Mazda Road to Indy – Fall IMS Test Recap: Star Mazda

This past weekend, all three series that are part of the Mazda Road to Indy program tested for two days on the infield road circuit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While there were certainly many familiar faces present, including Star Mazda champ Tristan Vautier and USF2000 champ Petri Suvanto, there were also many new-comers testing at all three levels. We’ll break down the test not by day, but by series and look at how things went for the teams and what we can expect looking forward through the off-season and into the beginning of 2012.

Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear

The first three sessions of the weekend were topped by Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach running the #77 machine in his familiar green and white Zakosi Data Backup machine. Zach’s best time on Friday would be a 1:27.1120. This certainly wasn’t Zach’s first laps in a Star Mazda machine as he rejoined his 2010 USF2000 teammate Sage Karam for the last couple of events for the 2011 season, and will continue with the team in 2012 as he continues to climb the Mazda Road to Indy ladder.

“I have to thank the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for giving us the opportunity to test on the circuit. My goal is to race here on the oval, but getting a chance to run the road course has been great. Testing is a lot of fun because the pressure isn’t the same and you can have a lot of fun and allows you to learn and work on your driving style a bit, and though we were fastest in both sessions, there’re still things to work on and I’m looking forward to the rest of the test.” — Zach Veach, #77 Andretti Autosport

In the final session of the weekend, Jack Hawkesworth piloting the #11 Team Pelfrey car would top the time sheets for the weekend with a 1:25.431. The 2011 USF2000 champion, Petri Suvanto, would be right behind him in the other Team Pelfrey car, #81, posting a 1:25.811, second fastest time of the weekend. Team Pelfrey, although new to Star Mazda in 2011, proved that they were a championship contending team with their drivers, Connor Di Phillipi and Nick Andries, finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in driverp points and securing the 2011 Team Championship title.

“Making my debut here in the US at a track like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where drivers around the world want to race, and coming away with the fastest time is great. Team Pelfrey put together a great car and it has been a good test working together and learning as I look to competing in the championship in 2012.” — Jack Hawesworth

Testing will continue through the off-season and we’ll do our best to keep you up to date on the latest driver announcements and testing results.

Timing and Scoring Results

Session #1

Session #2

Session #3

Session #4