Mazda Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Mazda Team Joest confirmed its 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship lineup Thursday with former NTT IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay being among the headlining drivers. Hunter-Reay will participate in the Michelin Endurance Cup, piloting the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P. He’ll be joining co-pilots Jonathan Bomarito and Harry Tincknell, who’ll be sharing the ride together for the third straight year. The INDYCAR veteran drove the No. 55 entry at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year, finishing third overall. Hunter-Reay said that the moment he strapped himselfRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The wait is officially over as Pabst Racing announced that Hunter McElrea has signed on for the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. McElrea, 19, captured 13 victories in 21 starts en route to the 2018 Australian Formula Ford Championship, which punched his ticket for a spot at the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout. In turn, he kept the momentum rolling to earn the Shootout Scholarship award for a shot at the USF2000 title for 2019. “I am ecstatic to be on the Cooper Tires USF2000 ChampionshipRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The celebration in the Mazda Team Joest pits following the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans in October almost resembled a victory. There were cheers, hugs, high fives and fist bumps all around as the pair of Mazda RT24-P Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars landed on the podium for the first time thanks to savvy race strategy on the part of the team as other top contender came up a lap short – or less – on fuel.Read More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – The Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout will return to the Valley of the Sun as the Bondurant Racing School near Phoenix, Ariz., will again host the third annual event on December 8/9. At stake for the 20 champions of junior open-wheel series from around the globe is a $200,000 scholarship from Mazda to enter the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship in 2019 – the first step on the world-renowned driver development ladder system. This year’s field is likely to comprise driversRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – There was a bittersweet element to last night’s Mazda Road to Indy Championship Celebration as over 200 members of the racing community, including drivers, families, teams and sponsors, gathered for their traditional end-of-season banquet. Following a cocktail reception on a glorious summer’s evening overlooking the Columbia River and with Mt. Hood looming in the distance, over $2.6M was distributed in the Mount St. Helens Ballroom at the Red Lion On The River, Jantzen Beach, just a mile or so away from Portland InternationalRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – Kyle Kirkwood continued his remarkable Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda win streak under gloriously sunny skies this afternoon at Portland International Raceway. The recently crowned champion stalked polesitter Rasmus Lindh (Pabst Racing) through the opening stages, then pounced decisively before edging away to another relatively comfortable victory – his 10th in a row and 12th of the 14-race season, which equals the record established by former Verizon IndyCar Series driver J.R. Hildebrand en route to the championship title in 2006. Lindh,Read More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – David Malukas grasped the advantage at the start from pole-winner Rinus VeeKay, then led throughout this afternoon’s Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Cooper Tires. It was the rookie teenager from Chicago’s third victory of the year for BN Racing. VeeKay, from Hoofddorp, Netherlands, had to settle for second for Juncos Racing after yesterday clinching this year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, as well as a Mazda Scholarship prize of $790,300 to make the step to Indy Lights PresentedRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – After yesterday clinching the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship – and a scholarship valued at $1M to step up to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2019 – Patricio O’Ward said this morning he was planning to have some fun in today’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland Powered by Mazda. Indeed he did. The 19-year-old rookie from Monterey, Mexico, profited from an opening lap melee at the Festival Curves chicane to move from seventh on the grid to third,Read More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – Patricio O’Ward, from Monterey, Mexico, concluded a topsy-turvy day at Portland International Raceway by claiming a well-earned victory for Andretti Autosport in this afternoon’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland Powered by Mazda. It was enough to clinch this year’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire title – and a scholarship valued at $1M to guarantee entry into three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2019, including the Indianapolis 500 – with one race remaining. Colton Herta, from Valencia, Calif., tried hisRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of talented youngsters shared the honors in this afternoon’s penultimate round of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at Portland International Raceway. Rinus VeeKay, 17, secured the championship – plus a Mazda Scholarship prize worth almost $800,000 to progress into Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires in 2019 – with a conservative drive to second for Juncos Racing, while Oliver Askew, 21, scored an overdue maiden victory for Cape Motorsports. Parker Thompson finished third for Exclusive Autosport. After winningRead More