Jamin Romps to Debut Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 Victory in New Orleans
The 19-year-old Frenchman qualified his Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing Van Diemen-Mazda on pole this morning and took full advantage as he romped clear of the battling pack on the opening lap. Teammate Aaron Telitz found himself fully occupied in fending off the attention of Jake Eidson (Pabst Racing), which allowed Jamin to open up a commanding lead of almost two seconds by the end of Lap One.
Jamin was never seriously challenged as Telitz and Eidson remained locked in combat for second, with Victor Franzoni (Afterburner Autosport), who started sixth, also joining in the fun. The Brazilian actually lost a couple of places at the start but secured the RePlay XD Move of the Race Award for regaining them – plus two more positions – during a fraught opening lap.
The trio of challengers all turned slightly faster laps than the race leader, earning themselves the top three positions on the starting grid for tomorrow's second leg of the double-header, but there was no catching Jamin, who, after finishing third in the first two races of the season two weeks ago at St. Petersburg, Fla., took the checkered flag 2.0124 seconds to the good.
Telitz finished second for the third consecutive race, while Eidson, who won both races in Florida, had to settle for third.
Franzoni secured his best result of the new season in fourth, followed by Australian Jordan Lloyd, best of the rookie contingent, for John Cummiskey Racing.
Germany's Keyvan Andres Soori (ArmsUp Motorsports), the youngest driver in the field at just 15, held off a determined challenge from Canadian rookie Parker Thompson (JDC MotorSports) to match his career-best finish, sixth, which he achieved last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit.
A last-lap incident involving Anthony Martin (John Cummiskey Racing), Yufeng Luo (Pabst Racing) and Garth Rickards (Team Pelfrey) allowed MAZDASPEED/Skip Barber Racing Scholarship winner Luke Gabin to jump from 11th to eighth, while Team Pelfrey stable-mates Ayla Agren and Nikita Lastochkin completed the top 10.
Lastochkin took home the Tilton Hard Charger Award for moving up three places during the race from his 13th starting position. The PFC Award was presented to the winning car owners, brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape, while the Staubli Award was presented to Jamin.
Race Two for the Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Louisiana is schedule to begin tomorrow morning at 10:15 am CDT pending schedule review. Live timing and commentary will be available at on the Mazda Road to Indy App and at http://mixlr.com/mazda-road-to-indy/.
Nico Jamin (#2 Synova Automotive Eco-Plastics-Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing): "I had a good Cooper Tires Winterfest at NOLA so when I came here I was pretty confident. Everyone on the Cape team has worked hard since St. Petersburg, because Jake [Eidson] was a little bit faster than us there. So it's a very big day for me, my first pole and my first victory. After the first lap, I could see the guys behind me were fighting hard and I knew that was good for me. We were turning good lap times and I just focused on that. It was good to beat Jake, because of his points lead. It will be wet tomorrow so I have to do the same as today and make sure not to make any mistakes. We did well in the wet at Winterfest so hopefully we'll do as well tomorrow."
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About USF2000: The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda debuted in 2010 and is a continuation of the highly-regarded USF2000 series which ran from 1990 through 2006, launching the careers of many of today's top drivers. Sanctioned by INDYCAR and managed by Andersen Promotions, the series is the first official step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system. The top driver in the Championship class will earn a scholarship package from Mazda to advance to the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The series also is part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder program which assists young drivers in advancing from the Skip Barber Racing School to USF2000. Additional information can be found at www.usf2000.com.
About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, and MAZDASPEED: Mazda is a leading player in all aspects of sports car racing with an emphasis on endurance road racing. Mazda is the number-one brand for road-racers across North America among both club racers and professionals. Thousands of Mazda-powered grassroots racers compete in various classes with the SCCA and NASA highlighted by Spec Miata, the world's largest spec class with over 2,500 cars built. Via the Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy and the Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda supports racers at all levels of the sport from club racing up to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship where it races with production SKYACTIV Technology.
Mazda remains the only Asian car company to score an overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1991). Mazda has had a naming rights agreement at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since 2000.
Mazda Motorsports is managed by Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). MNAO is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.
Consumer information can be found at www.mazdausa.com, with press information at www.mazdausamedia.com. Racers and fans can follow the action on Facebook (Mazda Motorsports), Twitter (@mazdaracing), Instagram (MazdaMotorsport) and www.mazdamotorsports.com.
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) is a global company with affiliates, subsidiaries and joint ventures that specialize in the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car and light truck tires. The company also has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of companies located in 11 countries around the world. Additional information can be found at www.us.coopertire.com.
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Pos |
No | Start | Driver | Hometown | Team | Laps | Diff | Gap | TotalTm |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | Nico Jamin | Rouen France | Cape Motorsports w/WTR | 11 | –.—- | –.—- | 18:04.5645 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | Aaron Telitz | Rice Lake WI | Cape Motorsports w/WTR | 11 | 2.0124 | 2.0124 | 18:06.5769 |
| 3 | 22 | 3 | Jake Eidson | Memphis TN | Pabst Racing | 11 | 3.1285 | 1.1161 | 18:07.6930 |
| 4 | 17 | 6 | Victor Franzoni | Sao Paulo Brazil | Afterburner Autosport | 11 | 4.7938 | 1.6653 | 18:09.3583 |
| 5 | 94 | 4 | Jordan Lloyd (R) | Toowoomba Australia | John Cummiskey Racing | 11 | 6.2951 | 1.5013 | 18:10.8596 |
| 6 | 5 | 8 | Keyvan Andres Soori | Cologne Germany | ArmsUp Motorsports | 11 | 15.9585 | 9.6634 | 18:20.5230 |
| 7 | 80 | 7 | Parker Thompson (R) | Red Deer Canada | JDC MotorSports | 11 | 17.7545 | 1.7960 | 18:22.3190 |
| 8 | 82 | 9 | Luke Gabin (R) | Perth Australia | Team Pelfrey | 11 | 19.1596 | 1.4051 | 18:23.7241 |
| 9 | 81 | 11 | Ayla Agren (R) | Oslo Norway | Team Pelfrey | 11 | 21.3675 | 2.2079 | 18:25.9320 |
| 10 | 84 | 13 | Nikita Lastochkin (R) | Moscow Russia | Team Pelfrey | 11 | 22.7867 | 1.4192 | 18:27.3512 |
| 11 | 83 | 12 | Garth Rickards (R) | Mechanicsburg PA | Team Pelfrey | 11 | 28.0284 | 5.2417 | 18:32.5929 |
| 12 | 6 | 14 | Max Hanratty (R) | Hartland WI | ArmsUp Motorsports | 11 | 29.6797 | 1.6513 | 18:34.2442 |
| 13 | 12 | 16 | Augie Lerch (R) | Tucson AZ | JAY Motorsports | 11 | 34.8197 | 5.1400 | 18:39.3842 |
| 14 | 16 | 15 | James Dayson | Vancouver Canada | ArmsUp Motorsports | 11 | 47.3388 | 12.5191 | 18:51.9033 |
| 15 | 23 | 10 | Yufeng Luo (R) | Beijing China | Pabst Racing | 11 | 1:18.4659 | 31.1271 | 19:23.0304 |
| 16 | 33 | 5 | Anthony Martin (R) | Kalgoorlie Australia | John Cummiskey Racing | 10 | 1 lap | 1 lap | 16:41.4255 |