Road to Indy Category

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Wisconsin’s Aaron Telitz tested for Team Pelfrey late in 2015 before signing with the defending champions of the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires.  By the end of the year, he was the champion of the series after a season which encountered a beginning that could have been discouraging. Telitz had spent 2014 and 2015 in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda and after winning one race in each season and contending for the championship in 2015, heRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In 2016, Pato O’Ward had a ton of pressure on him as he began his campaign in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires.  After the season concluded, O’Ward found himself in second position in the championship standings.  Let’s take a look at his 2016 campaign on the second step on the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. Before the season began, O’Ward only had enough funding for the first two race weekends of the season.  The firstRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer 2015 was an incredible year for Nico Jamin. The Frenchman won had the Cooper Tires USF2000 championship powered by Mazda and went to the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires for the same team, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing for 2016. Unfortunately for the 20-year-old Frenchman, Team Pelfrey’s juggernaut of Aaron Telitz and Pato O’Ward had the field covered for the most part, relegating Jamin to third in the title race, but let’s take a look at how hisRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda proved to be anything but dull for Anthony Martin. The 21-year-old Australian signed to drive for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, the team that has won the championship every year since 2011, after spending the previous season with John Cummiskey Racing.  Expectations were high for the 2015 USF2000 Rookie of the Year, and rightfully so. The first race weekend of the 2016 season didn’t exactly go to Martin’s liking. Despite aRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing had one of the more powerful driver duos of the season with Parker Thompson and Anthony Martin.  Let’s take a look at Thompson’s season as he managed to earn the runner-up spot in the championship. Thompson’s 2016 campaign did not get off to a fantastic start. A crash during practice at St. Petersburg set the 18-year-old Canadian back a bit but he managed to startRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, Victor Franzoni finished third in the championship behind Anthony Martin and Parker Thompson.  Let’s take a look at how Franzoni’s 2016 championship played out.. The 21-year-old Brazilian’s season got off to a rocky start as his ArmsUp Motorsports entry could only manage a sixth and a 12th at St. Petersburg, but starting at the next round at Barber Motorsports Park Franzoni would start a streak of getting onto the podium atRead 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