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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.
In addition to the overall title, championships were on the line for:
Rounds nine and ten of the 2015 Pro Formula Mazda Championship were held a Toronto's Exhibition Place. Drivers would compete in two contests around the eleven-turn 1.755-mile temporary street circuit.
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Last season's USF2000 National Champion, Florian Latorre, drove the No. 10 Cape Motorsports Pro Formula Mazda. After several disappointing outings, Latorre found the top spot on the podium. In round nine at Toronto, he qualified on the pole and went flag-to-flag for his first series win. On Sunday, Latorre grabbed the lead but spun and had contact with Alessandro Latif, which resulted in a fourteenth-place finish. |
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After a couple of near misses, Pato O'Ward finished on the podium. The rookie drove the No. 82 Team Pelfrey Pro Formula Mazda. On his first visit to Toronto, O'Ward qualified fifth. On the opening lap of the race, he moved from his starting position to third. O'Ward passed Garrett Grist on the fourteenth circuit for second and finished 5.35-seconds behind the winner, Florian Latorre. O'Ward finished third in the finale. |
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Before the series stopped at Toronto, Timothe Buret earned five podium finishes, one of which was a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 6 Juncos Racing Pro Formula Mazda, Buret was gridded sixth for Saturday's contest. He ran in fourth for much of the race, but when Pato O'Ward made his pass on Garrett Grist, Buret followed and finished third. He ended the weekend with a seventh-place result. |
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The podium for round nine of the 2015 Pro Formula Mazda Championship at Toronto's Exhibition Place. In the center is the reigning Cooper Tires USF2000 Champion and race winner, Florian Latorre. This was the first series victory for the Frenchman. On the left is the runner-up Pato O'Ward. Interestingly, this was O'Ward's first series rostrum. The final place on the podium is occupied by Juncos Racing's Timothe Buret. |
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Canadian Garrett Grist drove for Andretti Autosport last season and collected victories at Lucas Oil Raceway and Mid-Ohio. During the off-season, Grist switched teams and joined Juncos Racing in the No. 5 Pro Formula Mazda. He qualified second for round nine and held the position until being passed by a hard-charging Pato O'Ward. Grist dropped to a fifth-place finish. In the finale, he started on the pole and captured the win. |
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In 2015, Weiron Tan joined the Pro Formula Mazda Championship. Previously, the Malaysian had competed in open-wheel series in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Tan drove the No. 22 Pro Formula Mazda for Andretti Autosport for this year's campaign. He started third in Saturday's contest at Toronto and finished thirteenth. Tan rebounded in the final event with a second-place result. |
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The podium for Sunday's Pro Formula Mazda Championship race at Toronto. In the center is the winner, Garrett Grist. After starting first, Grist lost the top spot but regained the lead at the end of a full-course yellow to earn his first victory of 2015. On the left is Weiron Tan. Like Grist, his results on Saturday were miserable, but he made up for it in the finale with a second-place result. Finishing third was Pato O'Ward. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Florian Latorre | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 2 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 3 | 6 | Timothé Buret | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 4 | 11 | Victor Franzoni | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 5 | 2 | Garett Grist | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 6 | 15 | Kyle Connery | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 7 | 4 | Santiago Urrutia | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 8 | 14 | Raoul Owens | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 9 | 13 | Alessandro Latif | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 10 | 16 | Bryson Schutte | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 11 | 17 | Bobby Eberle | Pro Formula Mazda | 19 | - |
| 12 | 18 | Jay Horak | Pro Formula Mazda | 18 | - |
| 13 | 3 | Weiron Tan | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
| 14 | 7 | Neil Alberico | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
| 15 | 8 | Will Owen | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
| 16 | 9 | José Gutiérrez | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
| 17 | 10 | Dalton Kellett | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
| 18 | 12 | Daniel Burkett | Pro Formula Mazda | 0 | Accident |
| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Garett Grist | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 2 | 3 | Weiron Tan | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 3 | 6 | Patricio O'Ward | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 4 | 7 | Santiago Urrutia | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 5 | 8 | José Gutiérrez | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 6 | 14 | Raoul Owens | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 7 | 5 | Timothé Buret | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 8 | 9 | Will Owen | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 9 | 12 | Daniel Burkett | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 10 | 15 | Kyle Connery | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 11 | 16 | Bryson Schutte | Pro Formula Mazda | 17 | - |
| 12 | 18 | Jay Horak | Pro Formula Mazda | 16 | - |
| 13 | 13 | Alessandro Latif | Pro Formula Mazda | 15 | Accident |
| 14 | 2 | Florian Latorre | Pro Formula Mazda | 13 | Accident |
| 15 | 17 | Bobby Eberle | Pro Formula Mazda | 12 | - |
| 16 | 11 | Victor Franzoni | Pro Formula Mazda | 4 | Accident |
| 17 | 4 | Neil Alberico | Pro Formula Mazda | 2 | Accident |
| - | 10 | Dalton Kellett | Pro Formula Mazda | - | Did Not Start |
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