TOP YOUNG DRIVERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD HEAD TO THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FORMULA ONE CIRCUIT OCTOBER 10-11 TO AUDITION FOR 2013 MAZDA ROAD TO INDY SEASON
With the Mazda Road to Indy, including the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, increasingly becoming the driver development program of choice for top young drivers from around the world, auditions for 2013 season - being held October 10-11 on the Formula 1 circuit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - will feature a Who's Who of rising open-wheel stars from Europe, Mexico, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Some are already part of the Mazda Road to Indy, but the test is open to all interested drivers.
Setting the bar high in terms of talent will be a group of series champions participating in the Indy test as part of the Mazda Road to Indy scholarship program. The 2012 British Formula Ford champion will receive a full test day in a USF2000 Championship car and one full day in a Star Mazda Championship car as part of the program, along with the top three drivers from the LaTam Challenge Series, a VW-based formula car series in Mexico, who will each receive a one-day test in a Star Mazda car. In addition, both the Quebec-based Formula Tour 1600 series and the Ontario-based Toyo Tires F1600 Championship series champions in 2012 will each receive a one day test in a USF2000 car at the Mazda Road to Indy test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2012.
"There are a number of drivers coming to the test who are already part of the Mazda Road to Indy, and we're excited to see what they can do in a car," says Gary Rodrigues, founder and president of the Star Mazda Championship. "But the test isn't only for them. Any driver who is serious about their career and wants to see what the Mazda Road to Indy is all about is invited to participate. This is a tremendous opportunity for young drivers to check out our series and teams, both Star Mazda and USF2000, while testing at a world-class racing facility like the F1 circuit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We have been contacted by drivers all over the world, and encourage anyone who is interested to check out our web site, contact our teams and make your deal as early as possible to reserve a place at the test. I also invite serious young drivers, their parents, managers or sponsors to contact me directly at gary@starmazda.com."
Teams participating include JDC Motorsports, winners of the Star Mazda Championship in 20007 with American Dane Cameron, 20008 with English racer Adam Christodoulou and 2010 with Frenchman Tristan Vautier in 2011. Also testing will be Toronto-based AIM Autosport, 20008 champions with American John Edwards and Indianapolis-based Juncos Racing, who broke all the series' records on the way to winning the championship with Conor Daly in 2010. The new Team Pelfrey, currently leading the 2012 championship with English racer Jack Hawksworth will also be part of the program, as will Andretti Autosport, the only operation with teams at every level of the Mazda Road to Indy, from USF2000 to IndyCar; Andretti driver Sage Karam won the 2011 Star Mazda 'Rookie of the Year' award. Also on the list are Team GDT and Linares racing, who teamed up to win Race 1 at the Edmonton Indy with Camilo Schmidt, a top young South American kart racer making the jump directly to Star Mazda.
All Star Mazda teams, and contact information, can be found on the series web site at www.StarMazda.com under Series>Teams, or by clicking here.
Star Mazda Championship and the Mazda Road to Indy
Utilizing the ladder formed by the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and Indy Lights, the Mazda Road to Indy provides a clearly-defined path for career-minded young drivers to progress up through the ranks to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500... with scholarship funding for the champion at each level to move up and compete in the next higher series.
The 2012 champion in the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda wins a scholarship to move up to 2013 The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Petri Suvanto won the 2011 championship with Cape Motorsports and has moved up to race in Star Mazda with Team Pelfrey.
The 2012 champion in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear wins a scholarship to move up to the 2013 Indy Lights series. Tristan Vautier won the 2011 championship with JDC Motorsports and has moved up to race in Indy Lights with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
The 2012 Indy Lights champion wins a scholarship to move up to the 2013 IZOD IndyCar series - including the Indy 500. Josef Newgarden won the 2011 championship with Sam Schmidt Motorsports and has moved up to race in IndyCar with Sara Fisher Hartman Racing.
In addition to the scholarship prizes, drivers competing in the Star Mazda Championship and the Mazda Road to Indy series will benefit from the program in both immediate and longer-term ways. In addition to racing on many of the same weekends, teams and drivers from all three series also participate in joint advertising, marketing and promotional programs with INDYCAR and the Indy 500, including the Indy Summit, a comprehensive off-track program that trains drivers in the business side of sponsorships, how to use social media to advance their careers and offers the opportunity to meet and interact with top IndyCar officials, drivers and team owners.
MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder
In addition to the Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda also sponsors the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development ladder that provides scholarship funding to bring champions from karting up through the Skip Barber and Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear series and into USF2000.
