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In 2013, the Pro Formula Mazda Championship entered its twenty-third season as one of North America's
premier open-wheel driver development series. Series graduates have gone on to race in F1, Indy Cars, NASCAR, American Le Mans and Grand-Am.
The big news in the off-season was that the series ended its relationship with Goodyear and Cooper became the series' official tire supplier. After several years the Mazda open-wheel championship replaced its race-proven Star Mazda with a new model. Beginning in 2004, competitors began racing a Pro Formula Mazda. It has proven to be a safe and reliable car. The Pro Formula Mazda is manufactured by the Van Diemen / Elan Motorsports Technologies group. The chassis is a carbon-fiber tub with fiberglass bodywork. The front and rear suspension is a pushrod setup with two-way adjustable shock absorbers. Stopping the Pro Formula Mazda are four-piston calipers with vented rotors. It is powered by a 240-horsepower Renesis Mazda engine, also used in the road-going version of the Mazda RX-8. Bolted to the motor is a six-speed sequential transmission with a no-lift shift. The opening round of the 2013 Pro Formula Mazda Championship was held at Circuit of the Americas and ended in early-October at Houston, Texas.
In addition to the overall title, championships were on the line for:
Rounds three and four of the 2013 Pro Formula Mazda Championship were held in Saint Petersburg. Drivers would compete on the fourteen-turn 1.800-mile temporary street course referred to as the Streets of St. Petersburg.
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Rounds three and four of the Pro Formula Mazda Championship belonged to third-generation racer Matt Brabham. Brabham won last year's Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and earned a MAZDASPEED scholarship to compete in Pro Mazda. In the qualifying session at St. Pete, he had a shifter problem and started eighth, but that didn't prevent him from winning. Brabham also grabbed a victory on Sunday. |
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The podium at St. Pete belonged to three drivers and one of them was Shelby Blackstock. He piloted the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Pro Formula Mazda. Blackstock was the fastest qualifier for round three but in the race, he lost the lead to Diego Ferreira and then a position to Matt Brabham for a third-place result. The next day, he was on the pole again but could not keep a hard-charging Brabham behind him and finished second. |
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Diego Ferreira won the series opening round at Circuit of the Americas. Ferreira qualified second in race one at St. Pete, driving the No. 57 Juncos Racing Pro Formula Mazda. He passed the pole-sitter, Shelby Blackstock, on lap-2 but couldn't hold off Matt Brabham and finished second. Ferreira started second in round three. However, he could not maintain the pace of Brabham and Blackstock and finished third. |
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Spencer Pigot missed the podium by one position on both days in St. Pete. Pigot was piloting the No. 81 Team Pelfry Pro Formula Mazda. In the season opener at Circuit of the Americas, he collected at a runner-up result in race one but failed to finish the second contest. At St. Pete, Pigot qualified and finished fourth in Saturday's event. He ended the weekend by starting sixth but advanced to fourth place. |
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Finland's Petri Suvanto was the teammate of Spencer Pigot and drove the No. 82 Team Pelfry Pro Formula Mazda. Suvanto was an excellent bet to challenge for the wins at St. Pete as he was third fastest in the two practice sessions and qualifying. Unfortunately, issues in the weekend's races saw him collect the eighth place in Saturday's contest and, worse yet, an eleventh to end the event. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Matthew Brabham | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Diego Ferreira | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 3 | 1 | Shelby Blackstock | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 4 | 4 | Spencer Pigot | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 5 | 10 | Nick Andries | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 6 | 9 | Zack Meyer | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 7 | 11 | Scott Anderson | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 8 | 3 | Petri Suvanto | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 9 | 7 | Lloyd Read | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 10 | 5 | Kyle Kaiser | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 11 | 12 | Juan Acosta | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 12 | 6 | Juan Piedrahita | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | - |
| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Matthew Brabham | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 2 | 1 | Shelby Blackstock | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 3 | 2 | Diego Ferreira | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 4 | 6 | Spencer Pigot | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 5 | 4 | Kyle Kaiser | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 6 | 7 | Juan Piedrahita | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 7 | 10 | Zack Meyer | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 8 | 9 | Scott Anderson | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 9 | 11 | Lloyd Read | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 10 | 12 | Juan Acosta | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 11 | 3 | Petri Suvanto | Pro Formula Mazda | 21 | - |
| 12 | 8 | Nick Andries | Pro Formula Mazda | 11 | - |
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