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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – USF2000, Pro Mazda Qualifying & Notes

Posted by  on Friday, May 13th 2016     

Qualifying sessions for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires are in the books early Friday morning at the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying occurs from 12 to 12:45 p.m.

Before we get to those session recaps, a quick note of thanks to some of the rock stars of the Mazda Road to Indy paddock.

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Mazda Road to Indy Gives Thanks to Holmatro Safety Team

AndersenEvent

Following Thursday’s track activity and despite heavy storms which blew through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, most of the Mazda Road to Indy field – plus a number of other Verizon IndyCar Series luminaries and Mazda Road to Indy graduates – all gathered for an informal, casual but deserved honoring of the Holmatro Safety Team at the Andersen Promotions hospitality.

The Holmatro Safety Team not only serves IndyCar but the entire Mazda Road to Indy at all its events, and the presence of the team led by Mike Yates is invaluable.

“They are the people that have your back,” Dan Andersen said during the event.

Andersen noted how stressful and difficult this work can be on the crew, most who have regular day jobs and add this work to their plate.

The site here is particularly poignant since the Holmatro crew’s work was the first step to saving James Hinchcliffe’s life after his devastating accident in practice last year, before Hinchcliffe was transported to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Although Hinchcliffe was unable to attend Thursday night, he has paid tribute to the crew in numerous ways already this season.

Among the IndyCar notables besides the Mazda Road to Indy drivers in attendance were past Indy Lights champions Bryan Herta and Townsend Bell, Indy Lights and USF2000 graduate Charlie Kimball and a host of others. More than 100 people were estimated in attendance.

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USF2000 Qualifying

USF2000 logo

The morning’s USF2000 qualifying ahead of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Indianapolis Powered by Mazda was hectic, fast and chaotic and the drama didn’t end until after the checkered flag.

Early runs on the green track, since it rained heavily since the series was last on track, forecast that Nico Jamin’s 1:26.1799 track record would be broken. Additionally, temperatures were pretty cool at just 55 degrees ambient.

Victor Franzoni of ArmsUp Motorsports was first up on cold tires to post the provisional pole time, with a 1:26.4516 in the No. 9 car.

But times would drop throughout the remainder of the 30-minute session. Australian Luke Gabin continued his weekend pace with a 1:26.3965 in the No. 91 JAY Motorsports entry to supplant Franzoni, and then Gabin’s countryman Jordan Lloyd topped Gabin’s time with a 1:26.2219 in the No. 21 Pabst Racing car to ascend into the provisional pole.

It was Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s Parker Thompson though, the series points leader in Cape’s No. 2 entry, who was first to break Jamin’s track record time with a new record of 1:26.1738.

That stood for maybe a minute at best before another of the trio of talented Australians, Thompson’s Cape teammate Anthony Martin in the No. 8 car, clocked a 1:26.1053 lap.

Gabin then came through to post an even quicker lap, the first 1:25 lap, at a 1:25.9602 time.

But the time proved too good to be true for Gabin and JAY Motorsports, with word from Race Control after the end of the session that Gabin had blown the checkered flag, and would thus lose his times.

Gabin was one of three drivers, along with Team Pelfrey’s TJ Fischer and ArmsUp Motorsports’ Max Hanratty, who had all their lap times invalidated in the session per Race Director Scot Elkins.

That promoted Martin back to his second straight pole position, having also started on pole in Round 4 at Barber Motorsports Park.

However it marks the first time the native of Kalgoorlie qualified on pole in a qualifying session, rather than having his second best time from a session set the grid for race two of the weekend.

Thompson was second ahead of Lloyd, Franzoni and Yufeng Luo, who led Thursday’s combined practice times with his best lap in first practice.

The first 30-minute race of the weekend takes place at 1 p.m. this afternoon, and with Gabin’s penalty, he’ll be hungry to advance through the field.

Qualifying times are below:

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 8 Anthony Martin 1:26.105 0.000 14
2 2 Parker Thompson 1:26.174 0.0685 14
3 21 Jordan Lloyd 1:26.222 0.1166 17
4 9 Victor Franzoni 1:26.372 0.2670 16
5 23 Yufeng Luo 1:26.506 0.4008 14
6 22 Garth Rickards 1:26.543 0.4375 18
7 3 Nikita Lastochkin 1:26.768 0.6629 14
8 92 Cameron Das 1:26.833 0.7278 11
9 34 Lucas Kohl 1:26.947 0.8415 18
10 33 Ayla Agren 1:26.977 0.8717 18
11 5 Austin McCusker 1:26.988 0.8823 14
12 81 Jordan Cane 1:27.014 0.9084 18
13 18 Dakota Dickerson 1:27.041 0.9362 16
14 80 Robert Megennis 1:27.295 1.1896 17
15 72 Tazio Ottis 1:27.518 1.4123 17
16 77 Sam Chastain 1:28.012 1.9067 12
17 20 Clint McMahan 1:28.447 2.3417 16
18 19 Michai Stephens 1:28.805 2.6998 14
19 12 Eric Filgueiras 1:29.037 2.9318 7
20 11 Robert Armington 1:29.702 3.5968 16
21 7 Dale VandenBush 1:30.119 4.0133 12
22 44 Charles Finelli 1:30.469 4.3642 16
23 15 Brenden Puderbach 1:31.418 5.3127 14
24 6 Max Hanratty No Time — 17
25 82 TJ Fischer No Time — 16
26 91 Luke Gabin No Time — 13

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Pro Mazda Qualifying

Pro Mazda Logo

While the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda qualifying was nuts, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying later Friday morning under sunny but cool skies (59 degrees ambient) was all but decided early.

Series points leader Pato O’Ward, in the No. 80 Gap Guard entry for Team Pelfrey, secured his third pole position in five rounds.

O’Ward’s early flier of 1:22.8800 was more than four tenths clear of teammate Aaron Telitz in the No. 82 Rice Lake Weighing Systems entry.

It was also a new track record by more than a tenth, ahead of Spencer Pigot’s best time of 1:22.9623, set in 2014.

O’Ward ran his laps in the opening 15 minutes of the 30-minute session and could afford to sit on his time for the remainder of the session.

Juncos Racing completed the top six with all four of its cars, with Will Owen, Jake Parsons, Garett Grist and Nicolas Dapero all six tenths or more behind.

The Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammates, Nico Jamin and Jake Eidson, were a further ways back in seventh and eighth.

The first race for Pro Mazda takes place at 1:55 p.m., following the first USF2000 race of the weekend.

Qualifying times are below:

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 80 Pato O’Ward 1:22.880 0.000 7
2 82 Aaron Telitz 1:23.306 0.4264 8
3 23 Will Owen 1:23.525 0.6451 15
4 00 Jake Parsons 1:23.766 0.8862 18
5 5 Garett Grist 1:23.781 0.9010 16
6 31 Nicolas Dapero 1:23.933 1.0533 17
7 2 Nico Jamin 1:23.961 1.0810 12
8 3 Jake Eidson 1:24.214 1.3343 16
9 13 Bobby Eberle 1:24.978 2.0982 19
10 44 Kevin Davis 1:26.830 3.9497 18
11 37 Jay Horak 1:27.042 4.1619 8
12 57 Bob Kaminsky 1:27.454 4.5735 14

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Don’t miss any of the action

You can also catch all the action on IndyCar’s YouTube channel:

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – USF2000, Pro Mazda, Indy Lights Second Practice & Notes

Posted by  on Thursday, May 12th 2016     

Second practice reports and notes from the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend, which features all three rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy, are below. The second Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires session was truncated due to heavy rain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

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USF2000 logo

The second Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda 30-minute practice session witnessed slightly warmer and more overcast temperatures, and slower times.

ArmsUp Motorsports’ Victor Franzoni topped the timesheets in the No. 9 entry with a best time of 1:27.6366 around the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The best time was more than eight tenths of a second off Yufeng Luo’s Thursday morning leading time, with a 1:26.8246 in his No. 23 Pabst Racing entry standing as the best time of the day in the series.

Within practice two, Franzoni edged Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s Parker Thompson by just 0.0547 of a second.

With Luke Gabin, Luo and Jordan Lloyd completing the top five, the same top five occurred in the afternoon session as they clocked in in the morning session. Additionally, Cape’s Anthony Martin was sixth for the second straight session.

The top 16 drivers were separated by just 0.9995 of a second.

All but two of the 26 drivers entered completed 10 laps or more in the session, with ArmsUp’s Max Hanratty setting the highest number with 20 laps.

USF2000 kicks off Friday’s track activity with its next session, qualifying from 9:30 to 10 a.m., before its first race from 1 to 1:40 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 9 Victor Franzoni 1:27.637 0.000 15
2 2 Parker Thompson 1:27.691 0.0547 16
3 91 Luke Gabin 1:27.757 0.1200 16
4 23 Yufeng Luo 1:27.841 0.2048 15
5 21 Jordan Lloyd 1:27.970 0.3338 16
6 8 Anthony Martin 1:28.002 0.3658 14
7 5 Austin McCusker 1:28.213 0.5764 16
8 22 Garth Rickards 1:28.224 0.5874 17
9 81 Jordan Cane 1:28.248 0.6111 17
10 33 Ayla Agren 1:28.438 0.8015 14
11 18 Dakota Dickerson 1:28.440 0.8034 14
12 3 Nikita Lastochkin 1:28.459 0.8226 16
13 80 Robert Megennis 1:28.461 0.8243 13
14 34 Lucas Kohl 1:28.486 0.8490 15
15 6 Max Hanratty 1:28.501 0.8645 20
16 82 TJ Fischer 1:28.636 0.9995 16
17 77 Sam Chastain 1:28.784 1.1475 10
18 92 Cameron Das 1:28.852 1.2157 13
19 72 Tazio Ottis 1:29.013 1.3760 18
20 19 Michai Stephens 1:29.485 1.8483 17
21 20 Clint McMahan 1:30.309 2.6721 13
22 7 Dale VandenBush 1:30.594 2.9569 19
23 11 Robert Armington 1:30.913 3.2765 14
24 44 Charles Finelli 1:31.701 4.0649 9
25 15 Brenden Puderbach 1:31.835 4.1983 15
26 12 Eric Filgueiras 1:32.942 5.3052 7

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Pro Mazda Logo

Aaron Telitz paced his second straight Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires practice session, albeit with times slower in the afternoon 30-minute second practice than they were compared to the morning times.

The Rice Lake, Wis. native posted a best time of 1:24.4319 in the No. 82 Team Pelfrey entry, which is supported by Rice Lake Weighing Systems.

Will Owen was second for Juncos Racing in the No. 23 AMR entry at 1:24.5280, with teammate Garett Grist in third. Points leader Pato O’Ward and another Juncos entry, Nicolas Dapero, completed the top five.

As in the morning session, the 30-minute session ran incident-free without any red flag interruption.

The next Pro Mazda session is 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. on Friday, with qualifying. Its first race of the weekend is scheduled from 1:55 to 2:45 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 82 Aaron Telitz 1:24.432 0.000 21
2 23 Will Owen 1:24.528 0.0961 17
3 5 Garett Grist 1:24.656 0.2241 14
4 80 Pato O’Ward 1:24.740 0.3077 21
5 31 Nicolas Dapero 1:24.962 0.5299 17
6 00 Jake Parsons 1:25.088 0.6556 15
7 2 Nico Jamin 1:25.253 0.8212 16
8 3 Jake Eidson 1:25.449 1.0174 16
9 13 Bobby Eberle 1:25.862 1.4303 18
10 44 Kevin Davis 1:27.204 2.7718 17
11 57 Bob Kaminsky 1:27.586 3.1543 17
12 37 Jay Horak 1:27.963 3.5306 17

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Indy Lights Logo

There wasn’t much running time in the second Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, ahead of this weekend’s Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires.

Darkening skies and impending rain closed on the IMS road course, before hitting hard just before 5 p.m. local time.

Most of the field got some dry laps in before the rain hit, with Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser posting a best time of 1:16.7026 around the 2.439-mile road course in the InterVision/NetApp/Juniper Networks backed No. 18 car.

Scott Anderson had his best practice session of the year ending second in the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry, with support from Anderson Podiatry Centers/Laser Therapy, Surgery and Neuropathy/Curb Records.

Felix Rosenqvist, Dean Stoneman and Scott Hargrove completed the top five.

Once the rain hit, Rosenqvist, Belardi Auto Racing teammate Zach Veach and RC Enerson all took to the track for a handful of laps on Cooper Tires wet weather rubber. Times were anywhere from in the 1:45 to 1:55 range in the miserable and worsening conditions.

With just over 14 minutes to go the session received an early checkered flag, owing to the rain.

Indy Lights’ next session is qualifying on Friday, from 12 to 12:45 p.m. Its first race of the weekend is scheduled from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., following Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 18 Kyle Kaiser 1:16.703 0.000 4
2 77 Scott Anderson 1:16.876 0.1733 4
3 14 Felix Rosenqvist 1:16.882 0.1791 8
4 27 Dean Stoneman 1:16.904 0.2011 6
5 7 RC Enerson 1:17.010 0.3074 7
6 3 Scott Hargrove 1:17.015 0.3126 4
7 11 Ed Jones 1:17.022 0.3195 3
8 5 Zach Veach 1:17.249 0.5468 12
9 51 Shelby Blackstock 1:17.252 0.5498 4
10 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:17.285 0.5826 6
11 4 Felix Serralles 1:17.363 0.6607 5
12 2 Juan Piedrahita 1:17.375 0.6724 5
13 55 Santiago Urrutia 1:17.612 0.9097 5
14 28 Dalton Kellett 1:17.797 1.0945 4
15 22 Neil Alberico 1:17.824 1.1216 5
16 17 Andre Negrao 1:17.898 1.1959 5

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category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – USF2000, Pro Mazda, Indy Lights First Practice & Notes

Posted by  on Thursday, May 12th 2016     

The Mazda Road to Indy has its full complement of series here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championships have all had their first practice sessions, which grew in importance with impending weather likely to hit the track this afternoon.

Quick session reports are below.

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USF2000 logo

The first USF2000 session of the weekend before the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Indianapolis Powered by Mazda was clean, green and dry for 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the 2.439-mile road course.

Yufeng Luo, who won Round 2 of the season at St. Petersburg, took his No. 23 Pabst Racing entry to the top of the timesheets at 1:26.8246.

Luke Gabin was second in the No. 91 JAY Motorsports entry at 1:26.8872, with Parker Thompson of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and Luo’s teammate at Pabst, Jordan Lloyd, also dipping into the 1:26 bracket.

Victor Franzoni of ArmsUp Motorsports completed the top five runners; the Brazilian makes his USF2000 return to the IMS road course after making his Pro Mazda series debut here last year.

The top 14 drivers were covered by 0.8744 of a second. Nico Jamin holds the track record with a qualifying lap of 1:26.1799 for Cape, set last year.

Of note, the field is reduced to 26 cars this weekend with the absence of James Munro, the fourth driver at Team Pelfrey. Team Pelfrey team principal Nigel Tuckey said there were contractual issues that arose with Munro, and his return status for further rounds is doubtful.

Additionally, ArmsUp is back to three cars with Blake Mount, who drove a fourth ArmsUp entry during Wednesday’s test sessions, not competing in the first practice.

The next USF2000 practice session is another 30-minute session, from 1:30 to 2 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 23 Yufeng Luo 1:26.825 0.000 8
2 91 Luke Gabin 1:26.887 0.0626 14
3 2 Parker Thompson 1:26.891 0.0668 18
4 21 Jordan Lloyd 1:26.972 0.1476 16
5 9 Victor Franzoni 1:27.009 0.1841 13
6 8 Anthony Martin 1:27.093 0.2686 17
7 3 Nikita Lastochkin 1:27.189 0.3643 13
8 22 Garth Rickards 1:27.307 0.4822 16
9 80 Robert Megennis 1:27.471 0.6468 14
10 33 Ayla Agren 1:27.519 0.6949 17
11 82 TJ Fischer 1:27.636 0.8113 17
12 81 Jordan Cane 1:27.654 0.8293 16
13 5 Austin McCusker 1:27.664 0.8393 17
14 34 Lucas Kohl 1:27.699 0.8744 18
15 6 Max Hanratty 1:27.998 1.1735 10
16 18 Dakota Dickerson 1:28.165 1.3402 11
17 92 Cameron Das 1:28.181 1.3562 14
18 77 Sam Chastain 1:28.295 1.4701 6
19 72 Tazio Ottis 1:28.838 2.0133 16
20 19 Michai Stephens 1:29.282 2.4570 16
21 20 Clint McMahan 1:29.408 2.5838 14
22 7 Dale VandenBush 1:29.978 3.1534 19
23 11 Robert Armington 1:30.432 3.6072 13
24 12 Eric Filgueiras 1:31.634 4.8098 13
25 44 Charles Finelli 1:31.915 5.0900 13
26 15 Brenden Puderbach 1:33.140 6.3155 16

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Pro Mazda Logo

In first practice for the Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires, the now routine Team Pelfrey timesheet topping continued with Aaron Telitz ahead of teammate Pato O’Ward.

Telitz, in the No. 82 entry, clocked a best time of 1:23.6710 with O’Ward, in the No. 80 car, a little more than a tenth in arrears at 1:23.7781.

Juncos Racing, which had a strong 2015 setup at the IMS road course and won one race with Timothe Buret, placed three of its four drivers in the next three spots. Garett Grist was third ahead of rookie Jake Parsons and past IMS road course winner in USF2000, Will Owen, in fifth.

Nico Jamin, who swept the weekend in USF2000 here last year, was only sixth best and the lead of two Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing entries.

Of note, Weiron Tan in the third Team Pelfrey entry, is withdrawn for the remainder of the weekend per a contractual issue.

Tan won the Thursday at IMS last year in what was the NOLA Motorsports Park rain-delayed makeup round, then driving for Andretti Autosport.

The next Pro Mazda practice session is another 30-minute session, from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 82 Aaron Telitz 1:23.671 0.000 8
2 80 Pato O’Ward 1:23.778 0.1071 9
3 5 Garett Grist 1:23.877 0.2065 16
4 00 Jake Parsons 1:24.020 0.3493 16
5 23 Will Owen 1:24.105 0.4335 18
6 2 Nico Jamin 1:24.210 0.5391 16
7 3 Jake Eidson 1:24.302 0.6315 17
8 31 Nicolas Dapero 1:24.521 0.8498 16
9 13 Bobby Eberle 1:25.553 1.8818 17
10 44 Kevin Davis 1:26.538 2.8675 17
11 37 Jay Horak 1:26.972 3.3012 13
12 57 Bob Kaminsky 1:27.437 3.7657 14
13 81 Weiron Tan No Time — —

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Indy Lights Logo

Ahead of the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires doubleheader, three track veterans led the opening 45-minute practice Thursday at the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Santiago Urrutia, who won the most recent round of the season at Barber Motorsports Park, was the only driver to clock into the 1:15 bracket with a 1:15.9770 lap time. Urrutia drives the Soul Red Mazda No. 55 entry for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian.

The Uruguayan won his first Pro Mazda race last year at the IMS road course, which helped kickstart his title charge. He told TSO before the session he was confident in the car’s pace before even putting on new tires during the test day on Wednesday and it showed on Thursday.

Meanwhile series sophomores Ed Jones of Carlin and RC Enerson, also of SPM, were second and third. Jones was just 0.1256 off Urrutia’s best time with Enerson third, 0.1767.

Felix Rosenqvist of Belardi Auto Racing and Kyle Kaiser of Juncos Racing completed the top five, with Dean Stoneman in sixth (Andretti Autosport), Felix Serralles (Carlin) and Scott Hargrove (Team Pelfrey) the top half of the 16-car field.

SPM didn’t run a ton of laps in the session with Urrutia running only six laps and Scott Anderson seven.

As in the Pro Mazda and USF2000 sessions earlier Thursday, there were no red flags or incidents during the sessions.

Second practice for Indy Lights runs from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m., which is the last session of the day’s activity.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 55 Santiago Urrutia 1:15.977 0.000 6
2 11 Ed Jones 1:16.103 0.1256 13
3 7 RC Enerson 1:16.154 0.1767 14
4 14 Felix Rosenqvist 1:16.407 0.4298 18
5 18 Kyle Kaiser 1:16.603 0.6256 14
6 27 Dean Stoneman 1:16.711 0.7338 18
7 4 Felix Serralles 1:16.727 0.7496 18
8 3 Scott Hargrove 1:16.745 0.7682 16
9 5 Zach Veach 1:16.756 0.7786 16
10 51 Shelby Blackstock 1:16.778 0.8009 17
11 22 Neil Alberico 1:16.853 0.8757 14
12 77 Scott Anderson 1:16.858 0.8806 7
13 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:16.911 0.9343 19
14 17 Andre Negrao 1:16.973 0.9958 14
15 2 Juan Piedrahita 1:17.168 1.1906 17
16 28 Dalton Kellett 1:17.329 1.3516 22

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Don’t miss any of the action

You can also catch all the action on IndyCar’s YouTube channel:

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires
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Mazda Road to Indy Open-Wheel Development Series Goes 100 Percent Digital

Posted by  on Friday, April 22nd 2016     

 

Mechanic Dave "Rotor" Lehman is a Mazda Road To Indy success story, moving form Team Pelfrey's Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire program to Dale Coyne Racing's IndyCar program. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Mazda Road to Indy Open-Wheel Development Series Goes 100 Percent Digital
Becomes First American Racing Series with a Dedicated Broadcast Channel On Demand
PALMETTO, Fla. (April 22, 2016) – In a first-of-its-kind distribution breakthrough, Mazda Road to Indy TV announced today that in addition to its live broadcasting of all Mazda Road to Indy races on its mobile App, extensive additional programming now is available through its own digital television channels via Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku.
The Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel driver development program is unique in the world of auto racing, offering scholarship opportunities for drivers to progress from karting through the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. As a measure of the global appeal of the Mazda Road to Indy, drivers representing 17 different nationalities are competing this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
The additional programming will include bi-weekly shows, onboard footage and live studio episodes, plus archived shows and race coverage from both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Digital 1
“This will literally bring the sport to where people live, right to their homes,” said Mazda Road to Indy TV Executive Director JP Manterola. “Every major manufacturer now offers ‘smart’ TVs that can access the internet directly and a host of streaming devices, such as Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. This is where the future of television is heading, and we are proud to be part of it.”
“Our goal is to continue to make the Mazda Road to Indy the finest open-wheel development program in the world,” added Director of Motorsports at Mazda North American Operations John Doonan. “With the Road to Indy TV, we have these wonderful new outlets that will allow fans across the globe to watch the races live – or on-demand anytime they like. It’s very exciting to be the first to have such unique, dedicated auto racing channels and we believe it will only help the world find out what great racing we have.”
category: Andersen Promotions PR
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My Mazda Road to Indy: Dave “Rotor” Lehman

Posted by  on Friday, April 8th 2016     
Note from TSO Ladder: This series of My Mazda Road To Indy features during the off-season have been fantastic, but this is Steve’s favorite. It serves as a great reminder that the Mazda Road To Indy isn’t just for drivers, but also for team owners, engineers and mechanics.
You can follow “Rotor” on Twitter Follow “Rotor” and also make sure you check out his unique artwork on Amazon Rotor’s Art on Amazon.

My Mazda Road to Indy: Dave “Rotor” Lehman

The essential mission of the Mazda Road to Indy is to serve as a development platform for the Verizon IndyCar Series and other major forms of motorsports – not just for drivers, but for teams, mechanics and support personnel as well. One such graduate is Dave Lehman, aka Rotor.
Rotor worked for Belardi Auto Racing on both their Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires teams before heading up Team Pelfrey’s title-winning Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires effort. Moving up to the “Big Show” with a job this season as a mechanic for Dale Coyne Racing, Rotor talks about his experiences on the Mazda Road to Indy, the differences between the ladder system and IndyCar – and how he managed to reach his 20s with no interest in racing at all.
What got you into racing?
I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. I was big into art – abstract, graffiti, painting, drawing. And I played music in two different bands for about nine years. I didn’t have an interest in racing or in anything mechanical until I was in my 20s. We took my dad indoor karting one Father’s Day and I was hooked. I kept going back with friends, then joined a league, then started racing. At that point, I was working as an apprentice electrician in Chicago.
I read an article about a nearby family whose daughter raced nationally and I contacted them about buying a kart. I started going to the track with them, learning how to work on the kart, how to make setup changes. I learned pretty quickly that I was better at working on them than driving them!
When I won my first championship with them at Iowa Speedway, that sealed the deal and I quit my job the next day. I put myself through tech school while I was working on the kart. We won six championships in two years and it didn’t seem like work. Of course there were days that sucked, but it was worth it.
How did you get into the Mazda Road to Indy?
I got lucky enough to find a job with Liberty Motorsports, which is now Belardi Auto Racing, conveniently located about an hour away from me in Illinois. Chuck (Lessick) and Brian (Belardi) gave me my first shot.
They were the team closest to me and since they were running in USF2000, they ran on the same weekends with IndyCar, which was really cool. 2010 was the resurgence of USF2000 with Dan (Andersen) taking the helm of it again and, honestly, I didn’t have anything to lose. So I just fired them an email, asking for an apprenticeship or entry level job. They liked my attitude and I started the next week. I was there from 2010 until October of 2013, doing USF2000 all four years plus some Indy Lights the last two years.
Working for the team gave me the opportunity to work with some veteran mechanics, guys who had been around a long time. It can be easy to learn bad habits, but suddenly I was working with guys who had worked in Champ Car, IndyCar, NHRA, and they really knew their stuff.  In 2011, it became Belardi Auto Racing and we ran Anders (Krohn) and Jorge (Goncalves) in Indy Lights and I got to help out with that.
My last year there, I headed up the USF2000 program, with mechanics underneath me. It was a big undertaking, since we had a five-car team. I loved the challenge: I was still the lead mechanic on a car, but it was up to me to make sure everyone was on the same page, with no issues, and that everything was done right, neatly and on time.
I went to Team Pelfrey in late 2013 to help bring the team back to prominence. They had dominated Pro Mazda two years earlier. They had a whole new staff in 2014 and we worked hard to rebuild the team. By the mid-point of the season, [driver] Nicolas Costa was at the front of the field, earning four podiums [including a win at Mid-Ohio]. Team Pelfrey ended up third in the team championship. Last year was very successful for the team, winning the Cooper Tires Winterfest with Jack Aitken and earning the series championship with Santiago (Urrutia).
Dave “Rotor” Lehman (shades and tattoos) looks on at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as his Team Pelfrey charges get ready to take to the track. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Dave “Rotor” Lehman (shades and tattoos) looks on at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as his Team Pelfrey charges get ready to take to the track. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Pelfrey is involved in so many levels, from F1600 into Indy Lights, and that’s a great thing to see. I’ve worked with great guys like Peter Dempsey, Scott Anderson, Peter Portante and Colin Thompson, who is now a factory McLaren Academy driver. I’ve been competing against Sage Karam as a mechanic since he was 8 years old. He’s one of the first guys to go through the whole Mazda Road to Indy and make it to IndyCar and I remember him running around the paddock as a crazy kid.
You took the last step up the ladder to the Verizon IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing this year. How did that come about and how much of a transition was there?
Our old chief at Pelfrey, Roy Wilkerson, had been in IndyCar forever, and he went to Coyne as a fill-in last year. This year, he’s chief on the #19 car for Luca Filippi. He got to assemble his own crew, so he asked me to send in a resume. It was something I had wanted to do, but then everything fell into place and I got lucky.
Dave "Rotor" Lehman is a Mazda Road To Indy success story, moving form Team Pelfrey's Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire program to Dale Coyne Racing's IndyCar program. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Dave “Rotor” Lehman is a Mazda Road To Indy success story, moving form Team Pelfrey’s Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire program to Dale Coyne Racing’s IndyCar program. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The biggest difference is that I’m not in charge of the entire car anymore. At Pelfrey, I was the only full-time Pro Mazda employee so I rebuilt the cars in between races. In Indy Lights, there are two mechanics per car. Now I’m responsible for only the rear of the Indy car. That being said, the uprights and the drive shafts are attached to the rear end, but I don’t do them. Nor do I touch the gearbox. I’m one of five or six guys at the track and everyone has their own thing. It forces you to communicate with people and work as a team and I haven’t had to do that before. It’s a change, but a welcome one.
Looking back now, what did you take from your years in the Mazda Road to Indy?
I’ve worked with some really great people who have lots of IndyCar experience. You learn from all of those people and that’s where the Mazda Road to Indy really helps. That was key for me. Like John Brunner at Belardi; he used to run Forsythe, so he brought in guys that used to work at Forsythe in Champ Car. These guys really know what they’re doing and you learn good habits from them. You can’t learn it if you’re not exposed to it.
It doesn’t matter what level you’re on: a race car is a race car. If you do something wrong, you’re going to hurt someone. If you’re serious at being a good race car mechanic, you have to be on your guard, do things right, always pay attention. Getting a chance to work on an Indy car, or working at some of the sports car races I was able to do last year with JDC and Riley Motorsports, you realize it’s all the same stuff. It’s all the other bits that take some getting used to this year, like the warm up procedures with all the things you have to do.
What advice do you give kids who want to do what you do?
I went to tech school and now I’m setting up Q&A seminars at that school and hope to expand to more campuses. These kids come in and they have delusions of grandeur; they see racing on TV and don’t realize what’s involved, like putting up the canopy and putting out all the boxes and tools – and then taking it all apart again, no matter the weather conditions. That’s all us. There is so much other stuff that no one knows about so I want to give kids an idea of what to expect. I tell kids to take their resumes and physically drop them off. Go talk to people.
It’s easier to start at the entry level. That’s why the Mazda Road to Indy is so perfect; there are so many teams willing to take someone at the entry level as a floater. You do the grunt work and get your feet wet. Then you know whether you want to stay or not. You get so much exposure to the trials that make or break people, and that’s a good thing.
category: My Road To Indy
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Kaiser Claims Pole After Tight Phoenix Qualifying

Posted by  on Saturday, April 2nd 2016     

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kyle Kaiser didn’t turn the fastest lap during this afternoon’s qualifying session on the 1.022-mile Phoenix International Raceway oval – that honor fell to Brazilian Andre Negrao – but a blend of impressive pace and admirable consistency over his two-lap run was enough for the Californian teenager to claim the pole position for tomorrow’s Indy Lights Grand Prix of Phoenix.

Kaiser PHX Cooper Tires Pole Check 2016

The pole was Kaiser’s second in three races for Juncos Racing, coming on the heels of his first career Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires pole on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Kaiser was the fourth driver to make his attempt during the traditional single-car qualifying session. His first lap, at 21.9182 seconds (167.860 mph), wasn’t quite as fast as Negrao’s best of 21.891 seconds (168.067 mph), set a few minutes earlier, but Kaiser went slightly quicker on his second lap, 21.9152, to ensure a two-lap cumulative time of 43.8334 seconds and an average speed of 167.872 mph. Kaiser’s marks comfortably eclipsed the old Indy Lights qualifying track record, set on a slightly different one-mile configuration by Canadian Claude Bourbonnais at 160.755 mph in 1995.

Even though Negrao’s single best lap remained fastest of the day, the Brazilian’s first lap for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian was significantly slower at 22.1402 seconds. His two-lap average of 167.117 mph was good enough for only sixth on the closely matched grid.

Ed Jones (Carlin) qualified second fastest at an average speed of 167.507 mph, followed by Uruguayan Santiago Urrutia (167.365 mph), who carried the distinctive Mazda Soul Red livery for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian as a result of winning last year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Teammate RC Enerson was fractionally slower at 167.306 mph to complete Row Two of the grid. Felix Serralles (Carlin), who recorded the fastest lap in practice this morning at 22.0617 seconds (166.769 mph), and Negrao will make up Row Three. Canadian rookie Zachary Claman de Melo also impressed aboard the second Juncos Racing entry with a two-lap average of 167.037 mph to earn seventh on the grid.

The top seven qualifiers were within a fraction over two tenths of a second of each other.

The green flag for tomorrow’s race will fly at 1.30 p.m. local time. Live commentary and streaming video will be available at indylights.com, indycar.com and on the Road To Indy TV App.

Kyle Kaiser (#18 InterVision/NetApp/Juniper Networks-Juncos Racing): “We were quickest in the session before qualifying so we really contemplated how much we wanted to change for qualifying. We stayed aggressive because we did think the track would get better. We made good changes to the setup. I was confident in our decision so I kept it flat the whole way and just hoped for the best. The car felt perfect; I was surprised how good the track was. We did a lot of long runs in previous tests here, so we know what the tires will do. But ovals are scary, I’ll be completely honest. They’re intimidating, especially in a car like this where you’re going so fast. You have to have confidence that the car is behind you and that you have the experience. That translates to your feedback as well, so you get a better car.”

category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

My Mazda Road to Indy: Meet TJ Fischer

Posted by  on Wednesday, March 2nd 2016     
PALMETTO, Fla. – Pursuing a racing career requires sacrifices, but few drivers have had to make the kind of choice that TJ Fischer did: continue playing college football, or put all his focus on auto racing. Four years after leaving his football pads behind, Fischer joins the Mazda Road to Indy, signing with Team Pelfrey in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda with the hopes of achieving his dream: a ride in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Fischer’s family moved from Wilsonville, Ore., near Portland, to Vacaville, Calif., when he was 10 years old, but it wasn’t until the move to the city south of Sacramento that the racing bug hit in earnest.
TJ Fischer will be making his Mazda Road To Indy debut after a season racing in Europe. (Photo Courtesy of Andersen Promotions)

TJ Fischer will be making his Mazda Road To Indy debut after a season racing in Europe. (Photo Courtesy of Andersen Promotions)

What first started your interest in racing?
My dad used to race go-karts when we lived in Oregon and I was always at the track with him. I loved it; I thought it was so cool. We had the equipment and I was always at the racetrack, so it was natural that I would get into a kart. When we moved to California, it really clicked with me. There were so many tracks within an hour of us and there was so much great competition in the area.
Take us through your racing career to date.
I competed nationally in karting and won some championships. My goal was to get into formula cars, so when I was ready, I did a test. Eric Purcell was my engineer and my mentor, along with my coach, Jeff Andretti. There’s so much more going on in a car, and more is expected of the driver – learning data, understanding weight transfer and vehicle dynamics – so having their knowledge made for a really good combination.
I did a limited schedule in 2012, because I was going to college and playing college football. I gave that up and switched to an online school to pursue my racing career. 2013 was great; I won 17 Formula Car Challenge races in a row, won the championship and was a Mazda Shootout finalist. Later that year, I got the chance to move to the UK and race with Cliff Dempsey Racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK series. I lived with the Dempseys; they’re a great racing family. It was a good opportunity to experience not only the racing but the culture. It was an entirely different side of racing. It was very competitive and challenging, with a lot of international drivers. I finished sixth in the points.
I raced in the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS championship last year, finishing eighth as the top rookie. It was a full European championship and I got to race at tracks like Monza and Spa, which was a dream come true.
How difficult was the decision to give up playing college football?
I had a scholarship to play football, but I knew that racing was my real passion. I did well, with a couple of receptions, but I wasn’t able to put 100 percent focus into anything when I was playing football AND going to school AND trying to race. Football and school alone is a full-time job. Racing became a weekend thing; I would play football on Saturday and race on Sunday. But Jeff Andretti told me that if I wanted to make racing my career, I had to make it 100 percent. He was a big proponent of me staying in school, but we knew that if I was going to race, I had to do it right now. So now I’m doing online school and focusing on racing.
What got you interested in the Mazda Road to Indy and the USF2000 series?
My goal has always been IndyCar, so it made sense to come back to the States and join the Mazda Road to Indy and now seems like a very good time to come into it. It’s the ladder system that takes you to IndyCar. Mazda really supports the program and the scholarship is a really good incentive. Also, we’re trying to bring sponsors on board so we can continue moving up the motorsports ladder, and the program makes it possible to offer a sponsor a return on investment. The competition is the other big factor – there are so many great drivers coming into the series. The series has always had good drivers and that looks to be continuing. So if I want to have a career in IndyCar, coming back here and joining the Mazda Road to Indy was the best way to go. And with Team Pelfrey, they had USF2000 and Pro Mazda teams and now are in Indy Lights. They went from the ground up, which is really cool.
What are your expectations for 2016? 
I’m trying not to have too many expectations, but inevitably, I want to go out there and win! Realistically, I think we can compete for top fives, try to get on the box and get to the top step. It will take a lot of work, learning the car and the tires. And I haven’t raced on any of the tracks except for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Favorite racetrack and what is your best memory about that track?
I like Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, but I have to say Portland International Raceway. My dad took me there to see IndyCar races when I was young and I have so many good memories from that. In my first year of formula racing, I got to race there and it was so cool, to race on the first track I ever went to.
If I wasn’t driving a race car, I’d be ___________________________.
Playing football. If I’d stayed, I’d be finishing my senior year of eligibility. It’s strange, because all my friends are graduating from college this year!
Do you have a “hidden” talent?
Is ping pong a hidden talent? I’m okay, but my neighbor beats me regularly.
What do you do to relax?
I got introduced to meditation last year as a way to calm my nerves and get out of my head a little bit. But I enjoy playing sports, training, running and biking. And I play basketball. I can’t play football anymore!
category: My Road To Indy

Replay XD Continues Mazda Road to Indy Partnership

Posted by  on Wednesday, March 2nd 2016     
PALMETTO, Fla. (March 1, 2016) – Andersen Promotions is pleased to announce that Replay XD will return as the Official Camera of the Mazda Road to Indy, continuing a partnership that began in 2014. All cars in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will be provided with Replay XD cameras – the smallest and lightest full HD video action camera on the market – to capture all of the on-track action.
“Our partnership with Replay XD has done so much to enhance our efforts in bringing the excitement of our racing to viewers around the world with high-quality HD footage,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “John Spar [Replay XD Founder] and his team have been terrific partners, and we are proud to have every car on the Mazda Road to Indy grid outfitted with their ground-breaking equipment. Not only is it great for the fans, but it is very beneficial to our teams and drivers as well.”
From the Mazda Road to Indy, stadium super trucks, motocross, surfing and skimboarding to military, tactical and drones, Replay XD is an industry leader. The Replay XD cameras feature a high-strength aerospace aluminum body, Mil-Spec hard anodized for extreme durability to withstand the demands of videoactionography with over one million mounting positions. Water-resistant, the cameras weigh a mere two ounces making them perfect for any activity including racing.
“Replay XD is excited to continue its long relationship with the Mazda Road to Indy,” said Spar. “We continue to enjoy the professionalism and dedication that the entire Andersen Promotions family brings to the sport. The continued loyalty and support from Andersen Promotions and all the Road to Indy teams has made this series an important engineering component to continually develop our Replay XD camera products. Punishing our POV camera equipment in fast cars pushes our engineering team to build them tougher, insuring their performance to the everyday world.”
The 2016 Mazda Road to Indy season will be underway March 11-13 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
category: Andersen Promotions PR
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RC Enerson Fastest as Indy Lights Teams Return to Phoenix Oval

Posted by  on Friday, February 26th 2016     

RC Enerson Fastest as Indy Lights Teams Return to Phoenix Oval
Drivers on the Top Rung of the Mazda Road to Indy Turn Almost 2,600 Laps in Test

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian reaped the benefit of an additional private test earlier in the week as RC Enerson headed a team sweep of the top three positions today at Phoenix International Raceway. The teenager led a 16-car Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires field following a one-day pre-season test on the challenging 1.022-mile oval.
Enerson, 18, from New Port Richey, Fla., turned the best lap of the day this morning at 21.8721 seconds, an average speed of 168.214 mph, comfortably faster than the incomparable Greg Moore’s Indy Lights track record of 22.887 (160.755 mph) which dates all the way back to 1995.
“We learned the track on Monday and were able to go flat out,” said Enerson, who returns to Indy Lights for a second season after finishing fourth in his rookie campaign in 2015. “Today we worked on qualifying setups and spent most of our time running together as a group, trying to figure out what to do in traffic during the race. To be able to come in this morning and be the quickest was very encouraging.”
Uruguayan teammate Santiago Urrutia, who won last year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, along with a Mazda scholarship to progress into Indy Lights for 2016, was fastest this afternoon at 21.9862 (167.341 mph), followed by yet another Schmidt Peterson entry driven by GP2 Series veteran Andre Negrao, from Brazil, at 22.0128.
“We concentrated on setups this afternoon, doing qualifying and race simulations,” said Urrutia. “It’s a very physical track, quite hard, but the setup of the car was good. Running with my teammates, it seemed as though it was very hard to pass. That will mean qualifying for the race will be very important.”
“The team tested here on Monday, so today was my second time on an oval,” added Negrao. “It’s so quick here all the time. Coming from Europe, I have to learn the ovals. It’s all new but the team is perfect. They helped me so much. It’s so tricky and fast, but I was pretty calm and confident. After a while, the speed just becomes normal.”
Felix Serralles, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, split up the Schmidt Peterson domination for the Carlin team by posting the third fastest time this afternoon at 22.0733.
Also impressive was Formula Renault 3.5 Series convert Dean Stoneman, from England, who was fifth fastest overall for Andretti Autosport at 22.1039.
“I think we made great progress today,” said Stoneman. “The morning session was all about setup, getting the car to my liking and working to a qualifying-type format. It worked well and we were really on the pace. In the afternoon we were running in race trim which gave us a good idea where we would be. I’m starting to build a great relationship with my engineer and the Andretti team who have helped make my first oval experience extremely positive.”
The 16 drivers turned a total of 2,598 laps with only one relatively minor incident when Canadian Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport) ran high on the exit of Turn Two and glanced the wall. The top 14 cars were covered by less than half a second, which bodes well for when the series returns to PIR for Round Three of the championship on Saturday, April 2.
The teams will now head for Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., where they will join the Pro Mazda and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda contestants for the Mazda Road to Indy Spring Training open test on March 5 (Indy Lights) and 6/7 (USF2000/Pro Mazda). The 18-race 2016 season will kick off less than one week later with a double header on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 11-13 in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
category: Andersen Promotions PR, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Entry List Blossoms as Indy Lights Teams Prepare for Phoenix Oval Test

Posted by  on Thursday, February 25th 2016     

Entry List Blossoms as Indy Lights Teams Prepare for Phoenix Oval Test
Drivers From 10 Nations and Four Continents Gather For Mazda Road to Indy Test

PALMETTO, Fla. – Interest in the revitalized Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires continues to gather pace in advance of the new season which commences next month in St. Petersburg, Fla. A high-quality field of 16 drivers representing 10 nations and no fewer than four different continents are set to convene tomorrow, Thursday, February 25, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., for a one-day test session as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series “Test in the West”. All are anxious to gain some experience on the tricky one-mile oval which will host its first Indy Lights race since 2005 on April 2.
Indy Lights represents the third and final rung on the Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel development ladder, which provides Mazda scholarships for drivers to graduate from karting via the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires to Indy Lights and the Verizon IndyCar Series.
This year’s competitors will be seeking to follow in the footsteps of Spencer Pigot. The American rising star has won a total of four Mazda scholarships, including a scholarship valued at $1 million for winning last year’s Indy Lights title. Pigot is scheduled to make his IndyCar debut in the opening race of the season at St. Petersburg on March 13, and will contest at least two more events, including the historic 100th Indianapolis 500.
The Indy Lights field contains an impressive mix of veterans and rookies. Among those with prior experience are Zach Veach, from Stockdale, Ohio, who will make his return to the series with Belardi Auto Racing after finishing third in the 2014 title-chase; Dubai-based Englishman Ed Jones (Carlin), who finished third in his rookie campaign in 2015; Carlin teammate Felix Serralles, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, the winner last year on the flat Milwaukee Mile oval; Florida teenager RC Enerson (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb Agajanian), who won last year at Mid-Ohio; and 2015 podium finishers Shelby Blackstock (Andretti Autosport), from Nashville, Tenn., Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing), from Santa Clara, Calif., and Juan Piedrahita (Team Pelfrey) from Bogota, Colombia.
A talented crop of rookies will include Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist (Belardi Auto Racing), the reigning FIA European Formula 3 Champion and two-time winner of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix; Englishman Dean Stoneman (Andretti Autosport), formerly a champion in FIA Formula 2 and runner-up in the 2014 GP3 Series; GP2 Series veteran Andre Negrao (Schmidt Peterson), from Sao Paulo, Brazil; 2015 Pro Mazda champion Santiago Urrutia, from Miguelete, Uruguay, who will take his Mazda Scholarship to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian; Californian Neil Alberico (Carlin), who finished second in last year’s Pro Mazda championship with four victories; fellow Pro Mazda graduate Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport), from Toronto, Ont., Canada; 2013 USF2000 champion and 2014 Pro Mazda runner-up Scott Hargrove, from Vancouver, B.C., Canada, who joins Team Pelfrey after tasting the waters with a couple of outings in 2015; Korean Heamin Choi (Schmidt Peterson), who made two starts in the 2015 season finale; and Formula Renault 2.0 graduate Zachary Claman De Melo (Juncos Racing) of Montreal, Canada.
Following tomorrow’s test at PIR, the Indy Lights teams will join the remainder of the Mazda Road to Indy competitors for a Spring Training open test at Barber Motorsports Park on March 5 (Indy Lights) and 6/7 (USF2000/Pro Mazda). The 18-race 2016 season will kick off less than one week later with a double-header on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 11-13 in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
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