TJ Fischer Tag

BRASELTON, Ga. – Braun Fastest Early Thursday In Practice at Motul Petit Le Mans Hunting for their first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class title, the No. 54 CORE autosport team’s efforts got off to a hot start on Thursday at Road Atlanta. Colin Braun, who is co-driving in Saturday’s 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans with team owner Jon Bennett and endurance driver Romain Dumas, posted the fastest lap overall across the two afternoon practice sessions with a time of one minute, 11.669 seconds (127.586 mph). The No. 54 ORECARead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Mark Twain popularized the phrase “There are three kinds of falsehoods; lies, damned lies and statistics,” which he attributed to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Statistics was how this writer looked at Team Pelfrey in a recent roundtable discussion.  In it, this writer said that the team had been disappointing because “I did not expect a large organization like Pelfrey to have only one win this season.” Motorsports Tribune sat down at Watkins Glen with Jonathan Baker to speak about the team’sRead More

By Road to Indy As the only squad currently to field teams on all three rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder, Team Pelfrey has the ability to mirror the ladder series’ progression through the ranks. Dale Pelfrey first fielded a team in the IRL in the late 1990s, and today focuses on nurturing young racers, hoping to one day take a driver from karting to the Verizon IndyCar Series – all under the Team Pelfrey banner. Former MRTI racer Jonny Baker handles the team’sRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Victor Franzoni got closer to the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires trophy and the Mazdaspeed scholarship by winning the first of two Pro Mazda races this weekend at Watkins Glen International for Juncos Racing. The race began with Franzoni leading from the pole but Cape Motorsports’s Anthony Martin would take over the lead heading to the inner loop on the first lap. Martin would lead the first two laps but unfortunately  the green flag wouldn’tRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer MADISON, Illinois — After losing the bonus point for pole to Anthony Martin, Victor Franzoni stormed back to victory at the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires race at Gateway Motorsports Park. The race began with a two car incident between Brendan Puderbach and Jeff Green that saw them spin but not hit any walls. A brief yellow was called but the cars went back to green quickly. The 55 lap race then became a seesaw battle between Franzoni and MartinRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — Anthony Martin was challenged on Saturday. After finishing second to Victor Franzoni, Martin knew he had to win on Sunday, and win on Sunday he did in the final Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires race of the weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Martin started on pole with Franzoni in third. Martin made a statement early, setting fastest lap after fastest lap, while Franzoni had to get around Team Pelfrey’s Carlos Cunha for second. Cunha didRead More

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Victor Franzoni took advantage of a lapped traffic slip-up by Anthony Martin to get the lead with mere minutes remaining in Saturday’s Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to win and extend his slim points lead. Martin led the race from pole but Franzoni was not far behind. The pair then gapped the field so much that the lead was over 20 seconds to third place. However, everything changed as the leaders approached Franzoni’s Juncos Racing teammate Jeff Green. GreenRead 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 SPEEDWAY, Indiana — At the track where he made his Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires debut two years ago, Victor Franzoni earned his first Pro Mazda win in dramatic fashion by out-dueling series points leader Anthony Martin. The Juncos Racing driver started on the pole but lost the lead at the start to Martin. The Cape Motorsports driver held the lead for the next few laps while Franzoni gradually closed the gap. On Lap 5, Franzoni got alongside Martin andRead More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Talented Australian Anthony Martin continued from where he left off yesterday, scoring another flag-to-flag victory in this afternoon’s Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He now boasts a perfect two-for-two record in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Martin, 22, led throughout the 40-minute race to enjoy a weekend sweep for himself and the locally based Cape Motorsports team on the streets of St. Petersburg. The remaining podium finishers also repeated from yesterday, with Victor Franzoni, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, finishing secondRead More