In 2015, the Pro Formula Mazda Championship entered its twenty-fifth 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 and IMSA.

The attraction of the Pro Formula Mazda series is the scholarship program. Nearly $1 million in prizes and awards will be distributed in 2015. The series champion will receive a scholarship package from Mazda to advance to Indy Lights, presented by Cooper Tires in 2016. 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.

The opening weekend of the 2015 Pro Formula Mazda Championship was held at Saint Petersburg and ended in September at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Races were in support of the IndyCar Series, except for the contest at Lucas Oil Raceway. All road and street course events were doubleheaders, except for Indianapolis Motor Speedway which hosted three rounds.

  • March 28-29 – St. Petersburg
  • April 11-12 – NOLA Motorsports Park
  • April 25-26 – Barber Motorsports Park
  • May 7-9 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
  • May 23 – Lucas Oil Raceway
  • June 13-14 - Streets of Toronto
  • July 18 - Iowa Speedway
  • August 1-2 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
  • September 12-13 – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

In addition to the overall title, championships were on the line for:

  • Expert Championship - Drivers aged 30 and older
  • Team Championship

The 2015 Pro Formula Mazda Championship opening rounds were held in Saint Petersburg. Drivers would compete in two races (Saturday and Sunday) around the fourteen-turn 1.800-mile temporary street course.

Neil Alberico finished third in last year's point chase driving for Cape Motorsports. He returned to the team in 2015, driving the No. 3 Pro Formula Mazda. Alberico qualified on the pole for the weekend's first event at St. Pete and led the contest flag-to-flag. He repeated Saturday's performance the next day. Starting in first place, Alberico went unchallenged to claim his second victory in the event and lead the championship.
Rookie Santiago Urrutia joined this year's Pro Formula Mazda Championship after competing in last season's European F3 championship. Urrutia drove the No. 81 Team Pelfrey Pro Formula Mazda. He was third fastest during the qualifying session for race one at St. Pete. Urrutia moved to second place on lap-2 and held to position to the checker. In the final contest of the weekend, he started and finished fourth.
Another driver returning to the series was José Gutiérrez. The Mexican ended 2014 on a high note with a victory in the season finale at Sonoma Raceway. Gutierrez drove the No. 7 Juncos Racing Pro Formula Mazda and qualified fourth in race one at St. Pete but finished in the fifth position. He bounced back on Sunday, started outside the front row, and fought with Daniel Burkett for a runner-up result.
Florian Latorre won last season's USF2000 National Championship and the MAZDASPEED scholarship. This year, Latorre was piloting the No. 10 Cape Motorsports Pro Formula Mazda. He started his 2015 campaign by qualifying tenth fastest for race one at St. Pete. However, he charged to the front and finished third, which earned him the Quartermaster Award. The next day, Latorre crashed on the opening lap.
Canadian Daniel Burkett had a busy 2014 season. He finished eleventh in the USF2000 championship and secured the Atlantic Championship Series title. Burkett competed in the No. 2 Cape Motorsports Pro Formula Mazda this year. He started race one on the outside of the front row, but on lap-20 Burkett hit the wall and finished fourteenth. Burkett redeemed himself in the finale by finishing third after starting sixth.

FINISHSTARTDRIVERCARLAPSRETIREMENTS
11Neil AlbericoPro Formula Mazda23-
23Santiago UrrutiaPro Formula Mazda23-
310Florian LatorrePro Formula Mazda23-
46Patricio O'WardPro Formula Mazda23-
54José GutiérrezPro Formula Mazda23-
67Raoul OwensPro Formula Mazda23-
713Dalton KellettPro Formula Mazda23-
88Will OwenPro Formula Mazda23-
914Alessandro LatifPro Formula Mazda23-
1012Kyle ConneryPro Formula Mazda23-
1111Garett GristPro Formula Mazda23-
1215Parker NicklinPro Formula Mazda23-
1316Bobby EberlePro Formula Mazda23-
142Daniel BurkettPro Formula Mazda23-
1517Jay HorakPro Formula Mazda22-
169Weiron TanPro Formula Mazda12Did Not Finish
175Timothé BuretPro Formula Mazda5Accident

FINISHSTARTDRIVERCARLAPSRETIREMENTS
11Neil AlbericoPro Formula Mazda19-
22José GutiérrezPro Formula Mazda19-
36Daniel BurkettPro Formula Mazda19-
44Santiago UrrutiaPro Formula Mazda19-
512Kyle ConneryPro Formula Mazda19-
611Garett GristPro Formula Mazda19-
713Dalton KellettPro Formula Mazda19-
89Will OwenPro Formula Mazda19-
917Jay HorakPro Formula Mazda19-
105Raoul OwensPro Formula Mazda18-
1115Parker NicklinPro Formula Mazda16-
1216Bobby EberlePro Formula Mazda14Mechanical
133Timothé BuretPro Formula Mazda8Mechanical
148Patricio O'WardPro Formula Mazda0Accident
157Weiron TanPro Formula Mazda0Accident
1610Florian LatorrePro Formula Mazda0Accident
1714Alessandro LatifPro Formula Mazda0Accident

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