Mazda Tag

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – He might already have this year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – and a Mazda Scholarship worth at least $325,000 to graduate onto the next rung of the Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel development ladder in 2019 – under his belt, but now Kyle Kirkwood has his eyes set on the record books. Specifically, he is targeting the standard of most wins in a single USF2000 season, which currently stands to former Verizon IndyCar Series driver J.R. Hildebrand, who won 12Read More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – The Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season will conclude this weekend in the Pacific Northwest when all three feeder categories for the Verizon IndyCar Series – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – return to Portland International Raceway after a lengthy hiatus. Two races for each series will be held on the 1.967-mile, 12-turn road course situated just a few miles from downtownRead More

By Road to Indy MADISON, Ill. – This afternoon’s Mazda St. Louis Indy Lights Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires at Gateway Motorsports Park might have attracted only seven starters, but it provided a thrilling 75-lap race as Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Norman came from behind to claim a magnificent first-ever Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires victory over Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing stablemate Colton Herta. Championship leader Patricio O’Ward was unable to quite match his two teammates, but his disappointment was tempered by the fact that his sixth consecutive podium finish meantRead More

By Road to Indy MADISON, Ill. – Dutch teenager Rinus VeeKay moved another step closer to this year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with another dominant performance this afternoon for Juncos Racing at the 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park oval. VeeKay, who started second, leapt into the lead at the start, then fought off a mid-race challenge from teammate Robert Megennis before cruising to victory – his fifth in a row – to open up a commanding lead over closest rival Parker Thompson with only two races remaining thisRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The step up to the next level of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder can sometimes be steeper than expected. Oliver Askew has been learning that firsthand this year during his inaugural campaign in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. After capturing staggering seven wins, 11 podiums and eight poles in 14 starts en route to the 2017 title in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda – the first rung of the MRTI ladder – with Cape Motorsports, the outside expectations ofRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – The two highest rungs on the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will return to action this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill. The unique, egg-shaped 1.25-mile oval situated just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Mo., will host one race apiece on Saturday for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The events will take on a little more significance with additional points on offer forRead More

By Pato O’Ward, Driver Columnist Editor’s note: Pato O’Ward will be contributing to Motorsports Tribune selectively throughout the 2018 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season. The 18-year-old Texas-based Mexican racer pilots the No. 27 Mazda/Dallara IL-15 for Andretti Autosport. A Rolex 24 at Daytona winner and series champion in the Prototype Challenge class a season ago in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, O’Ward will be looking for similar success during his rookie campaign in the top rung of the Mazda Road to Indy. Drive, Determination and Hunger. Those three things are whatRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Mazda announced today that the automaker will conclude their involvement in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires at the conclusion of the 2018 season. After announcing their involvement on the Road to Indy in late 2010, Mazda has handed out over $12 million in scholarships to drivers advancing their careers in motorsports, including Spencer Pigot (twice), Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kaiser, Oliver Askew (twice) and Victor Franzoni. This announcement comes at a critical time for the Road to Indy. The top two steps onRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A year ago at this time, the sports car racing world was buzzing with the recently announced news that Mazda would be teaming up with Joest Racing for the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to be run under the Mazda Team Joest banner. It was a big deal. Joest Racing is one of the most storied teams in sports car racing history, and it had most recently fielded the extremely successful Audi LMP1 program in the FIA World Endurance Championship. As partRead More

By Road to Indy LEXINGTON, Ohio – Kyle Kirkwood needed only a modest few results from this weekend’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda triple-header at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to put the championship crown beyond the reach of his rivals. The 19-year-old from Jupiter, Fla., did rather better than that. Kirkwood qualified comfortably on pole position – for the fourth time this season – and was never remotely under threat as he cruised to a dominant seventh consecutive victory for Cape Motorsports to lock up the $325,000Read More