Event Headlines
HAWK ON THE HUNT – RISING ENGLISH OPEN-WHEEL STAR JACK HAWKSWORTH LEAVES ROUND ONE OF THE 2012 STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A PODIUM, A POLE, A WIN AND THE POINTS LEAD March 25, 2012 / G.P. of St. Petersburg – And so a new, and well-deserved nickname is born; 'The (fastest time), pre-race practice (fastest in every session), qualifying for Race 1 (on the pole) and Race 1 itself (won the race), it was English racer Jack 'The Hawk' Hawksworth (center), driving the #82 Team Pelfrey / TORGOEN Swiss / EXA Networks Mazda, who left the season-opening Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with the championship points lead. Hawksworth, who finished 2nd in Race 1 on Saturday also set the quick time in the race and thus won the pole position for Race 2 on Sunday…. which he promptly converted in to a dominant race win… in his first-ever race on a street circuit. De Phillippi won Race 1 in the #2 Juncos Racing / ModSpace Racing / One24 Mazda, but turned only the 7th-fast lap in the race, thus starting from 7th on the grid for Race 2. And with the three major yellow flag sessions breaking up the race, he had no opportunity to build a credible charge to the front and, despite feeling he had a car capable of winning the race, was forced to settle for 5th. |
REPEATING THE FEAT -- DE PHILLIPPI WINS FROM THE POLE IN A CLEAN, GREEN SEASON-OPENER OF THE 2012 STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG |
DE PHILLIPPI WINS THE PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE AWARD FOR RACE 1 OF THE 2012 STAR MAZDA SEASON-OPENING DOUBLE-HEADER AT THE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETE March 23, 2012 / G.P. of St. Petersburg – Connor De Philliippi, winner of this race last year and quickest in both pre-season Spring Training and pre-race practice, has commenced his battle for the 2012 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear in the strongest possible way, winning the PEAK Performance Pole Award in his #2 Juncos Racing / ModSpace Racing / One24 Mazda. His lap of 1:10.401 is just shy of the 1:10.352 set – under cooler conditions – in 2010 by series champion Conor Daly. De Phillippi not only scores the first point of the 2012 season, but will also have a $1,000 bonus, courtesy of Peak Performance Products. |
AFTER SETTING THE QUICK TIME IN SPRING TRAINING, CONNOR DE PHILLIPPI IS AGAIN QUICKEST – BY ALMOST HALF A SECOND -- IN DAY 1 OF STAR MAZDA PRACTICE FOR THE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETE March 22, 2012 / G.P. of St. Petersburg – After turning a time 6/10ths clear of the next quickest driver in Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear Spring Training at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this week, California racer Connor De Phillippi was again quickest – this time by a mere 0.485-seconds – in the first practice session leading up the 2012 season-opener at this weekend's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. De Philippi, driving the #2 Juncos Racing / ModSpace Racing / One24 Mazda, turned his fast time – a 1:12.084 – on Lap 12 of the 30-minute early evening session. The official Star Mazda lap record at the St. Petersburg street circuit is 1:10.352, set by series champion Conor Daly in 2010. Second-quick in the session was his Juncos Racing teammate, Argentine racer Martin Scuncio, who set a time of 1:12.586 in his #22 Juncos Racing / Pullman Bus Mazda. Third quick was Colombian racer Gabby Chaves with a lap of 1:12.674 in the #19 JDC Motorsports / OMP Mazda. Rounding out the top-5 were Petri Suvanto, who was the quickest rookie and set the second-fast time in Spring Training, with a 1:12.907 in the #81 Team Pelfrey / Mazda Road to Indy Mazda and American Sage Karam, who drove the #88 Andretti Autosport / Comfort Revolution Mazda to a 5-quick time of 1:13.085. |
STAR MAZDA'S 22nd SEASON OF DEVELOPING TOMORROW'S INDYCAR March 20, 2012 / St. Petersburg, FL -- Open-wheel racing has been hard on the throttle since its last visit to the streets of St. Petersburg, and nowhere is that acceleration more evident than the growth enjoyed by the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, the college varsity of open-wheel racing and a major part of the Mazda Road to Indy. Included are a schedule with more races, new national and international TV package, in-car cameras in all cars, new sponsors, new teams, new driver development programs and a field of 2-+ cars piloted by the hottest young drivers from three continents and eight different countries. |