Victor Franzoni Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Colton Herta came from the middle of the pack after a hectic start – where he fell from second – to earn his first Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires race win of the season. After a start where polesitter Pato O’Ward was hit from behind by Victor Franzoni, Herta was trapped behind O’Ward and fell back to fifth place in the seven car field. Santi Urrutia took the lead at the start and defended his lead against Victor Franzoni’s advances. Franzoni would goRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Thursday has come and gone for the 2018 INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and despite all the on track action being devoted to the Mazda Road to Indy, the Verizon IndyCar Series had some news of its own. Alfonso Celis announced that he would be racing an Indy car for Juncos Racing at Road America. Celis raced at Barber Motorsports Park for Juncos Racing in Indy Lights, finishing seventh and eighth in his two races. Zachary Claman DeRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Two years ago, Pato O’Ward was staring at a crossroads. Having enough funding for the first two race weekends of the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires, the Mexican racer ended up winning three of the first four races and finished second in the other race. In 2018, O’Ward again has won three of the first four races of his championship campaign in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and despite a seventh at race two in St. Petersburg, the hope is thatRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — After a month off, the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires races are back at Barber Motorsports Park with two championship doubleheaders: Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. Indy Lights Despite the loss of Team Pelfrey in Indy Lights, the Indy Lights field is strengthened by the addition of Alfonso Celis to the Juncos Racing squad. Celis was a test driver for Formula One team Force India and is making his AmericanRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — It’s back to school time for the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires and the streets of St. Petersburg, Fl showcases the drivers on a grand stage. Let’s take a look at random tidbits from Friday. IndyCar For the IndyCar guys, it was an interesting situation on top of the time sheets in the two practice sessions. Matheus Leist was quickest, the first year driver for A.J. Foyt Racing going around the 1.8 mile streetRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The final step on the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires might have the smallest field, but top to bottom the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires has an extremely stacked field going for a one million dollar scholarship package to move to the Verizon IndyCar Series. First, let’s look at the schedule. The 2018 schedule is identical in layout to 2017 except for two changes. The final race weekend is now at Portland International Raceway and it’s also a doubleheader weekend instead ofRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – A new season of competition in the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is almost set to commence. All three rungs on the world’s premier open-wheel development ladder – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – will be in action beginning Friday, February 23, for the annual Spring Training open test which will take place over four days at Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida.Read 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 Mazda Motorsports IRVINE, Calif. – Victor Franzoni, Oliver Askew, Keith Donegan and Selin Rollan have selected the teams to which they will take their Mazda Road To Indy and Mazda Road to 24 Scholarships for the 2018 racing season. After capturing the 2017 Pro Mazda championship, Franzoni will compete in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires championship with Juncos Racing. Askew, the 2017 USF2000 champion, moves up to the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires with Cape Motorsports. The winner of the Mazda Road to Indy ScholarshipRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer After some downtime following the new year, the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires has had a few driver announcements in recent days that have helped shape the grids across the three championships. In the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, Canadian team Exclusive Autosport announced Mexican pilot Manuel Cabrera while DEForce Racing confirmed their trio of drivers for the season. Kory Enders will rejoin the team he spent his rookie season with, while Colin Kaminsky joins the team after spending much ofRead More