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The Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, made its debut in 2010.
The series serves as the first rung on Mazda's Road to Indy and is sanctioned by IndyCar.
The program aims to provide a scholarship fund path to reach the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500.
The Road to Indy has attracted driving talent from all over the world.
Last year's champion, Florian Latorre, is participating in the season's Star Mazda Championship.
This year the program offers over $470,000 in prizes and awards, with the USF2000 champion receiving a scholarship to advance to the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. The USF2000 cars are open-wheel, single-seat vehicles with front and rear wings. To limit costs, all teams must use the same chassis. Only the Van Diemen DP08 is permitted to compete in the series. The Van Diemen is designed to accommodate suspension and wing adjustments. USF2000 cars are powered by a Mazda MZR engine. The power plant is a four-cylinder, double-overhead camshaft, fuel-injected, two-liter motor which produces 170-horsepower. The motors are prepared and sealed by Elite Engines. A Hewland 5-speed sequential shift gearbox transfers power to the rear wheels. The Van Diemen DP08 is also equipped with thirteen-inch slick or rain tire manufactured by Cooper Tires and co-branded Cooper/USF2000. In addition to Mazda and Cooper Tires, series partners include Allied Building Products, Elite Engines, Carl Haas Automobile Imports, Sunoco Racing Fuels, Performance Friction Brakes, Cosworth, Tilton, Dynamic Suspensions and Racing Communications. The 2015 schedule consists of sixteen races over eight race weekends on eight tracks – two street circuits, one oval, and five permanent road courses.
The 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda season opened with a doubleheader weekend at Saint Petersburg. Drivers would race on the fourteen-turn 1.800-mile temporary street course. |
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In the offseason, Jake Eidson left Cape Motorsports and joined Pabst Racing driving the No. 22 Van Diemen DP08. He collected two victories in 2014 and was third in the final standings. Eidson started his 2015 campaign by qualifying on the pole for race one and despite two caution periods, he went flag-to-flag for the victory. In a repeat performance on Sunday, Eidson led all twenty laps to sweep the weekend. |
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Another driver returning to the series was Aaron Telitz. Telitz also changed teams moving from ArmsUp Motorsports to Cape Motorsports. He scored his first and only series victory on the oval at Lucas Oil Raceway. Telitz drove the No. 3 Van Diemen DP08 and started on the outside of the front row for Saturday’s contest. He chased Jake Eidson to a runner-up result. The finale was a repeat of the previous day. |
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Nico Jamin drove the No. 2 Cape Motorsports prepared Van Diemen DP08. He qualified third fastest for the opening round of 2015. An aggressive start by the ninth-fastest qualifier, Parker Thompson, caused havoc at the front of the grid, which caused Jamin to fall to fourth place. On the restart, Jamin passed Anthony Martin and finished third. He earned the final spot on the podium with less drama on Sunday. |
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Returning for another season of the USF2000 championship was Victory Franzoni. The Brazilian won round one at St. Pete and finished fifth in last year’s point chase. A procedural error during qualifying meant his times were disallowed and he would have to start race one from the rear of the grid. In eighteen laps, Franzoni moved from seventeenth to a sixth-place finish. He retired on Sunday with a mechanical issue. |
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As consistent as the leaders was Australian Anthony Martin. Martin, who piloted the No. 33 John Cumminsky Racing Van Diemen DP08 with backing from Burgess BLA, qualified fifth fastest for the weekend’s first contest. An opening lap incident advanced him to third place, but he would cross the finish line in fourth. The next day, Martin was gridded fifth and passed Jordan Lloyd for another fourth-place result. |
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| POS | START | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jake Eidson | Pabst Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Aaron Telitz | Cape Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 3 | 3 | Nico Jamin | Cape Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 4 | 5 | Anthony Martin | John Cummiskey Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 5 | 7 | Luo Yufeng | Pabst Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 6 | 17 | Victor Franzoni | Afterburner Autosport | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 7 | 6 | Garth Rickards | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 8 | 4 | Jordan Lloyd | John Cummiskey Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 9 | 13 | Ayla Ågren | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 10 | 10 | Nikita Lastochkin | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 11 | 12 | Max Hanratty | ArmsUp Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 12 | 16 | Andrew List | D2D Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 18 | - |
| 13 | 14 | Augie Lerch | JAY Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 11 | Accident |
| 14 | 15 | James Dayson | ArmsUp Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 2 | Accident |
| 15 | 8 | Parker Thompson | JDC MotorSports | Van Diemen DP08 | 0 | Accident |
| 16 | 9 | Keyvan Andres Soori | ArmsUp Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 0 | Accident |
| 17 | 11 | Luke Gabin | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 0 | Accident |
| POS | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jake Eidson | Pabst Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Aaron Telitz | Cape Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 3 | 3 | Nico Jamin | Cape Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 4 | 5 | Anthony Martin | John Cummiskey Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 5 | 4 | Jordan Lloyd | John Cummiskey Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 6 | 7 | Parker Thompson | JDC MotorSports | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 7 | 10 | Keyvan Andres Soori | ArmsUp Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 8 | 12 | Nikita Lastochkin | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 9 | 11 | Luke Gabin | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 10 | 13 | Ayla Ågren | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 11 | 14 | Max Hanratty | ArmsUp Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 12 | 17 | Andrew List | D2D Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 13 | 16 | James Dayson | ArmsUp Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | 20 | - |
| 14 | 8 | Luo Yufeng | Pabst Racing | Van Diemen DP08 | 17 | - |
| 15 | 9 | Garth Rickards | Team Pelfrey | Van Diemen DP08 | 7 | Accident |
| 16 | 6 | Victor Franzoni | Afterburner Autosport | Van Diemen DP08 | - | Mechanical |
| - | 15 | Augie Lerch | JAY Motorsports | Van Diemen DP08 | - | Did Not Start |
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