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In 2014, the Pro Formula Mazda Championship entered its twenty-fourth 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 attraction of the Pro Formula Mazda series is the scholarship program. $885,000 in prizes and awards will be distributed in 2014. The series champion will receive a scholarship package from Mazda to advance to Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires in 2015. Other champion's awards include a Cooper Tires Award for tires and a series award for race entries. 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. New for 2014 was a change in the front tire size to improve turn-in capabilities and increase top speed. Wickers have also been introduced. Races were in support of the IndyCar Series, except for the contest at Lucas Oil Raceway. All road and street course events were doubleheaders. Unlike previous seasons, the races were held in the United States. The opening round of the 2014 Pro Formula Mazda Championship was held at Saint Petersburg and ended in August at Sonoma Raceway.
In addition to the overall title, championships were on the line for:
Rounds ten and eleven of the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires were held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Drivers would compete in two races around the thirteen-turn 2.258-mile road course.
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Nicolas Costa started his 2014 campaign with M1 Racing but joined Team Pelfrey in Houston, driving the No. 82 Pro Formula Mazda. Despite feeling ill at Mid-Ohio, he qualified on the pole for race one and held off Ryan Booth to collect his first series win. In the finale, Costa started on the pole. However, the third fastest qualifier, Garrett Grist, vaulted into the lead, with Costa chasing him for 20-laps to a second-place finish. |
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Garrett Grist won his first Pro Mazda Championship in round seven at Lucas Oil Raceway. The driver of the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Pro Formula Mazda collected his second series victory in Sunday’s contest at Mid-Ohio. Grist qualified third fastest but shot into the lead at the start. And, despite pressure from Saturday’s winner, Nicolas Costa, he grabbed the victory. On Saturday, Grist finished ninth after starting fourth. |
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Rookie Ryan Booth drove the No. 19 JDC MotorSports Pro Formula Mazda. Before Mid-Ohio, the highlight of his season was a four-place result in the previous round at Houston. Booth qualified six fastest in race one at Mid-Ohio; however, he charged into third place on the opening lap. Booth would finish second - 0.3458-seconds behind the winner, Nicolas Costa. The next day, he started seventh and finished twelfth. |
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Returning to Andretti Autosport was Shelby Blackstock. Last year, Blackstock claimed his first series victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. His best finish this season was a runner-up result at Indianapolis. In the weekend’s first race at Mid-Ohio, Blackstock qualified fifth, but a great start and a pass after a caution was rewarded with a third place. An incident before the green flag eliminated him from Sunday’s race. |
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Title contender Scott Hargrove piloted the No. 3 Cape Motorsports Pro Formula Mazda. To date, Hargrove had seven podium results, of which three were victories. He opened the week by qualifying seventh fastest and finishing sixth. On Sunday, Hargrove was gridded eighth and crossed the finish line in third. Not championship results, but he finished in front of the points leader, Spencer Pigot, on both days. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Nicolas Costa | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 2 | 6 | Ryan Booth | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 3 | 5 | Shelby Blackstock | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 4 | 8 | Spencer Pigot | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 5 | 3 | José Gutiérrez | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 6 | 7 | Scott Hargrove | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 7 | 10 | Neil Alberico | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 8 | 9 | Dalton Kellett | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 9 | 4 | Garett Grist | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 10 | 11 | Brandon Newey | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 11 | 19 | Kyle Connery | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 12 | 2 | Kyle Kaiser | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 13 | 16 | Bobby Eberle | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 14 | 12 | Julia Ballario | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 15 | 18 | Carlos Conde | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 16 | 14 | Felipe Donato | Pro Formula Mazda | 18 | Off Course |
| 17 | 13 | Michael Johnson | Pro Formula Mazda | 18 | - |
| 18 | 17 | Jay Horak | Pro Formula Mazda | 10 | Mechanical |
| 19 | 15 | Brian Lift | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Garett Grist | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 2 | 1 | Nicolas Costa | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 3 | 8 | Scott Hargrove | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 4 | 4 | José Gutiérrez | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 5 | 11 | Neil Alberico | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 6 | 5 | Spencer Pigot | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 7 | 2 | Kyle Kaiser | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 8 | 6 | Dalton Kellett | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 9 | 15 | Kyle Connery | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 10 | 14 | Felipe Donato | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 11 | 10 | Julia Ballario | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 12 | 7 | Ryan Booth | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 13 | 12 | Brandon Newey | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 14 | 13 | Michael Johnson | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 15 | 16 | Brian Lift | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 16 | 17 | Bobby Eberle | Pro Formula Mazda | 20 | - |
| 17 | 18 | Jay Horak | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | Mechanical |
| 18 | 19 | Carlos Conde | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 19 | 9 | Shelby Blackstock | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
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