Event Headlines
STAR MAZDA 'SPRING TRAINING' AT SEBRING CONCLUDES WITH 23 CARS ON TRACK OVER THREE DAYS -- CONOR DALY TURNS THE QUICKEST TIME IN THE FINAL SESSION Sebring International Raceway (Jan. 24, 2010) The first official Series test for teams and drivers competing in the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear concluded Sunday afternoon. With 23 cars taking to the track over the three-day, six-session test, a group that included a dozen returning drivers and 11 rookies, it was Conor Daly, the 2009 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder scholarship winner who set the quickest time in the final session. Driving the #22 Juncos Racing Mazda, Daly, who won from the pole at New Jersey Motorsports Park and scored six podium finishes to clinch third in the championship in his rookie year, turned a lap of 2:00.588 (110.459 mph). The Star Mazda Championship lap record at Sebring is still held by Dane Cameron, the 2007 series champion, at 1:59.986.
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CONOR DALY QUICKEST OF 23 CARS IN BOTH SATURDAY SESSIONS Sebring International Raceway (Jan. 23, 2010) – With a total of 23 cars here at the test, and a rather larger number of drivers, some with rides, some with hope and a resume, the first official Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear series test got off to an interesting start with two sessions on Friday, Jan. 21. Canadian phenom Mikael Grenier, who ran several events last season to test the waters, was quickest in the first session with a 2:10.899 (109.271 mph) in the #14 Andersen Racing Mazda. He was closely-followed by returning racer Anders Krohn, who won on the Milwaukee Oval in 2009. Now driving for Andersen Racing, Krohn turned a lap of 2:01.928 (109.245 mph) in the #47 car. Back a bit in third with a lap of 2:03.057 (108.243 mph) in the Mitchell Motorsports Mazda was Rusty Mitchell, another experienced driver who started from the pole and finished 2nd on the Trois-Rivières street circuit in 2009.
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STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP THE HOTTEST OPEN-WHEEL DRIVER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WITH MORE THAN TWENTY CARS EXPECTED FOR SERIES TEST THIS WEEKEND AT SEBRING Sebring, FL (January 21, 2010) – The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, now in its 20th year, proves again it is the hottest open-wheel driver development program with more than twenty cars expected for this weekend's three-day test at Sebring International Raceway. And it promises to be an international gathering of rising stars with drivers from the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Columbia, Brazil and Venezuela – with more to come. Driving the car count for both the test and the 11-weekend 13-race 2010 season – in addition to the Series long record of graduating drivers to the top levels of motorsports – are the two driver development programs that converge in the Star Mazda Championship; the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder and the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy" program. The MAZDASPEED Ladder provides scholarship funding for champions to move up into the Star Mazda Championship, and for the Star Mazda champion to move up to the next level of Mazda-powered competition. The Road to Indy is designed to provide a clear path for top young drivers who set their sights on competing in the Indy 500. |