MRTI – St. Pete Preview and Schedule
This coming weekend represents the IZOD IndyCar Series’ and Firestone Indy Lights’ season opening event, although it will represent the second race weekend for both the Pro Mazda Series Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. This will also be one of four weekends over the season in which all four INDYCAR-sanctioned series race at the same venue on the same weekend. Maybe call it four... [Read More...]
Star Mazda – St. Pete Offers a Mix at the Top
Unlike the USF2000 races which saw the same two drivers, Pigot and Brabham, battle for the race wins clear and away from the rest of the field, the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear offered quite a variety at the front during it’s opening two races on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The car counts for this first race weekend of 2012 were pretty good with twenty-one racers taking to the hybrid airport/street circuit. Race #1 Connor... [Read More...]
USF2000 – Pigot Sweeps St. Pete Weekend
The car count was again huge for the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. Thirty-four cars took to the Streets of St. Petersburg for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2012 season, and again race fans were treated to great action on track in both the Championship and National Classes. It really seems that the series has the balance between the FC and FE cars spot on, although there’s a definite performance differential... [Read More...]
Episode 131 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download This week we welcome Jenna Fryer to talk about the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. She talks not only about the weekend, but some of the things IndyCar should be thinking about going forward. Doug is here this week as well and we talk Mazda Road to indy, Formula 1, and this weekend’s round of the WRC in Portugal. Thank you for the download and we really hope you enjoy the show! Read More →
IndyCar – Lotus Can Supply for 2012, Compete Though?
The off season was rich with speculation that Lotus may or may not make the 2012 season with its Judd engine. Think back to late December when there was little to no contact between Lotus or really any of the teams that were in the market for an engine. Autosport.com featured an article this morning that indicated Lotus was in fact capable of supplying the teams they had signed for the entire season. That includes bonus parts and support for... [Read More...]
IndyCar – St. Pete Grand Prix Highlights
IndyCar – Stunning in St. Pete
This weekend’s opening round of the IZOD IndyCar Series had a lot of questions around it. Had Randy Bernard fixed some of the credibility issues, would the new cars and engines be competitive, would the field of talent be as good as what they were predicting? The answer to all of these questions (at least after the first round) was a resounding yes. St. Petersburg lived up to everything we had hoped for and then some. Great story lines,... [Read More...]
IndyCar – St. Petersburg Firestone Fast Six Highlights
MRTI – St. Pete Qualifications Summary
As Mr. Bob Varsha is famous for saying during the Formula 1 broadcasts on SpeedTV, “Before you can race, you must qualify!” As of this morning, all three of the Mazda Road to Indy series have qualified for their respective races on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The USF2000 National Championship and the Star Mazda Championship both qualified yesterday afternoon, and the Firestone Indy Lights series just finished their qualifying session... [Read More...]
Star Mazda – St. Petersburg Starting Grid and Preview
The Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear begins its 2012 season on the Streets of St. Petersburg this weekend, and it looks like they will start with a pretty healthy grid. While not the 30+ cars they used to have, its still nice to see that 21 cars will take laps in anger around the hybrid airport/street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida for two races this Saturday and Sunday. Juncos Racing looks to be very strong this season with the addition... [Read More...]
