Pro Mazda Tag

By Road to Indy ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Teenager Rinus VeeKay faced plenty of challenges prior to the opening round of the new Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, but he put all that behind him this afternoon as he swept to an impressive victory for Juncos Racing in the first of two races which will comprise the Pro Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Allied Building Products. Fellow Pro Mazda debutant Parker Thompson finished a close second after leading for much of the 25-lap race forRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Ahead of each Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend, Motorsports Tribune offers an in-depth look at the details and storylines going into the weekend’s event(s). Verizon IndyCar Series Race(s): Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (110 laps, 198 miles) Circuit: Streets of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg, Fla.) Track Details: Clockwise – 14 turns, 1.80 miles Track Record: 107.561 mph (Will Power, 2016) What Happened Last Year: Sebastien Bourdais overcame a disastrous qualifying crash to rise from last to first and claim his first win in St. Pete, establishing himself and DaleRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – All three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will hit the ground running in Florida this coming weekend, March 9-11, in support of the headline Verizon Indy Car Series as part of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Drivers representing at least 18 states and 14 different nations from around the world are expected to be among the starting lineups when Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper TiresRead More

By Road to Indy HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The new Mazda-powered Tatuus PM-18, introduced for this year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires – the middle rung on the Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel development ladder – continued to impress this weekend as 15 drivers completed a total of 1610 laps during two days of Spring Training road course testing which concluded this afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Three different drivers topped one or more of the six sessions before second-year Pro Mazda competitor Carlos Cunha, from Campinas, Brazil, earned someRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer To nobody’s surprise, Juncos Racing announced that Victor Franzoni would be joining the team for the 2018 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. After winning the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires with Juncos Racing, Franzoni received a Mazdaspeed scholarship to move to Indy Lights and it made sense for the Brazilian to stay with his current team as he climbs the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. Franzoni won seven of 12 Pro Mazda races in 2017 and finished second inRead More

By Road to Indy BN Racing burst onto the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires scene early this season and made an immediate impact, scoring a pole position and podium finish with former karting star David Malukas at the team’s second race weekend in their home event at Road America. The Chicago-based squad now has plans to expand into the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, having purchased two Tatuus PM-18s that will make their race debut next year. The team is led by Englishman BrynRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer A week before the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires was set to begin, Victor Franzoni was working as a go-kart mechanic during the SuperKarts! USA WinterNationals at NOLA Motorsports Park. During that weekend, a deal was put together that would affect his future in motorsports. Jeff Green bought the two Pro Mazda cars that Ricardo Juncos owned and tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After that test, Green wanted a teammate for the 2017 season and Franzoni was the top choice.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — Anthony Martin won his fourth straight race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as he picked up the victory in the first of three races this weekend in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. Martin took the lead from polesitter Carlos Cunha on the first green flag lap after an aborted start as Franzoni slotted into second place. Both drivers would trade fastest laps back and forth until Martin was able to gap Franzoni during the middle partRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Now that we’ve had a week to digest all of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires action from the streets of St. Petersburg, it’s time to reflect on some interesting observations. Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Aaron Telitz won the first Indy Lights race of the season with nearly the largest margin of victory for an Indy Lights car ever at St. Petersburg, in what was an impressive showing for the Wisconsin native. J.K. Vernay’s winning margin inRead More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Anthony Martin began his bid to follow Matthew Brabham as only the second driver to claim back-to-back Mazda Scholarships in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with a flag-to-flag victory in the Hi-Tide Kids on Track Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The 22-year-old from Kalgoorlie, Australia, driving for St. Petersburg-based Cape Motorsports, remained under pressure virtually throughout the 25-lap, 30-minute race from Brazilian Victor Franzoni (Juncos Racing) before taking the checkered flag to earn victoryRead More