds haven’t been the best, but we’re working on having a good balance in the car. Everyone wants to win this race, whether your last in points or the points leader. I’m just going in trying to build a good race car and we’ll see what happens from there. This is the most exciting race of the year with all the people here and the anticipation of the whole month leading up to this. It’s nerve wracking, especially on race day. This is my third one, so hopefully I have less nerves than everyone else but I’ll probably still be nervous.”
Colton Herta (#98 Deltro Energy Mazda/Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing):  “That last half-hour was hectic. I think Aaron and I were side-by-side for about four laps. Now we know that we can run high or low and be competitive. The car is fantastic so to be quickest shows that we can run up front. But it’s so awesome to drive here – it makes me want to get to IndyCar even faster because now that I’ve gone 200 mph, I want to go 230! You get used to the speed here – we tested at Homestead, where you’re going 190 mph, which is pretty quick and it’s relatable. It definitely helped me adjust to the speed here. We did one run this morning in qualifying trim, but we mainly focused on race trim because as important as qualifying is, it’s more important to have a good race car. That’s what I’m mainly focused on now.”
Aaron Telitz (#9 Mazda/Rice Lake Weighing Systems-Belardi Auto Racing): “I had some ideas about what IMS would be like, but it was seriously a good time. Every corner is a little bit different, even though they look the same on a map. And it was fun going over 200 mph for the first time! We were pretty conservative in the beginning, with more downforce than we would usually run in order to get me comfortable going flat. Once I was, we went with race trim and started working on running in traffic. I didn’t break the 200 mph lap time mark, but I hit 210 on the straight which was cool. In practice, we were pretty courteous to each other and having a good time getting runs on each other and going three wide. In the race, it will be more challenging – but it’s still going to be a really awesome race. This will be the first time I’ll be racing on live TV, so I’m excited that all my friends and family can watch on NBCSN. And I really want to be the first driver to bring the Soul Red colors to victory lane in the Freedom 100.”
Matheus Leist (#26 TMA-Carlin): “When I first got out there, I thought ‘here I am, this is really big!’ We tested at Homestead back in March but this is very different. It was very strange in the beginning, with the steering wheel not being straight and the speeds being so much faster than on a road course. I got the pace pretty quickly. We did some qualifying simulations early this afternoon and I set the fastest lap so that’s good. It still feels on the edge to me, with the car moving a lot, but I’m getting used to it. I’m a bit disappointed with my run in all the traffic late in the session but it’s my first day and I think I learned a lot – and brushing the wall is all part of the game.”
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Mazda Scholarship Winner Askew Again Dominates USF2000 Field

Posted by  on Monday, May 15th 2017     
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.  – There’s no stopping Oliver Askew. The 20-year-old from Jupiter, Fla., captured his second win in as many days on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course – and his fifth in six starts – to strengthen his claim to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and, potentially, a second consecutive Mazda Scholarship which would assist in graduation to the next step on the Mazda Road to Indy – the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires – in 2018.
Teenaged Dutchman Rinus VeeKay, who earned the Staubli Award, finished second for Pabst Racing in this morning’s Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America, while Kaylen Frederick, from Potomac, Md., profited from a last-lap incident to finish third for Team Pelfrey.
Following a full-course caution due to a multi-car incident in Turn One, Askew, who yesterday had secured his fourth straight pole position, pulled clear of his rivals by the completion of the first lap of green-flag racing.
VeeKay jumped ahead of front row starter Frederick into second place at the restart and quickly made the place his own, leaving Dakota Dickerson (Newman Wachs Racing), who made a lightning start to vault from seventh to fourth at the original start, to come under pressure from Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey).
Canadian Parker Thompson slotted into fifth for Exclusive Autosport until a sticking throttle caused him to run briefly off the road and lose several positions on Lap 11. South African Callan O’Keeffe continued his strong showing on his North American debut for Team Benik, moving up into fifth before also running into mechanical difficulties, which eventually forced him to pull off course with less than five minutes remaining in the half-hour race.
The officials had no alternative but to call for a full-course caution, which ended with enough time for a one-lap dash to the checkered flag. Askew took the win by 1.2488 seconds over VeeKay, but following the race incurred a penalty notice for failing to follow Race Director instructions pertaining to restart procedures and has been placed on probation.
Behind, however, the battle for third ended in tears as Dickerson and Megennis collided in Turn Two, which left the way clear for Frederick to inherit the final podium position.
Thompson took advantage of the incident to dive past Kory Enders (DEForce Racing), from Warwick, N.Y., for fourth place, while Australian Luke Gabin secured his best finish of the season, sixth, for Exclusive Autosport. Gabin also earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after fighting his way from 16th on the grid.
After routine technical inspection which followed yesterday’s race, cars #80 (Robert Megennis) and #81 (Kaylen Frederick) were disqualified per Rule 14.28.9. The revised result elevates Calvin Ming (Pabst Racing) to second place and Ricky Donison (Cape Motorsports) to third. Ming, from Guyana, and Donison, from Bangalore, India, became the first drivers from their respective nations to stand on a Mazda Road to Indy podium.
Askew now leads the championship by a 60-point margin over VeeKay, 188-128, after six rounds of competition. The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will head next to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., for two more races in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on June 23-25.
Oliver Askew (#3 Mazda Motorsports/MC Racing-Cape Motorsports): “I definitely didn’t want to see that yellow. I had such a big lead and then to have to regroup and try to figure out how to break away again was tough. I had to make a plan and execute it. Our pace here is fantastic; the Cape team gave me a great car. I tried not to look in my mirrors, especially at the start – I just went to Turn One as deep as I could and tried not to get hit from behind, because that’s the only way that I could get passed. But like I said yesterday, it’s surreal. I’m just living in the present and doing my job the best that I can, and that’s working out. It’s still a steep learning curve, as this is my first full season in cars, but I really appreciate the opportunity from Mazda and the car that the Cape boys have given me. It’s a highlight of the day, seeing them waving their hands and going crazy as I cross the line. It’s so cool to see them and all the fans. I really appreciate their support.”
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda

Brazilian Franzoni Sweeps at Indy to Claim Pro Mazda Points Lead

Posted by  on Monday, May 15th 2017     
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Victor Franzoni ensured a banner weekend for himself and the Juncos Racing team by sweeping both races that comprised the Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Grand Prix road course. Franzoni, from Sao Palo, Brazil, was never seriously threatened this morning in cool and sunny conditions, finishing a full 1.0798 seconds clear of Team Pelfrey’s TJ Fischer.
Fischer’s teammate, Carlos Cunha, from Campinas, Brazil, finished a comfortable third ahead of Australian’s Anthony Martin (Cape Motorsports), who had led the point standings coming into this weekend after sweeping both races at St. Petersburg, Fla., in March.
Franzoni set the tone yesterday morning by annexing the bonus point for pole position in qualifying. And whereas on Friday he made a poor start and had to work his way back to the front, this time there was not the hint of a mistake as he maintained his advantage into Turn One, then romped clear of the field at a prodigious rate.
After finishing third in each of the first three races of the season, Fischer, from Los Angeles, Calif., exited the tight first corner in the same position he had started, second, and soon began to edge clear of teammate Cunha to secure a career-best finish.
Cunha, similarly, was under no real threat from Martin, who instead was kept honest by the third Team Pelfrey car of Nikita Lastochkin. The Australian managed to reduce a deficit of over three seconds to Cunha to around 1.2 seconds between Laps 11 and 16, but that was as close as he got before Cunha edged clear once more to secure his first podium finish.
The World Speed Motorsports trio of Phillippe Denes, from Carmel, Calif., Sting Ray Robb, from Payette, Idaho, and Bobby Eberle, from Houston, Texas, completed the top seven ahead of SCCA National Formula Mazda Champion Matt Machiko (ArmsUp Motorsports), from Pittsburgh, Pa.
Kevin Davis, from Alvin, Ill., strengthened his lead in the National Class by winning the division with a 10th-place overall finish, despite being earlier punted into a spin at Turn One by fellow Illinois racer Jeff  Green (Team Pelfrey). Davis also earned the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award.
Ricardo Juncos of Juncos Racing, based close to the race track in Speedway, Ind., earned another PFC Award as the winning car owner, while Cunha claimed the Staubli Award.
Franzoni’s second win in as many days vaulted him to the lead of the 12-round Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, which will offer a Mazda Scholarship worth over $790,000 to assist the champion in progressing to Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires in 2018.
Franzoni now holds a 116-110 edge over Martin as all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights – head next to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., for two more races once again in support of the headlining Verizon IndyCar Series on June 23-25.
Victor Franzoni (#23 Juncos Racing): “It was a perfect weekend. I knew the Juncos team would have a really good setup here so it was important for us to be ready – and it was the best car ever. It was a machine; it was so easy to drive. All I had to do was focus and drive fast. I had a much better start today than yesterday and was happy to keep the lead at the start – with the long straight, it’s so easy to draft on someone. I am so happy to get the win. This happened at the end of last year in USF2000 where I had a perfect weekend, and now to get it here means so much. I so appreciate the opportunity Juncos has given me, and the car they gave me today. I hope we can keep this going. We’ll work really hard to do that and I hope next year I can be with them on the next step!”
TJ Fischer (#82 Project 02-Team Pelfrey): “We didn’t have the headwind that we had yesterday so we didn’t get swallowed up by the field at the start this time. It was my first front row start on the Mazda Road to Indy and I hated getting swallowed up like that. I wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again so when Anthony got behind me and gave me a push, we went into Turn 1 hard but Victor was on rails today. I know that if we keep our heads down and keep packing on the points, we’ll have a race like that.”
category: Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires

Jamin Wins for Andretti at Indianapolis to Tighten Indy Lights Points Chase

Posted by  on Friday, May 12th 2017     
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – An enthralling 30-lap Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America this evening on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course saw Nico Jamin claim an impressive win for Andretti Autosport. The 21-year-old Frenchman’s second victory of the season enabled him to close to within three points of series leader Colton Herta (Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing), who could manage only a distant 12th-place finish after an unscheduled pit stop.
Fellow Californian Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) also is now tied on points with Jamin following his third consecutive podium finish, although on this day he had to give best to Carlin’s Zachary Claman De Melo, who overcame a poor start to earn a career-best second-place result.
After securing the pole position in qualifying this morning, Jamin capitalized by holding the lead into Turn One. In his wake, a bold maneuver around the outside at Turn One from Herta, who had qualified a disappointing sixth, saw the 17-year-old from Valencia, Calif., vault all the way up into second place ahead of Kaiser, an equally fast-starting Aaron Telitz, who had started eighth for Belardi Auto Racing, Neil Alberico (Carlin) and surprise front row qualifier Claman De Melo.
Herta placed teammate Jamin under intense pressure for the opening couple of laps before settling into second place. A remarkably consistent series of fast laps enabled Jamin to stretch his lead to almost two seconds by Lap 11, whereupon Herta suddenly began to come under attack from a train of cars comprising Kaiser, Claman De Melo and Alberico, who lost a position to his teammate on that same lap but remained firmly in contention.
On Lap 14, Herta lost a couple of positions before realizing that his car had lost its balance. A slow puncture was quickly diagnosed, forcing Herta to head for the pits for a replacement left-rear tire.
By this time Jamin held a comfortable lead of 3.7 seconds over a battling Kaiser and Claman De Melo, but that margin was gradually whittled down until, on Lap 22, the two leaders were separated by less than two seconds. Next time around, Staubli Award winner Claman De Melo squeezed past Kaiser on the run toward Turn One. Even though the pass cost him a little bit of ground to the ultra-consistent race leader, the young Canadian kept on turning fast laps to take the checkered flag just 0.8405 seconds adrift of Jamin.
Alberico claimed his fourth top-four finish of the year, while rookie teammate Matheus Leist recorded the fastest lap of the race as he climbed from ninth on the grid to fifth for his best finish of the young season. Leist, from Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, also earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award.
Qualifying for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Round 6 will take place tomorrow morning at 9:20 a.m. EDT, followed by the race itself at 1:15 p.m., immediately prior to the Verizon IndyCar Series headline event. Live timing and live streaming will be available on indylights.com, as well as on indycar.com, the Road To Indy TV App and RoadToIndy.TV.
Nico Jamin (#27 DuraMAX Powered by RelaDyne Mazda-Andretti Autosport ): “It is amazing emotions – I don’t think it gets any better than winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I was nervous starting on pole. You’re always happy to get the pole and the check but I saw in USF2000 here two years ago that the guys behind you can really get a good run into Turn One. I knew I had to get a good jump and I did, though I didn’t want to look in my mirror because I knew it would be a mess. I broke really late into Turn One but Colton was close behind me and I had to defend. We made it clean so it was alright in the end. I pushed hard in the beginning to get away from Colton, who was on his push-to-pass, but then Zach was a rocketship at the end and was catching up. The guys were yelling on the radio for me to push harder, but I couldn’t. But I’m very happy to have gotten the pole and the win for the DuraMAX guys, who have joined me this month.”
Zachary Claman De Melo (#13 ZCD Montreal/Zoological Wildlife Foundation-Carlin): “I knew I had really good race pace so my plan at the start was just to stay calm and stay on the track. My plan was also to have a good start, but that didn’t go my way so I had to try and pass as many guys as possible. I didn’t think about much, just that each and every guy in front of me was my target. I had some lapped traffic as I got near to Nico otherwise I think I could have challenged him. The car never dropped off. It gives me good confidence going into qualifying and the race tomorrow.”
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Franzoni Controls the Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Indianapolis for Juncos

Posted by  on Friday, May 12th 2017     

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Victor Franzoni had to work hard to ensure victory in this afternoon’s Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America. After setting the pace in qualifying for locally based Juncos Racing by a comfortable margin of almost a half second, the personable Brazilian botched his start and had to come from behind to beat Australian Anthony Martin (Cape Motorsports) to the checkered flag.

Californian TJ Fischer (Team Pelfrey) maintained his streak of third-place positions in the third round of this year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. He also won the Staubli Award.
Franzoni led the field toward the starter’s stand at a virtual snail’s pace, but the ploy backfired as he found himself swamped by several hungry rivals as the field barreled into Turn One. Championship leader Martin, who had won both opening races in St. Petersburg, Fla., took full advantage by sweeping from third on the grid into the lead. Pelfrey teammates Fischer, Carlos Cunha and Nikita Lastochkin also were embroiled in the mix.
Martin duly led at the end of the opening lap, by which time Franzoni had managed to claw his way back into second place. Franzoni quickly made up the deficit but Martin put up a staunch defense of his hard-earned advantage.
After four laps, Franzoni used the draft to draw alongside last year’s winner of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda on the entry to Turn One… but the canny Australian made sure his Soul Red car was occupying the preferred inside line. Undeterred, Franzoni held on around the outside, whereupon the two talented young men proceeded to jockey for position, side by side, before Martin emerged onto the back straight still in the lead.
Next time around, Franzoni made his move a little bit earlier and was able to clear his rival at the apex of Turn One to grasp the lead for the first time. He never looked back and went on to secure his first Pro Mazda victory by a margin of just over five seconds.
Los Angeles-based Russian Lastochkin held third place for the first couple of laps but was already struggling for confidence in his car’s braking capabilities. Fischer was the first to take advantage, slipping through under braking for Turn One. Lastochkin also lost out to Cunha, from Brazil, a couple of laps later, and then teenaged Californian Phillippe Denes, who drove another strong race for World Speed Motorsports.
Lastochkin held on for sixth ahead of 14-year-old Sting Ray Robb, from Payatte, Idaho, who enjoyed a race-long battle with World Speed teammate Bobby Eberle.
The PFC Award went to the winning team, Juncos Racing, which is based less than a half-mile away from the track in Speedway, Ind., while Martin secured the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award.
Bob Kaminsky, from Homer Glen, Ill., won the National Class, finishing ninth overall after a protracted duel with the Championship class Juncos Racing entry of fellow Illinois native Jeff Green.
Franzoni will start on the pole for tomorrow’s fourth round of the championship, which is due to start at 8:15 a.m. EDT. Live timing and live streaming will be available on the series website, promazda.com, as well as on indycar.com, the Road To Indy TV App and RoadToIndy.TV.
Victor Franzoni (#23 Juncos Racing): “It’s unbelievable to get my first win in Pro Mazda and my first win at Indianapolis. This track is amazing; everything here is about racing so to win here is totally different than winning anywhere else. Anthony made a better start than me but he didn’t have anywhere to go, so he was pushing me. I’ve raced Anthony for three years now on the Mazda Road to Indy so we respect each other – and we know that if we do something bad for each other, it will be bad for the championship. Of course, if we are still fighting this close as we get to the end of the championship, things will get more difficult. My car is really fast and I am starting on the pole (for Round 4), so I will try to make a better start and win again tomorrow.”
category: Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires

Perfect Day for USF2000 Championship Leader Askew in Indianapolis

Posted by  on Friday, May 12th 2017     
Teenager Frederick Again Impresses with Another Second-Place Finish
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.  – Oliver Askew is fast making the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda his own personal playground. The 20-year-old winner of last fall’s inaugural Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200k Scholarship Shootout today claimed two pole positions (including for tomorrow morning’s race) and another beautifully controlled victory for the Cape Motorsports team. Askew, from Jupiter, Fla., led from flag-to-flag this afternoon at a warm and breezy Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit in the Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America.
Kaylen Frederick, 14, from Potomac, Md., claimed his third successive second-place finish for Team Pelfrey, while Guyana’s Calvin Ming completed the podium for Pabst Racing.
The opening stages of today’s fifth round of the 14-race championship were interrupted by full-course cautions following a succession of incidents around the 2.439-mile road course. Once the race was under way in earnest, however, there was no touching Askew, who made an exemplary restart and controlled the race from the front with a series of consistently fast laps. How consistent and how fast? Well, he stretched his lead to Frederick to almost two seconds with a trio of laps all within a few thousandths of a second of each other, then rammed home his superiority by securing the additional bonus point for the fastest lap of the race at a new record-breaking time of 1:25.4916 for an average speed of 102.705 mph.
Askew’s mark in the new Tatuus USF-17 eclipsed the previous standard, set by Nico Jamin during his championship-winning 2015 campaign, by almost a full second.
In Askew’s wake, Frederick saw off an early challenge from Ming to take the checkered flag 3.3461 seconds adrift of the winner and almost two seconds clear of Ming, who thoroughly deserved his first podium finish of the season.
Askew’s Cape Motorsports teammate, Ricky Donison, from Bangalore, India, made a huge leap forward by qualifying third and finishing a strong fourth (his previous best was a lowly 13th). Dakota Dickerson, from San Diego, Calif., rounded out the top five for Newman Wachs Racing.
UK-based South African Callan O’Keeffe also impressed on his debut with Team Benik by finishing sixth among a quality field of 23 cars, fractionally ahead of Dutchman Rinus VeeKay (Pabst Racing) and New Yorker Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey).
Norway’s Ayla Agren (Team Pelfrey) and Mexican Moises de la Vara (DEForce Racing), who earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after starting 17th, completed the top 10 ahead of another debutant, David Malukas, of Lithuanian descent but based in Chicago, with the new BN Racing team.
The PFC Award was secured by the winning team, Cape Motorsports. Ming took home the Staubli Award.
Askew’s fourth straight win extended his championship lead to 43 points, 156-113, over Frederick heading into tomorrow’s sixth round which will start at 10:15 a.m. Askew will be joined on the front row by Frederick, with VeeKay and Donison on row two of the grid. Live timing and live streaming will be available on the series website, usf2000.com, as well as on indycar.com, the Road To Indy TV App and RoadToIndy.TV.
Oliver Askew (#3 Mazda Motorsports/MC Racing-Cape Motorsports): “I tried not to think about winning here, because I didn’t want to jinx myself. The place has so much history and it’s what INDYCAR is. That’s where I want to be in the future so to win here is really cool. But this whole year hasn’t sunk in yet; I don’t feel as though it’s real. Seven months ago I didn’t think I’d be able to keep racing, so to be here is pretty crazy. I knew I had the pace to pull away. I just had to make sure I got a good jump at the start. Having a yellow start throws everyone off, but you have to regroup and figure out how to restart the race. I had the plan of where to accelerate, how to warm up the tires and where to get the jump by the time the green came out. It was hard work during the yellow, keeping the tires warm – it may look like we’re just cruising but the reality is that it’s really hard work.”
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda

Perfect Day for USF2000 Championship Leader Askew in Indianapolis

Posted by  on Friday, May 12th 2017     
Teenager Frederick Again Impresses with Another Second-Place Finish
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.  – Oliver Askew is fast making the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda his own personal playground. The 20-year-old winner of last fall’s inaugural Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200k Scholarship Shootout today claimed two pole positions (including for tomorrow morning’s race) and another beautifully controlled victory for the Cape Motorsports team. Askew, from Jupiter, Fla., led from flag-to-flag this afternoon at a warm and breezy Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit in the Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America.
Kaylen Frederick, 14, from Potomac, Md., claimed his third successive second-place finish for Team Pelfrey, while Guyana’s Calvin Ming completed the podium for Pabst Racing.
The opening stages of today’s fifth round of the 14-race championship were interrupted by full-course cautions following a succession of incidents around the 2.439-mile road course. Once the race was under way in earnest, however, there was no touching Askew, who made an exemplary restart and controlled the race from the front with a series of consistently fast laps. How consistent and how fast? Well, he stretched his lead to Frederick to almost two seconds with a trio of laps all within a few thousandths of a second of each other, then rammed home his superiority by securing the additional bonus point for the fastest lap of the race at a new record-breaking time of 1:25.4916 for an average speed of 102.705 mph.
Askew’s mark in the new Tatuus USF-17 eclipsed the previous standard, set by Nico Jamin during his championship-winning 2015 campaign, by almost a full second.
In Askew’s wake, Frederick saw off an early challenge from Ming to take the checkered flag 3.3461 seconds adrift of the winner and almost two seconds clear of Ming, who thoroughly deserved his first podium finish of the season.
Askew’s Cape Motorsports teammate, Ricky Donison, from Bangalore, India, made a huge leap forward by qualifying third and finishing a strong fourth (his previous best was a lowly 13th). Dakota Dickerson, from San Diego, Calif., rounded out the top five for Newman Wachs Racing.
UK-based South African Callan O’Keeffe also impressed on his debut with Team Benik by finishing sixth among a quality field of 23 cars, fractionally ahead of Dutchman Rinus VeeKay (Pabst Racing) and New Yorker Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey).
Norway’s Ayla Agren (Team Pelfrey) and Mexican Moises de la Vara (DEForce Racing), who earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after starting 17th, completed the top 10 ahead of another debutant, David Malukas, of Lithuanian descent but based in Chicago, with the new BN Racing team.
The PFC Award was secured by the winning team, Cape Motorsports. Ming took home the Staubli Award.
Askew’s fourth straight win extended his championship lead to 43 points, 156-113, over Frederick heading into tomorrow’s sixth round which will start at 10:15 a.m. Askew will be joined on the front row by Frederick, with VeeKay and Donison on row two of the grid. Live timing and live streaming will be available on the series website, usf2000.com, as well as on indycar.com, the Road To Indy TV App and RoadToIndy.TV.
Oliver Askew (#3 Mazda Motorsports/MC Racing-Cape Motorsports): “I tried not to think about winning here, because I didn’t want to jinx myself. The place has so much history and it’s what INDYCAR is. That’s where I want to be in the future so to win here is really cool. But this whole year hasn’t sunk in yet; I don’t feel as though it’s real. Seven months ago I didn’t think I’d be able to keep racing, so to be here is pretty crazy. I knew I had the pace to pull away. I just had to make sure I got a good jump at the start. Having a yellow start throws everyone off, but you have to regroup and figure out how to restart the race. I had the plan of where to accelerate, how to warm up the tires and where to get the jump by the time the green came out. It was hard work during the yellow, keeping the tires warm – it may look like we’re just cruising but the reality is that it’s really hard work.”
###
About USF2000: The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda debuted in 2010 and is a continuation of the highly-regarded USF2000 series which ran from 1990 through 2006, launching the careers of many of today’s top drivers. Sanctioned by INDYCAR and managed by Andersen Promotions, the series is the first official step on the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder system. The top driver in the Championship class will earn a scholarship package from Mazda to advance to the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires the following year. Additional information can be found at www.usf2000.com.
About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports: Mazda Motorsports boasts the most comprehensive auto racing development ladder system of any auto manufacturer in the world. The Mazda Road to 24 program offers a number of scholarships to advance drivers up the sports car racing ladder, beginning with the Global MX-5 Cup series and culminating with the Mazda Prototype team. The Mazda Road to Indy is a similar program that includes Mazda-powered categories of USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights. In grassroots road racing, more Mazdas race on any given weekend in North America than any other manufacturer. Mazda is also the title sponsor of the renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Follow all of the latest news at MazdaMotorsports.com, @MazdaRacing on Twitter, and MazdaMotorsports on Instagram and Facebook.
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of innovative, great-performing tires that you can count on to last for thousands of miles, getting you where you need to go, and back again. Cooper is proud to be the spec tire for all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires, a development program within the IndyCar racing series. Cooper tires can also be seen on the track as a sponsor in the short course off-road TORC Series. Headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper, with its subsidiaries, has manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations in more than one dozen countries around the world. To connect with Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

The Podium from 2017 USF2000 Race #1 on the IMS Road Course. Photo Credit INDYCAR

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda

Herta Grasps His Chance to Win Milestone 400th Indy Lights Race

Posted by  on Sunday, April 23rd 2017     

LEEDS, Ala. – The 400th race in the history of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires might not be remembered as a classic but it will likely never be forgotten by Colton Herta. The 17-year-old son of 1993 Indy Lights champion Bryan Herta made the most of an advantageous opportunity as he led from flag-to-flag…

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category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
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