Category: Pro Mazda

news and commentary on the Pro Mazda Championship racing series in the Mazda Road to Indy

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

Doug Patterson

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…

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Mazda Road to Indy – Fall IMS Test Recap: USF2000

Doug Patterson

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…

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Inside The Helmet – 2011 Star Mazda Champion Tristan Vautier

Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe spoke with Tristan Vautier, driver of the #5 JDC MotorSport Cecibon/Circuit du Laquais/Fontanels/Red Line Oil Mazda and the 2011 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear Drivers’ Champion. Tristan describes his early ventures in motorsports driving in various Formula Renault series in Europe before coming to the Star Mazda Championship in 2010. He also walks us through his amazing and dominating 2011 championship-winning season. We even sneak in a little bit of rally goodness!

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Star Mazda – Team Pelfrey and Tristan Vautier Win Championships at Laguna Seca

Doug Patterson

It was Championship Weekend for the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. As we has mentioned previously, JDC MotorSport’s Tristan Vautier had only to show up in Monterrey to win the championship. As soon as the green flag fell, Tristan was officially the 2011 Star Mazda Drivers’ Champion and will receive a scholarship to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights series in 2012, and presumably drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. As is common amongst any champion, the key to Tristan’s success was not just…

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Star Mazda – Vautier Cruises to Victory in Baltimore, Clinches Championship

Doug Patterson

JDC MotorSports driver, Tristan Vautier, cruised to an easy win on the Streets of Baltimore this morning after qualifying on pole and leading every lap of the 21-lap event. Team Pelfrey’s Connor De Phillipi ran about a second behind Vautier during the first half of the race, but was never able to close the gap. A mistake would send De Phillipi to the lower half of the grid, one lap down, and taking him out of contention for the race and for the championship. “I felt very much in control…

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Inside The Helmet – Gustavo Menezes

Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe have a wonderful chat with Gustavo Menezes, full-time driver for Juncos Racing in the Star Mazda Championship and part-time driver for the Interwetten.com Junior Team in the Formula Renault 2.0 (Eurocup and Alps divisions). Gustavo revisits his action-packed weekend at the Infineon Raceway and his battle with Nick Andries, describes the challenges and benefits to racing both here in the US and in Europe, and explains the differences between the two racing cultures. We hope you enjoy listening to Gustavo’s thoughts and insights…

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Star Mazda Wrap-up – Iowa Results, and a Mid-Season Summary

Doug Patterson

Its been an eventful week for the Mazda Road to Indy, for both good and bad reasons. Before we get into the drama filled soap opera that has suddenly surrounded the Firestone Indy Lights series, let’s first focus on the outstanding racing we saw at the Iowa Speedway this past weekend and amid-season new-driver announcement from Jensen MotorSport and Andretti Autosport. Racing at the Iowa Speedway The Star Mazda race at the Iowa Speedway started out much like most oval races in this series. The opening laps were an absolute…

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IndyCar – The Iowa Corn 250 in Photos

Doug Patterson

The IndyCar and Mazda Road to Indy events at the Iowa Speedway this past Friday and Saturday were outstanding, and it was great fun to take part in it. Seeing most of it through a viewfinder, though, meant that I didn’t have much time to actually follow the race play-by-play. Normally, I would do a wrap-up post of the Mazda Road to Indy events, and there was certainly a lot of good action, but instead I will direct you to the outstanding Star Mazda and Indy Lights race reviews from…

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