Aitken Stars on his Return to North America
Avondale, La. – Team Pelfrey made a strong start to the Mazda Road to Indy season as the Cooper Tires Winterfest kicked off the past two days at NOLA Motorsports Park. Englishman Jack Aitken won two of the three Pro Mazda races on the 2.75-mile road course situated just a few miles from downtown New Orleans, while Garth Rickards led the team’s new four-car foray into USF2000 by securing a promising top-five finish.
Following an impressive Pro Mazda debut in the final two rounds of the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at Sonoma Raceway, Calif., last August, Aitken returned to the team in style this week, marking himself as the man to beat in the six-race preseason mini-series which will conclude with three more races next Wednesday and Thursday at Barber Motorsports Park, near Birmingham, Ala.
Aitken produced a stunning last-lap effort to post the fastest lap in qualifying on Thursday morning and earn the pole position for Race One later in the afternoon. The 19-year-old Briton led throughout the 19-lap contest but was pushed every inch of the way by Malaysian Weiron Tan. Friday saw their rivalry continue as Tan won Race Two, after jumping clear at the rolling start and relegating Aitken to fourth, whereupon Aitken redressed the balance in Race Three, taking the lead at Turn One and holding off a determined challenge from the ex-Formula 3 racer.
Aitken and Tan are now tied for the points lead at the halfway stage in the Winterfest on 83 points apiece.
Team Pelfrey’s ambitious and exciting four-car USF2000 entry also bore fruit as Garth Rickards, Luke Gabin, Nikita Lastochkin and Ayla Agren all secured top-10 finishes from the three races.
Russian Lastochkin led the way in qualifying, with a fine fifth-place effort, leading to a solid eighth-place finish in Race One on Thursday. The following day saw Australian Gabin improve to a sixth-place finish in Race Two, whereupon Rickards (RIGHT) drove a fine race by progressing from 12th on the grid to a fifth-place finish, which became fourth when the on-the-road winner was disqualified for a technical infraction. Gabin also drove well again to claim sixth, with Ayla Agren just two positions farther back in eighth.
“I couldn’t be happier with our team’s performance this week,” said Team Pelfrey Team Principal Nigel Tuckey. “Jack Aitken did a magnificent job for us in Pro Mazda, while Ayla, Garth, Luke and Nikita all proved they have what it takes to be competitive in USF2000.”
WHAT THE DRIVER SAID:
Jack Aitken (#83 Team Pelfrey/Pro Mazda) - Race 1, started first, finished first; Race 2, started first, finished fourth; Race 3, started second, finished first: “We didn’t really know what to expect coming in. I’d only done one test before and we seemed to be going OK but no one else was there so we had no idea what our (relative) pace was like. We’ve actually come here and we’re on top so it’s really good. Weiron (Tan) pushed us hard all weekend and he’s going to be tough to beat at Barber as well, so the battles are going to continue, I reckon. My goal really was just to sharpen up my racecraft and make sure I was fresh for the season but he’s given me a run for my money and I’m fully into it already, so for sure we’ll go to Barber looking for more wins. The goal definitely has to be to win the championship.”
ABOUT TEAM PELFREY:
Dale Pelfrey’s race team, based in Palmetto, Fla., is built upon the same principles he used more than 35 years ago when establishing his business career – hire the best, acquire the best and expect the best in order to achieve the most. After fielding cars in the IndyCar Series from 1998 until 2000, Team Pelfrey was reformed in 2011, winning on its Pro Mazda debut and going on to earn the Team Championship as well as second and third in the drivers’ title-chase with Connor De Phillippi and Nick Andries. Team Pelfrey went one better in 2012, guiding Jack Hawksworth to the Drivers’ Championship and earning a second successive Team Championship. An expansion into the F1600 Championship Series for 2014 saw Ayla Agren, Garth Rickards and Augie Lerch secure the top three positions in the points table. The 2015 season marks Team Pelfrey’s debut in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.