Who will be the champion?
The toughest of questions is the one that is tackled first. With eight returning drivers and ten rookies in the field for the opening weekend Cooper Tires Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the smart money for a champion is on a driver in his second year in the championship. The smart money is also on a driver from Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing. Since 2011, every single USF2000 championship has been won by a Cape driver, and since 2012 all of those drivers have been non-rookies. Petri Suvanto, Matthew Brabham, Scott Hargrove, and Florian Latorre have all claimed the title for the St. Petersburg-based team. Since its formation in 2010, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing has claimed 22 poles and 34 victories—a junior formula dynasty. This year’s Cape Motorsports features two more talented, experienced drivers: American Aaron Telitz and Frenchman Nico Jamin.
Telitz claimed one win on his way to fourth in the championship last year with ArmsUp Motorsports, and for me is the early favorite for the championship. Jamin is very talented but more raw than Telitz, but could come on strong at the end of the year, similar to fellow countryman and 2014 USF2000 champion Florian Latorre. Apart from the Cape duo, keep a close eye on Pabst Racing’s Jake Eidson and Afterburner Autosport’s Victor Franzoni. Eidson competed for Cape in 2014 and claimed third in the championship with two wins. Franzoni showed incredible promise early in the season before fading late, only to again show his strength in this year’s preseason Cooper Tires WinterFest.
Who will be the top rookie?
The list of rookies is long and plentiful, as it usually is in USF2000. Last year, the Rookie of the Year honors was claimed by Aaron Telitz. This year, I’m truly torn on who will claim the honor as the best newcomer in the series. Looking at the WinterFest, the most surprising team in the field was John Cummiskey Racing, entering the series for the full season for the very first time this year with a pair of Australian rookies, Anthony Martin and Jordan Lloyd. I’m tempted to put my money on one of those two, but then you also have powerhouse Pro Mazda team Team Pelfrey expanding into USF2000 this year with a four-car four-rookie team and ArmsUp with the talented Max Hanratty.
In the end, though, I think the top rookie will come from Team Pelfrey, who will be better able to handle the engineering challenges that come with the diverse road courses, street circuits, and the lone short oval on the schedule. Their lineup of Ayla Agren, Luke Gabin, Garth Rickards, and Nikita Lastochkin is full of talent, but I think Garth Rickards will be likely be the top rookie at the end of the year.
I reserve the right to change my mind sometime in April.
Who will surprise the most?
I touched on it above with the Rookie of the Year discussion, but the biggest surprise thus far this season has been John Cummiskey Racing with Martin and Lloyd. The two young Australians went to NOLA and Barber and were fast straight away and never faded over the course of the six-race mini-series. While I don’t know how their form will fare when they hit the tough street circuits of St. Pete and Toronto and boldly tackle an oval for the first time, I have faith in the young team to stay in the fight for the majority of the season. While they may not be able to claim Rookie of the Year, JCR, Martin, and Lloyd will certainly offer a number of surprises to observers of the Mazda Road to Indy. With a solid outing, JCR will be on solid footing for the foreseeable future.
The 2015 USF2000 Field
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing
Nico Jamin
Aaron Telitz
ArmsUp Motorsports
Keyvan Andres Soori
Max Hanratty (R)
James Dayson
JAY Motorspots
Augie Lerch (R)
Afterburner Autosport
Victor Franzoni
Pabst Racing
Jake Eidson
Yufeng Luo (R)
John Cummiskey Racing
Anthony Martin (R)
Jordan Lloyd (R)
D2D Motorsports
Andrew List
M2 Autosport
Santiago Lozano
JDC MotorSports
Parker Thompson (R)
Team Pelfrey
Ayla Agren (R)
Luke Gabin (R)
Garth Rickards (R)
Nikita Lastochkin (R)
That’s a wrap for our 2015 USF2000 season preview. The full 18-car field will take to the track in St. Petersburg to kick off the season Friday morning with practice sessions at 8 a.m. EDT and 2 p.m. EDT.
IMS Photography
