Well, apparently there was an afternoon practice session! I was away on errands and wasn’t able to watch the timing and scoring develop, although after looking at the results, it looks like business as usual for Tristan Vautier. The young Frenchman claimed the fast time of the session once again for JDC MotorSports and really looks to be the easy favourite come St. Petersburg. The Juncos racing squad found their way back to the top portion of the time sheet with Joao Horta and Martin Scuncio slotting up in P2…
Read MoreAuthor: Doug Patterson
Motorsports enthusiast since ...well... always. Grew up watching Mario and AJ, took my first lap around IMS in the tour bus in 1977, fell in love with anything that went fast.
Currently, I work as a professor of astronomy and physics at a college in the suburbs of Kansas City, http://staff.jccc.edu/dpatter/, and own a photography business, Patterson Prints, with my wife. http://www.pattersonprints.com/
Star Mazda – Barber Test Day 2: Second Session Times
The IZOD IndyCar Series teams and drivers were supposed to have a test from 1000-1200 CDT this morning, but the cold, wet track that the Star Mazda Championship drivers braved earlier this morning, proved too intimidating for them. The track went green as scheduled at 1000, but no one wanted to go out. Absolutely EVERYONE stayed in the pits! As a result, the testing schedule was hastily revised and the Star Mazda teams, which were originally slated to go out from 1300-1400 CDT, went out for a second morning session…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Barber Test Day 2: Morning Times
Day 2 of Star Mazda testing started this morning under very different conditions that Day 1 and the differences were reflected in the times posted today. Heavy rain hit the Birmingham area last night and the teams and drivers woke to find a much colder and very wet track. Tristen Vautier once again proved that he’s the driver to beat in his JDC MotorSports machine posting a best time that was a full second faster than anyone else on the grid. Andretti Autosport and Sage Karam seem to be coming…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Barber Testing Results
The Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear held its first open test today at Barber Motorsports Park in preparation for the season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg later this month. For many of the drivers, it was the first time being out in traffic in the Star Mazda cars. The testing results weren’t too surprising. JDC MotorSports is a strong team, especially in Star Mazda where they’ve won the championship with Dane Cameron in 2007 and with Adam Christodoulou in 2009, and they’ve shown that they’re serious about…
Read MoreUSF2000 – Sebring Preview
At long last, the long, dark off-season is nearly over! This weekend, the Cooper Tires Presents the US F2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda joins the American LeMans Series Presented by Tequila Patrón at the historic Sebring International Raceway. The race at Sebring is the first of the seven-stop, nine-race USF2000 season. While the official entry list for the event is still forthcoming, we at least know who’s signed up with the series for the season. Here’s the official list of teams and drivers entered for the season so far.…
Read MoreIndyLights – Newgarden Signs with Sam Schmidt Motorsports
We already knew that Josef Newgarden, @RacerOfTomorrow on Twitter, had made the bold move of declining his invitation to the FIA Young Driver Excellence Academy after his 2010 season in GP3 in hopes of securing a ride in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Well, it seems that Newgarden’s gamble paid off big time as it was announced yesterday that he’ll round out the Sam Schmidt Motorsports Firestone Indy Lights full-time squad joining Victor Carbone and previously rumored, but not yet officially confirmed, Esteban Guerrieri. Bryan Clausen and Conor Daly will…
Read MoreUSF2000 – Belardi Signs Two Former Formula Car Champions
Belardi Auto Racing wrapped up their Firestone Indy Lights roster late last month, and now they’ve secured two former formula car champions to be their drivers in the Cooper Tires presents the US F2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, Wayne Boyd and Cole Morgan. Wayne Boyd, a Belfast native, started racing in the Super 1 National JICA Championship where he had mixed results. After moving to cars, his results improved dramatically, winning the 2007 Northern Ireland Formula Ford 1600 Championship. He continued his winning ways the following year winning the…
Read MoreIndy Lights – Belardi Auto Racing Finalizes Driver Roster
Today, Belardi Auto Racing announced that Jorge Goncalvez would join Anders “The Viking” Krohn to round out their 2011 Firestone Indy Lights driver roster. Jorge has made it to the Firestone Indy Lights series through a somewhat unique route. While he has has some experience in karting, beginning in 2006, he also started racing cars that same year. He ran one race in the Formula Renault 1.6 Panam GP Series and made the podium! Not bad for your first time out. He then moved to Formula Renault Campus France in…
Read MoreUS F2000 – New Incentives Offered to SCCA, FF, and F2000 Drivers
The Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda is positioning itself to be the premier F2000 series in North America by reaching out to various amateur and semi-pro formula series throughout the country by offering scholarships to various SCCA, Formula Ford, and F2000 competitors to step up to the US F2000 National Championship. I understand that there’s some bitterness in the F2000 community about US F2000, but it is the first step on the Mazda Road to Indy program and the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder. That’s not…
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