There’s not been a whole lot going on this past week in the Mazda Road to Indy Program, but we did get a couple of big driver announcements late in the week. The fields are starting to fill up, so in the coming weeks, we’ll be putting together a preview of the 2011 seasons for the Cooper Tires presents the US F2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, and the Firestone Indy Lights Series including a summary of driver/team combinations. For now, though, let’s…
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Star Mazda – JDC MotorSports signs Tristan Vautier
The young French driver, Tristan Vautier, returns to the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear with JDC MotorSports. In 2010, Tristan drove for Andersen Racing and won the season opener in Sebring and Race #2 at New Jersey Motorsports Park before finishing 5th in championship points at the end of the season. “We are very happy to have concluded a deal with Tristan for the 2011 season. We feel that Tristan has the ability to run up-front and put our team back up in a championship position for 2011.” —…
Read MoreMazda Road to Indy Wrap-up: 2/6-2/12
Well, I mentioned it on the OpenPaddock.net Podcast Ep. 75, but I didn’t think things would happen so fast. We’ve had a lot of testing going on recently, and at this late date, testing isn’t solely for the cars, but is a genuine evaluation of driving talent. Think of these late pre-season tests as job interviews. With so much testing going on, it only stood to reason that we’d start hearing more and more driver announcements in the comming weeks. Well, we ended up with four just this week and…
Read MoreInside The Helmet – The Juncos Racing Quartet
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download In this episode of Inside the Helmet – Mazda Road to Indy Edition, we talk with the four drivers for Juncos Racing’s 2011 Star Mazda Championship team: Tatiana Calderon, João Horto, Martin Scuncio, and Gustavo Menezes. All four bring a unique perspective to the Juncos Racing team, and to racing in the Star Mazda Championship. They also tell us about the very unique pre-season testing program that Juncos Racing put them through this year, a three-week “boot camp” in which they went to…
Read MoreStar Mazda – 2010 Stand-out Connor De Phillippi Joins Team Pelfrey for 2011
Connor De Phillipi who contested the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear with JDC MotorSports will be joining Nick Andries at the fledgling squad Team Pelfrey. Perhaps “fledgling” isn’t as appropriate as “repatriated” since Pelfrey has certainly been a competitor in Indy Car racing in years past at various levels. Connor won Rookie of the Year honors in 2010 finishing the season third in championship points, scoring eleven top-ten finishes, three podiums, and winning the season finale at Road Atlanta from pole. “I’m so glad to be a part…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Team GDT Signs Irishman Patrick McKenna
The Team GDT squad keeps getting stronger and is shaping up to be a serious contender for the 2011 Star Mazda Championship. As you’ll remember from earlier in the year, the team hired top-notch engineer Eric Purcell which in itself seriously elevates the competitiveness of the team. The addition of the 2010 US F2000 National Championship runner-up, Patrick McKenna, immediately puts Team GDT among the strongest teams on the 2011 grid. The 2011 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is really shaping up to be one of the best and…
Read MoreStar Mazda: Miller Re-Ups With JDC MotorSports
Well, re-ups for at least the season opener in St. Petersburg, FL on March 27th. Miller has contested the full 2010 season in the Star Mazda Championship with JDC Motorsports, scoring five top-ten finishes, and finished the season tied for tenth in points with fellow rookie Tatiana Calderon of Juncos MotorSports. “We are very privileged to continue our long association with Chris Miller and the Miller Milling Company. Chris is a class act and always brings a positive attitude. We look forward to building on Chris’s rookie season and bringing…
Read MoreMazda Road to Indy Wrapup: 1/29-2/5
There’s not been much in the way of announcements this past week from the Mazda Road to Indy teams and series, but there has been a lot of testing! Winning top prize for “Most Grueling Testing Program” is Juncos Racing which took their four-driver team on a three-week boot camp tour, testing at three very different tracks in three consecutive weeks. Not only does the non-stop testing give the engineers a lot of data and the drivers a lot of seat time, but it also, and more importantly, gives the…
Read MoreGarage 36 – Liza Markle and the New INDYCAR Nation Fan Club
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download Liza Markle, INDYCAR’s new Director of Fan Engagement, joins us for our third episode of Garage 36 where we bring you the news and happening of the INDYCAR Nation, The official fan club of the IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, and the Mazda Road to Indy. 2011 brings some significant changes and new personnel to the fan club formally known as Indy Downforce. For this up coming season, all members will enjoy exclusive access to news, videos, photos, and interviews throughout the…
Read MoreInside The Helmet – Anders Krohn
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download We had the great pleasure and honor to speak to Anders Krohn, driver for Belardi Auto Racing for the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season. Anders had one of the earliest starts in motorsports I’d ever heard of, getting his own kart when he was only 3-1/2! He gives us some insight to his early career in karting and Formula Ford racing in his home country of Norway, how he came to race here in the United States, and the value of racing for…
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