Round 1 goes to Diego Ferreira.
Ferreira, 19, of Venezuela, kicked off the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season with a victory from the pole at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. The second 12-lap race is March 2, and Ferreira again will start from the pole by posting the fastest race lap.
"I knew I had a really good gap at the end of the race and slowed up a bit to make sure everything was OK and finish the race," said the Juncos Racing driver. "This win is awesome. Last year I was a rookie learning the tracks and everything. This year maybe it’s my year, I hope, to fight for the championship. I want to thank the team for all of their hard work, Team Viso Venezuela, all of my supporters and my family.”
Spencer Pigot of Team Pelfrey crossed the finish line 4.015 seconds behind the race winner on the 3.41-mile, 20-turn circuit, while Matthew Brabham of Andretti Autosport completed the podium.
"My car was good at the start but then I starting losing a little bit of speed every lap," Brabham said. "I could see Spencer coming in my mirrors. I was pushing hard but he was just a little bit too quick for me. It is a great start to the year to get third place, and if we could finish up here all year round that would be great as well.”
Juan Acosta of M-1 Racing and Petri Suvanto of Team Pelfrey also were in the top five.
Click it: Complete results, other information