Mazda Road to Indy Set for Season Finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
September 4, 2015 by Mazda Raceway Laguna SecaMONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 4, 2015 — The season finale for the Mazda Road to Indy will take place Sept. 11-13 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and with it comes great anticipation of superb open wheel racing as well as great opportunity for drivers to take the next steps in their racing careers. The 2015 Indy Lights champion will be crowned next weekend, with the winner earning a scholarship toward a drive in three 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series races, including the 100th Indianapolis 500. British driver Jack Harvey, who has led the championship since taking the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, brings a slim six-point advantage into the season finale. Harvey, 22, has two wins, three pole positions and eight total podium finishes this season, but endured a difficult weekend at the previous event at Mid-Ohio, with incidents in both races that left him with two 10th-place finishes. Harvey has a score to settle with the Indy Lights title chase, having finished the 2014 championship tied on points with eventual winner Gabby Chaves (with second place finishes as the deciding factor). The middle rung on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, features open-wheel, single-seat cockpit cars with front and rear wings, carbon fiber chassis and the 260HP Mazda Renesis rotary engine. The 2015 Pro Mazda champion will receive a MAZDASPEED scholarship package to compete in the 2016 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. Uruguay's Santiago Urrutia took over the 2015 championship lead with a victory, a third and a fourth-place finish in three races at Indianapolis in May. Urrutia, who turns 19 on August 30, has been the model of consistency in his first Pro Mazda season, finishing 12 of 14 races in the top-five, with eight total podium finishes including three victories. The first step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda features a cost-efficient Van Diemen Élan chassis powered by the 170HP Mazda MZR 2- liter engine. The 2015 USF2000 champion will receive a Mazda scholarship package to compete in the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. With eight victories, 11 pole positions and 13 podium finishes in 14 races – including a sweep of all three races at Mid-Ohio – 20-year-old Frenchman Nico Jamin holds a commanding 50-point advantage in the USF2000 title race. With two races remaining on the Mazda Raceway schedule, Jamin is on pace to break several USF2000 records, having tied Sage Karam's record of 11 poles (2010) and JR Hildebrand's record of 13 podiums (2006) in a season. The Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Cooper Tires and Powered by Mazda takes the green flag Saturday at 4:30 p.m. with the 2015 season finale Sunday at 2:40 p.m. (all times Pacific). The Allied Building Products Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Monterey takes the green flag Saturday at 2:45 p.m. with the season finale Sunday at 11:40 a.m. (all times Pacific). The Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Powered by Mazda takes the green flag Saturday at 10:30 a.m., with the season finale Sunday at 4:00 p.m. (all times Pacific). Advance tickets range from $35 for a Friday-only ticket to $90 for a three-day General Admission & Paddock ticket. Children 12 and under are free with paid adult. VIP suite packages and camping sites are also available. For more information, log on to www.MazdaRaceway.com or call 831.242.8200.
