A new season of competition in the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is almost set to commence. All three rungs on the world’s premier open-wheel development ladder – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – will be in action beginning Friday, February 23, for the annual Spring Training open test which will take place over four days at Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida.

Drivers and teams gear up for the 2018 season

Nikita Lastochkin took a very different route to the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires than many of his fellow competitors. With no motorsports background growing up in Moscow, Lastochkin did not start racing until the age of 22, after moving to the United States. Here, the now 27-year-old entering his sophomore Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season, talks about coming to America at the age of 16, how he first got the racing bug and how taking racing cues from Colton Herta is a good idea.

BN Racing burst onto the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires scene early this season and made an immediate impact, scoring a pole position and podium finish with former karting star David Malukas at the team’s second race weekend in their home event at Road America.

Taking a look via Twitter at what the teams and drivers of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires are up to!