Jamin and Eidson top USF2000 title chase, then pair for Pro Mazda attack in 2016
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – In 2014, multi-time USF2000 series champions Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing expanded their racing operations by adding a new Pro Mazda effort to their successful two-liter program. Dominic and Nicholas Cape had just finished first and second in the 2013 USF2000 championship with Scott Hargrove and Neil Alberico, and they graduated their winning duo within their own ladder program into the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires for the following year’s schedule. Hargrove and Alberico would go on to fight Spencer Pigot for the title, finishing second and third overall, with Hargrove scoring three wins in Cape’s debut season. Just as they did in 2014, the team will once again run a pair of rookies in the Pro Mazda series, fielding entries for USF2000 champ Nico Jamin and series runner-up Jake Eidson. Like Hargrove and Alberico, Jamin will remain with the team as he graduates up the ladder, while Edison will return to the Cape tent, where he first debuted in the Mazda Road to Indy in 2014. The two drivers paired to score 14 of the 16 available victories last year, and will aim to come out of the gate strongly at the season opener in St. Petersburg this weekend following a pre-season test just three days ago at Barber Motorsports Park.
“We’re stoked to be going back racing at our home Grand Prix,” said Dominic and Nicholas Cape. “I think the test was a great way to evaluate how everyone is working together under a slightly more pressurize situation. We worked on set-up packages and specific balance changes and ran a lot of miles midday with heavy fuel loads. Overall, it was a very good two days to improve the team."
Jamin, 20, enjoyed a career year with Cape Motorsports in 2015, winning 10 races from a record-setting 13 pole positions, while garnering a staggering 15 podium finishes to top Eidson for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Nico came on strong through the middle of the year, sweeping the Grand Prix of Indianapolis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May and the Mid-Ohio tripleheader in August to take a firm hold on the title. Nico’s win in the second half of the Toronto doubleheader started a run of six straight race wins to cap the season. The French driver finished ninth in his freshman USF2000 campaign in 2014, scoring a best result of third at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
This will be the third straight year that a USF2000 champion and his ‘Soul Red’ Mazdaspeed scholarship livery will be campaigned by the Cape brothers, having maintained their association with champions Scott Hargrove (2013) and Florian Latorre (2014) as they moved up the ladder with their Mazda support.
Memphis, Tennessee’s Jake Eidson, 20, chased Jamin with everything he had last year, turning in a remarkable season of consistency. Over the 16-race USF2000 championship, Jake posted four race wins, two pole positions, 14 podiums, and 15 top-five finishes on his way to finishing second overall in the championship. The 21-year-old’s Mazda Road to Indy record over the last two years is simply remarkable, and includes six wins and an amazing 25 top-five finishes in 30 starts. Eidson has finished just one race outside the top-10 in the last two years of MRTI competition. The American made four USF2000 starts in 2013, with a best finish of sixth at St. Petersburg.
“After racing with Cape Motorsport in F1600 and USF2000, it's great being able to come back to a team that I spent most of my early racing career with,” Eidson commented. “I already know that the team is extremely dedicated to winning, and as a driver, that's the most you can ask for. I can't wait to get started!”
The 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda gets underway on Friday (March 11-13) at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. For more information on Cape Motorsports, please visit www.capemotorsports.com.
About Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing:
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing was formed in 2010 as a partnership between two successful racing entities. With leadership from brothers Nicholas and Dominic Cape, and along with Wayne Taylor and his organization in Indianapolis, the team campaigns cars in the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The goal of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing is to provide unmatched driver development both on and off the track. It is difficult for a young driver to jump into a professional series and win, regardless of talent. Through coaching and mentoring, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing provides young drivers with as much knowledge of motorsports to become as successful as possible.