Jordan Lloyd is returning to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

Pabst Racing announced Feb. 11 that the 2015 Australian Formula 4 champion will pilot the No. 21 Pabst Racing car for the 2016 season. The 19-year-old Toowoomba, Australia native, who participated in four USF2000 Championship races in 2015, scoring a best finish of second at NOLA Motorsports Park, will embark on his first full American racing season on the Mazda Road to Indy.

“The atmosphere on the American racing scene is many steps above what I have raced previously,” Lloyd saif. “I also could not be thankful enough for the opportunity from CAMS, the Australian body of motorsport, and of course JAYCO Australia for making it happen. Additionally, I need to thank Mark Larkham from the Australian Motorsport Academy for introducing me to the Pabst Racing Team.”

Lloyd’s career began at the age of 14 in 2010 when he won the Queensland CAMS Formula Ford Championship, Rookie of the year and the QLD Race Drivers Association championship. He went on to race in the Victorian Championship where he finished third overall in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, he competed in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, winning the Avon Rookie of the Year title. 

After winning the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 championship in 2015, Lloyd was awarded with the ‘Road to the World’ scholarship, which is enabling him to continue his racing pursuit in the United States. 

“I only touched the tip of the iceberg when I was here in 2015, so on a personal level there is a lot of unfinished business that needs to be tended to,” Lloyd said. “I am looking forward to a strong season” 

Munro to contest USF2000 with Pelfrey

Team Pelfrey announced Feb. 4 that James Munro will drive for Team Pelfrey in the  Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Munro will be the first New Zealander to race in the Mazda Road to Indy.

“I'm really excited to be joining Team Pelfrey and the Mazda Road to Indy. I had a great test with the team last November which convinced me to join the team for this season,” said Munro.

The 19-year-old Christchurch native arrives at Team Pelfrey and the Mazda Road to Indy after competing in the Toyota Racing Series in 2015 with a career best finish of second place. Munro’s early racing career has seen consistency in TRS, along with an eight-win season in the Formula Masters China Series and claiming the driver’s championship in 2014. In 2013, Munro began his open-wheel career with immediate success in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship. The Kiwi won 10 out of 15 races on his way to capture the championship in his rookie season.

“I think the team environment is great and that together we can challenge at the front of the field. I feel confident that I'm with the right team to move forward with my career. The ladder provided by Team Pelfrey on the way up to IndyCar is really great. It's always good to keep continuity with a team so I'm hoping that I can go all the way through the Road to Indy with the team.”

Munro will pilot the No. 83 Team New Zealand / Team Pelfrey Mazda when the season kicks off in St. Petersburg, Fla. on March 11.

“I'm looking forward to giving oval racing a go. It will be a new experience for me which is really exciting. To be able to race as a support class for IndyCar will be really cool as well. Everything will be new to me this year but I'm confident that with the experience I have and the help from the team, we will be competitive. This is a massive opportunity for me. I would like to thank Archibalds, Consortium Construction and my Club 5000 supporters for making this happen.”

National Class to return in 2016

Drivers seeking to make their way onto the Mazda Road to Indy now have an alternate, lower-cost route onto the first rung, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, with today’s confirmation that the National Class will be returning in 2016.

The Mazda Road to Indy is unique in the world of auto racing, offering a scholarship-funded path all the way from karting via USF2000, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500.

Eligible to drivers at least 20 years of age before or during the 2016 season, the National Class will be open to all Sports Car Club of America-legal FC (Formula Continental) cars, from any chassis manufacturer, dating back to 2000. Any aerodynamic devices approved by the SCCA are permitted, although in the interests of safety all cars must be fitted with a nosebox crash structure, wheel tethers, Staubli devices, approved head surrounds and seats and yellow light system as required by all other current USF2000 cars.

Cars will be permitted to run either the same 2.0-liter Mazda MZR engine per the USF2000 Championship Class regulations or sealed 2.0-liter Ford Zetec motors as prepared by Elite Engines or Quicksilver RacEngines with National Class mapping. Any SCCA-legal 6" and 8" wheels may be used, although all cars must run on Cooper tires.

Entry fees will be discounted 50 percent below the Championship Class rate, and each race winner will earn a free entry for an upcoming event in the same season. The second-place finisher will claim a 50 percent reduction in the entry fee for an upcoming race. In addition, race winners equipped with the MZR engine will take home a $1,000 award from Mazda.

As an added benefit and based on a minimum average car count of five entries per race weekend, the 2016 National Class champion will receive an “entry ticket” to the Mazda Road to Indy $200K Scholarship Shootout in the fall of this year where champions of select junior level-open wheel and karting series from around the world will compete for a Mazda scholarship to enter the USF2000 Championship Class in 2017.

The point system will be the same used by the Masters Class (formerly Expert Class) in the Pro Mazda championship.

“We are excited to bring back the National Class and allow drivers to sample the Mazda Road to Indy,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “RC Enerson began his path on the ladder system in the National Class. It’s a great first step onto the platform for many drivers, and we are excited to offer this year’s champion an entry into the Shootout as well as a full-season entry package to USF2000 in 2017 in either the Championship or National Class.”