Archives for Mazda Road To Indy PR

Team Pelfrey sweeps the Pro Mazda Podium in Race Two

Posted by  on Monday, March 14th 2016     
Team Pelfrey logo
TEAM PELFREY SWEEPS THE PODIUM IN RACE TWO
ST. PETERSBURG – After the conclusion of INDYCAR’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Team Pelfrey and the rest of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires field took to the 14-turn 1.8 mile street course for Race Two of the weekend. Aaron Telitz started on pole with Race One winner, Patricio “Pato” O’Ward, starting alongside him in second position. Weiron Tan started fifth on the grid and was determined to charge to the front of the field with his teammates.

When the 4:40 p.m. ET green flag flew on the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Pete, the 12-car field handled the treacherous first turn with no issues as Telitz and O’Ward maintained first and second place while Tan managed to pass Jake Eidson for fourth. One lap later, the series sophomore overtook Nico Jamin, out-braking him into turn one. From there on, the team pulled away and maintained their lock on the podium spots achieving the team’s first Pro Mazda Championship 1-2-3 finish.

Team Pelfrey trio Aaron Telitz, Pato O'Ward and Weiron Tan celebrate at 1-2-3 Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire finish in St. Pete. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Team Pelfrey trio Aaron Telitz, Pato O’Ward and Weiron Tan celebrate at 1-2-3 Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire finish in St. Pete. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The Cooper Tires and Mazda engines performed flawlessly and so did Team Pelfrey, as Aaron Telitz finished the 40-minute race with the first victory of his Pro Mazda Championship career. Pato O’Ward of San Antonio, Tex. finished the race with the fastest lap with a 1:12.8457 lap.

The team heads to Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala. for rounds three and four of the season, April 22-24. You can watch all of the action in Alabama by downloading the Road to INDY TV app or by visiting RoadtoIndy.TV. To stay up to date with the latest news about Team Pelfrey, visit Team-Pelfrey.com or follow us on Twitter @TeamPelfrey.

FULL RACE WEEKEND RESULTS

Patricio “Pato” O’Ward (No. 80 Gap Guard Team Pelfrey Mazda) Started second, finished second: “I think for sure it was a really good race, and great practice for up and coming races. I tried to make it happen in the beginning, but I pushed the tires too hard and couldn’t succeed to win. I think it’s great practice for the team that all three cars were fantastic the whole weekend, and hats off to Aaron. He did great. I am really looking forward to Barber and hopefully find some sponsors to continue the season. ”

Weiron Tan (No. 81 Resorts World Team Pelfrey Mazda) Started fifth, finished third: “I think we made a fantastic start. Team Pelfrey did a really good job. This is the first time we have had an all three podium sweep, and I couldn’t be happier. Consistency is key, you know, coming in fifth yesterday and third today, that is still good. There is a lot more for us to learn as a team, and we just have to keep looking forward. Barber is quite a whiles away, but I am really looking forward to it. I think we got a strong package there as shown in pre-season testing.

Aaron Telitz (No. 82 Rice Lake Weighing Systems Team Pelfrey Mazda) Started first, finished first: ” I remembered how the race was yesterday going 40 minutes instead of 30. I knew that since we were starting on new tires I did not want to burn my tires off too quick in the beginning. I was probably holding Pato off a little bit in the beginning, but I knew what I had to do. It is awesome to get my first win in Pro Mazda the first weekend. We have a lot of speed, and just to be able to put it together the first race I literally could not be happier. I could not have imagined a better weekend. “

category: Team Pelfrey

Andretti Autosport – Indy Lights – Grand Prix of St. Pete, Race Two Report

Posted by  on Monday, March 14th 2016     

GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
RACE TWO REPORT
After a tough start to the 2016 season during yesterday’s Race 1, Dean Stoneman, Dalton Kellett and Shelby Blackstock fought hard to put the Andretti Autosport team back on top this morning on the streets of St. Petersburg.

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season will return to Phoenix International Raceway for Round Three on Saturday, April 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Dean Stoneman
No. 27 Stellrecht Mazda

  • Started today’s 45-lap race from the 13th position
  • Battled the entire race and advanced to claim a sixth-place finish

“Today we had a solid, consistent race. We earned decent points toward the championship in both races this weekend after a poor qualifying session. I worked hard with the team last night and we found a solution which improved the car this morning. We showed good pace today starting from 13th and gaining positions to sixth. It is still about learning the tire, it’s a long race using only one set of tires. The Andretti Autosport team has done a great job. Thanks go to my sponsor, Stellrecht. It has been a good weekend, we learned a lot, and it is great working with this team.”
Dalton Kellett
No. 28 K-Line Insulators Mazda

  • Started from 14th
  • The Canadian was competitive inside the top eight and pushing to advance when the No. 28 spun and fell back; Kellett was able to make up ground for a top-10 finish

“The start of Race 2 was very exciting and I was able to make up a couple spots off the start into Turn 1. Going into Turn 4 a few cars got together and I was able to sneak by and that move put me well inside the top 10. I was running consistently behind my teammate, Dean Stoneman, for the first third of the race and then I spun going into Turns 13 and 14. That was unfortunate, but it was just a mistake on my part and take that and learn from it for the next race. After that incident I was able to get back in and running and I was able to catch back up to the pack ahead of me. The cars ahead were fighting and battling hard, a couple of the other drivers got into it and I was able to make up a couple spots and finish P10. Overall I think the weekend was successful in the sense that I gained a lot of experience and I learned a lot during my first Indy Lights race. I’m looking forward to getting back at it in Phoenix.”
Shelby Blackstock
No. 51 Starstruck Mazda

  • Started today’s Race 2 from the sixth position
  • Fell victim to an on-track incident on the opening lap resulting in front wing damage and forcing the American driver to pit for a new front wing; recorded a 11th-place finish

“Overall it was a pretty painful weekend for the No. 51 machine. We found pace in both races, but unfortunately we just didn’t have the luck we were hoping for in the races. I had a good start in Race Two, but ended up getting into an incident in the brake zone in Turn 4. Just bad luck all around, but the good news is that we found pace in the car. We still need to do a little bit more fine tuning to find the last bit to move further up on the grid for qualifying, but overall great progress from the Starstruck team. Thanks to the whole Andretti Autosport crew for their hard work this weekend, hopefully we’ll come back strong in Phoenix.”

category: Andretti Autosport
tags: , , , , ,

Welcome to MRTI Coverage from St. Petersburg

Posted by  on Friday, March 11th 2016     

By Bart Ewer and Patrick Stephan) Welcome to St. Petersburg, Florida where all three rungs on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder will be racing this weekend, and in fact have already run some sessions today.  So with temperatures in the low 70’s and hazy skies, lets get going with Bart Ewer’s coverage.  And THANKS…

This content is for 12 Month TSO Ladder Subscription members only.
Log In Register
category: Mazda Road To Indy PR

2016 Program Comes Together for ArmsUp Motorsports

Posted by  on Thursday, March 10th 2016     

ArmsUp Motorsports logo

2016 Program Comes Together for ArmsUp Motorsports
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda team is set to compete this weekend at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (March 10, 2016) – After months of preparation, ArmsUp Motorsports team has secured two seats for the USF2000 Championship set to commence this weekend for Rounds 1 & 2 in St. Petersburg, Florida for the annual Grand Prix of St. Pete, alongside the Verizon IndyCar Series. As the 2015 season came to a close, the team prepared to test new and returning AUM drivers to fill the four available seats. During the 6-month off season, the team buckled down to secure the team’s lineup for the 2016 championship.
Joining the team for the 2016 Championship is Victor Franzoni, Brazilian native who will be competing in the USF2000 series for the third season. Franzoni, who clenched a victory as a rookie at the opening round of the 2014 season at St. Pete, looks forward to joining the ArmsUp lineup.

Franzoni stated, “I’m really looking forward to St. Pete. It´ll be my first race with ArmsUp so that makes me even more excited. They have a great car and the atmosphere in the team is really nice, I love it! So I´m confident I’ll have a good result with them. I already raced twice at St. Petersburg, so this will help us for sure and I love that track, for me is one of the best tracks in the calendar. I hope we can put everything together in this weekend and start the season in the best way.”

Returning to ArmsUp Motorsports is Max Hanratty, a rookie who competed in the 2015 season. Last year, Hanratty’s progress consistently improved with each round and he proved to be competitive against the other seventeen rookies in the field. The AUM team is thrilled to announce his return and pick up where they left off last season.

“I’m excited to be returning with ArmsUp Motorsports,” said Hanratty. “It was a huge learning year for us in 2015 and we’ve gained a lot of experience that I believe will help position us for more success in 2016. The Borland brothers run a top-notch program and I’m confident they will supply me with a car capable of producing the results we are looking for. Having an experienced teammate in Victor Franzoni will be invaluable for the development of the team. He’s proven he can win races in USF2000 and run up front in Pro Mazda. I couldn’t be more eager to drive alongside him and learn what I can. With one of the most competitive fields in years, the GP of St. Pete will definitely be an enormous challenge, but the team and myself have put a lot of work in this off season and I know we’re ready to attack any challenges head on. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year.”

While Max Hanratty and Victor Franzoni are set to be secure for entire season, ArmsUp Motorsports has also secured seats for two noted drivers from SCCA to make appearances during the season in the USF2000 National Class. Danny Weyls and Dale VandenBush are planned to fill seats for the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit and Road America. Danny is also expected to join ArmsUp for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“I am thrilled to be a part of the USF2000 National series with my longtime friends at ArmsUp Motorsports,” explained VandenBush. “I wanted a new challenge after accomplishing everything I wanted to in SCCA club racing, and Gregg and I have talked about getting together for a long time. I’ve known Gregg and Brent since we all came up through the Skip Barber series. This will be the most ambitious undertaking of my modest career, but I’m in good hands with one of the best teams in the business. My goal is to win at Indy and Road America, and with a team of this caliber, winning results are expected. To be racing at the Speedway will be very, very special; a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I am very pumped for the season to start!”

“It was a long off season,” said team owner Gregg Borland. “But we’re excited to finally get it started. We’ve got a great driver line up and look forward to seeing how they’ll do. We also still have one final full time seat available, and look forward to getting the final driver in that seat.”

category: ArmsUp Motorsports
tags: , , ,

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
tags: , ,

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

Dakota Dickerson Joins Afterburner Autosport

Posted by  on Wednesday, February 24th 2016     
Afterburner Autosport logo
Dakota Dickerson Joins Afterburner Autosport 

– Mazda Road to Indy Scholarship Driver Set for 2016 USF2000 Season  –

 
MINNEAPOLIS (February 24, 2016) – Afterburner Autosport, a team that has secured race victories in each of the last three seasons, has announced that Dakota Dickerson will be driving for the team in this year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Series powered by Mazda. Dickerson, 19, will compete in a Soul Red race car, a color reserved for Mazda driver development scholarship winners in 2016. He earned the scholarship by winning the 2015 Skip Barber Shootout. The USF2000 series is the first rung of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system.
Dakota Dickerson will join Afterburner Autosport fro the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda season after winning a $200,000 Mazda Road To Indy Scholarship (Photo Courtesy Mazda Racing)

Dakota Dickerson will join Afterburner Autosport fro the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda season after winning a $200,000 Mazda Road To Indy Scholarship (Photo Courtesy Mazda Racing)

 
“We’re happy to have Dakota with us,” said team owner Tim Walsh. “I’m impressed with him and his thirst for knowledge and understanding the setups on the car. He’s equal to or faster than any other driver we’ve had. Every driver has a different style, and the keys are to get comfortable with the tires and the car and to understand how it all works. To get that experience is the key to going out and driving to win.” 
 
During a busy 2015, Dickerson, a San Diego resident, represented the USA in the Formula Ford Festival (where he finished fifth overall) and the Walter Hayes Trophy events in England. He raced in the open-wheel Skip Barber Summer Series before winning the $200,000 scholarship shootout. Dickerson also had five victories in the Spec Miata category, and was selected as the Otis Hurley III Rookie of the Year for the California Sports Car Club. In 2014, he was the first recipient of the Bryan Herta Career Enhancement Scholarship following a successful, decade-long karting career. 
 
“My main goal is to reach the Verizon IndyCar Series,” said Dickerson. “The best way to get there is the Mazda Road to Indy. I’ve been racing karts for 10 years, so it’s been one of my dreams to represent a manufacturer. And I am very proud of the program we’ve put together, and to be running under the colors of Mazda is an honor.”
 
After several test sessions with the team, Dickerson is confident with the step up to the USF2000 cars.
 
“This is just a fun car to drive,” he said. “It has a lot more downforce and better tires [than I’m used to], so the grip and the cornering speeds are way up. I really like the Mazda engine and how reliable it is. 
 
“My goal for this season is to win the championship and earn the Mazda scholarship to move up to Pro Mazda. Other than that, I want to learn a lot. That means making progress every race, to be consistent and prepare myself to move up the Mazda Road to Indy ladder.”
 
Dickerson will team with Brazilian rookie Felipe Ortiz at Afterburner Autosport. The team is looking to expand with more entries for this season as the organization targets a future move to Pro Mazda or Indy Lights. 
category: Afterburner Autosport
tags: , , , ,

DEAN STONEMAN JOINS ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT FOR 2016 INDY LIGHTS SEASON

Posted by  on Wednesday, February 24th 2016     

NDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 24, 2016) – British racing standout Dean Stoneman will make his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires debut in 2016 with championship team Andretti Autosport. Stoneman, who is viewed as one of the most gifted drivers of his generation, will pilot the No. 27 Stellrecht Mazda driving alongside teammates Shelby Blackstock and Dalton Kellett.

“Dean is a true raw talent and has an incredible, inspirational story,” Andretti Autosport CEO Michael Andretti said. “I can’t think of a better fit for our Indy Lights team and the Mazda Road to Indy Program for the 2016 season. We look forward to working with Dean and helping to grow his career in U.S. open-wheel racing.”

Stoneman is a race winner in nearly every category he has competed in, including capturing the F2 Championship in 2010. On course to obtain a coveted Formula 1 career, Stoneman’s drive was put on hold when diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer at the age of 20, sending him on a 12-month battle to recovery.

While starting on the road to recuperation, the Southampton resident took a two-day test session with Andretti’s Indy Lights effort in 2012 before returning to the seat full time 2013 in the highly competitive Porsche Carerra Cup GB Championship. Stoneman’s long anticipated return to racing continued into 2014 as the GP3 Series vice champion and on to 2015 with competition in the World Series by Renault 3.5.

“I’m delighted to be racing in the U.S. this year,” said Stoneman. “We have been looking at racing here for a while now and to have finally secured a seat with Andretti in Indy Lights is a fantastic move for me. This season will form the first step towards racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series. One of the motivating factors of coming here is the The Mazda Road to Indy program. Rewarding success and assisting progression to the next level of the sport is great and can make a huge difference to a driver’s long-term career in racing.”    

Stoneman added, “I’m now just looking forward to joining the team this week for my first test in Phoenix. I can’t wait to sample ovals for the first time and rise to the challenges ahead. I know Andretti’s commitment to success matches my desire to win and be a competitive force in the series.”

The 2016 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship begins March 12 with the opening round of competition on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Andretti Autosport will field three full-season Indy Lights entries with Blackstock, Kellett and Stoneman while a fourth entry remains in the works. Keep up to date on all things Andretti via Twitter with @FollowAndretti.

For more information please visit AndrettiAutosport.com.

category: Andretti Autosport
tags: , ,
Page 30 of 33:« First« 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 »