Rookie showcased pace and racecraft on Streets of St. Petersburg

LOS GATOS, CALIF. – American up-and-comer Neil Alberico started his rookie Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires campaign with two solid outings over the weekend (March 29-30) on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Piloting a race entry for series newcomers Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, the Californian exited the season-opening doubleheader with valuable points and experience via two top-10 finishes.

Alberico's goal right from the get go entering the first races of the Pro Mazda Championship was to start the season on a high note. As planned, the opening two practice sessions were utilized to fine-tune the No. 2 Rising Star Racing/Arai/OMP Racing/J&M Trophies/Oakley/Bondurant School of High Performance Driving/SafeisFast/eFormulaCarNews.com racing steed, with the American cracking the top-10.

That trend continued in the lone qualifying session, and while Alberico did not post the ideal flying lap he desired in the timed run, he did secure a row five starting position with the 10th best time.

After a lengthy delay due to severe weather in the area, race one commenced with Alberico and the rest of the Pro Mazda field getting a good launch when the green flag waved. The Los Gatos, Calif., racer promptly made the most of any and every opportunity to move forward, steadily advancing up the scoring chart. In the end, Alberico scored valuable points and experience in his series debut, crossing the finish line in sixth place.

Alberico, seeking to build on that moment, returned to the driver's seat one day later in typical sunny Florida weather. What followed was yet another display of impressive pace and racecraft, with the 21 year-old working his way forward to sixth place at the line, taking home more points and experience.

"Overall it was a solid way to start our season with two good points scoring days," commented Alberico. "As a team we made massive improvements with the car that we will be able to take with us going into Barber next month. I believe we sit second in team points, and we will continue to work hard from there to get our guys to the top."

Alberico resumes his chase for Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires supremacy on April 26-27, when races two and three on the series calendar take place at the Barber Motorsports Park facility in Alabama. Highlights from the Pro Mazda Championship doubleheader on the streets of St. Petersburg will be air on NBC Sports on May 24th from 1:30 am to 2:30 am ET.

Those interested in supporting this rising American racer are encouraged to contact Neil Alberico directly at neil@neilalberico.com to discuss sponsorship opportunities.

Learn more about Neil Alberico at NeilAlberico.com and keep up to date via Twitter @NeilAlberico and Facebook @ Neil Alberico Motorsports.

Learn more about Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing at CapeMotorsports.com and keep up to date via Twitter@CMwithWTR.

For additional information on Rising Star Racing please visit RisingStarRacing.com.

About Neil Alberico:
A native of Los Gatos, Calif., Alberico first started racing karts at the age of 10, competing in IKF Region 11 action. Over the course of four seasons (2004-07), the young talent captured the Junior Sportsman, Junior Super Sportsman, and Junior Puma championship titles. Continuing to race in the karting ranks while raising funds to pursue a career in motorsports, Alberico won the Snap-On Stars of Karting Series National finale in Las Vegas in 2009, before finishing third in the CKI National TaG Senior championship, and winning the 2010 TaG Senior class in the WSK North American Series. That same year, Alberico won the Bondurant Championship Race Series, winning 10 races as a junior formula car rookie. In 2011, Alberico made his European racing debut, competing in the world-renowned Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain with Irish-based Cliff Dempsey Racing. Finish ninth in his maiden FF season, the Californian earned a Team USA Scholarship, subsequently capturing a Semi-Final win and third place finish in the historic 40th Formula Ford Festival. Alberico joined the Mazda Road to Indy program in 2012, earning a podium finish and nine top-fives in his rookie season of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. The California standout followed that up with 11 wins in 2013, en route to the Cooper Tires Winterfest title and second in the USF2000 Championship with multiple champion Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing.