The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda took center stage today as the sixth Annual Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test began at the hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit. No fewer than nine different teams took advantage of perfect fall weather conditions to debut their brand-new Tatuus USF-17 cars and gain a jump-start on preparations for the 2017 season.
USF2000 represents the first rung on the acclaimed three-step Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. The two higher levels, Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, also were in action with at least 42 drivers from 13 nations scheduled to take part during the two-day test which concludes tomorrow.
Four sessions were held today for each of the three series. In USF2000, it didn’t take long for drivers to dip beneath the existing lap record unofficially of 1:26.1053 (101.973 mph), established by 2016 champion Anthony Martin during qualifying for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May. Matthew Brabham, the 2012 USF2000 champion who was invited to help the six-time and defending champion team Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing get to grips with the new car, dipped beneath the old standard early in the third session this afternoon, only to be eclipsed by 15-year-old phenom Neil Verhagen, who recently clinched both the F1600 Championship Series and the SCCA Formula F National Championship. Verhagen, driving for Pabst Racing, ended the session fastest at 1:25.5962 (102.579 mph).
Lap times continued to tumble in the final session of the day with 2016 Rookie of the Year Robert Megennis, from New York, N.Y., eventually topping the charts for Team Pelfrey with a best lap of 1:25.3194 (102.912 mph). Brabham ended the day a scant 0.0589 second slower, with Verhagen, from Mooresville, N.C., Dakota Dickerson (Pabst Racing), from San Diego, Kaylen Frederick (Team Pelfrey), from Potomac, Md., and New Zealander Brendon Leitch (Newman Wachs Racing) rounding out the top six.
Testing will continue all day tomorrow from 8:30 a.m.
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