The future stars of the Verizon IndyCar Series will display their talents this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., as all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder will commence their 2015 seasons.

Just as Team Pelfrey’s Jack Aitken predicted following the first two rounds of the Cooper Tires Winterfest at NOLA Motorsports Park last week, the outcome of the pre-season mini-series went all the way down to the wire.

The Englishman and the Malaysian scored one win apiece and are now tied on points as the Mazda Road to Indy pre-season mini-series competitors head to Barber Motorsports Park for three more races next Wednesday and Thursday.

Two youngsters who have honed their skills in Europe in recent years staged a fine battle for the lead in this afternoon’s opening round of the Cooper Tires Winterfest, with Briton Jack Aitken (Team Pelfrey) narrowly holding off Andretti Autosport’s Weiron Tan at NOLA Motorsports Park.

The 14-car field in Pro Mazda includes a stout mix of returning veterans and rookies.