Indy Lights Category

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Andretti Autosport’s announcement that Nico Jamin will join the team’s Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires program was confirmation of the their commitment to returning to the top of the championship table. Jamin had a rough go of it during the 2016 season of the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires.  Then again, anybody not in a Team Pelfrey car did, but the 20-year-old Frenchman won two races en route to third in the championship. The 2015 winner of theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer One of the more storied teams in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires will close the garage doors as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports confirmed they will not be fielding a team in the 2017 championship. Despite nearly winning the 2016 championship with Santiago Urrutia, the team will be centering its focus on the Verizon IndyCar Series program after winning seven championships in the final step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder The team had tested 2016 Pro Mazda standout PatoRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In this series, we will take a look at driver moves we would like to see for the 2017 Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. During his time in the Mazda Road to Indy, Aaron Telitz has been a winner. After winning the 2013 Skip Barber Race Series Championship Shootout, Telitz won the 2014 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda Rookie of the Year award as well as the only oval race of the season at Lucas OilRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Carlin joined the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires grid in 2015 as Trevor Carlin sought to expand his open-wheel racing empire to the U.S. and succeeded in his second year of operations by securing an Indy Lights championship with driver Ed Jones. Let’s look back at his championship run. The season got off to an uneventful start for Jones as St. Petersburg gave the Dubai-based Brit a tenth and a seventh to start the season off in what is nowRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer After winning the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires for Team Pelfrey, Santiago Urrutia moved up to the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with the Soul Red Mazda scheme. Here is a look back at his 2016 campaign. The start of the Uruguayan’s season was a complete roller coaster as over the first five races, it was one good race followed by a bad race.  At St. Petersburg, Urrutia finished fourth in the firstRead More

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (October 9, 2016) – The two-day Chris Griffis Memorial Test, held in honor of the former Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian team manager, concluded this afternoon at the Indianapolis Grand Prix circuit with several new names featuring at the top of the timing charts for each of the three open-wheel series which comprise the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. A total of 43 drivers took advantage of the opportunity to commence preparations for the 2017 season with eight sessions and four hours of testing allocatedRead More

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (October 8) – The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda took center stage today as the sixth Annual Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test began at the hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit. No fewer than nine different teams took advantage of perfect fall weather conditions to debut their brand-new Tatuus USF-17 cars and gain a jump-start on preparations for the 2017 season. USF2000 represents the first rung on the acclaimed three-step Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. The two higher levels,Read More

PALMETTO, Fla. (September 14, 2016) – The unique and highly acclaimed three-step Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel driver development program, which offers annual scholarships and awards worth over $3.6M to assist drivers to progress from the grassroots to the pinnacle of the sport in North America, will run alongside the Verizon IndyCar Series on all race weekends in 2017. A few highlights include the return of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires competition to Gateway Motorsports Park, inRead More

MONTEREY, Calif. – Champions from all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel driver development program were honored last night in the Championship Celebration banquet at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. A total of more than $2.3M in Mazda Scholarships and other awards was distributed. The major winners included Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Englishman Ed Jones, 21, who on Sunday clinched the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires crown, along with a scholarship valued at $1M to ensure entry into at least three Verizon IndyCarRead More

MONTEREY, Calif. – After some aggressive passes on the opening lap by Zach Veach, there was little doubt about who would win today’s Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented by Cooper Tires. But the outcome of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1M to ensure entry in a minimum of three races in the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series was rather less straightforward. Veach, indeed, sped home to a controlled victory, his third of the season and series-high sixth for Belardi AutoRead More