Episode 80 – OpenPaddock.net podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThe racing gods feel as though you have waited long enough! So for your consumption, here is the 80th Episode of the Openpaddock.net Podcast! The boys talk a bit of rally, sportscars at Sebring, and get into all things IndyCar/MRTI! A long episode to say the least, but sit back with your favorite beverage and enjoy the latest show! The time grows near… Editors Note: Appreciate everyone giving us some time between shows after the server migration. The issues are 100% solved and the…

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Star Mazda – Barber Testing: Final Session

Today, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear wraps up its three days of pre-season testing at the Barber Motorsports Park. In their final session early this morning, JDC MotorSports’ Tristan Vautier picked up where he left off yesterday, posting blazingly fast times. Today, however, he didn’t start out with the breathing room he had during the previous sessions. Over the previous two day’s Vautier was the only racer to break into the 1:20 range. This morning, all three of the Juncos Racing drivers present for the test, Joao Horta,…

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Indy Lights – Éirinn go Brách

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, O2 Racing Technology announces that they have signed the winningest driver in Star Mazda Championship history, Dubliner Peter Dempsey. Dempsey competed in the Star Mazda Championship for Andersen Racing in 2008 and scored wins at Road America, Trois-Rivières, Mosport, and the New Jersey Motorsports Park against the likes of John Edwards, Alex Ardoin, and Joel Miller. He would finish 3rd in the championship that year. In 2009, Peter raced for AIM Autosport and improved on his results scoring five race wins at Iowa…

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Star Mazda – Barber Testing: Day 2 Wrap-Up

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…

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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…

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Star 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…

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Star 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…

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USF2000 – 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.…

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IndyLights – 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…

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USF2000 – 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…

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