With the 2015 race season complete, ArmsUp Motorsports owner Gregg Borland reflects on the season as he begins to plan for the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

SHEBOYGAN FALLS, Wis. - It has been over a month since the 2015 USF2000 Championship came to a close at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, but things have hardly slowed down for Wisconsin-based team ArmsUp Motorsports. After a season full of highs and lows, the team finished the season off with a strong four car effort, now potentially preparing to increase the size of the program for the upcoming season. 

"We're currently preparing to run four cars in the championship next year," said Gregg Borland, Team Owner. "There will be plenty of testing during the off season, so we're going to use the coming months to continue to get the program ready."

While the racer line up remains unconfirmed for the time being, Borland is confident in current and future negotiations.

"There are a lot of conversations happening as we continue to put the pieces in place. There is currently interest from returning AUM drivers, and we are also very open to talking to new drivers as well."

In 2015, the team ran full seasons with AUM newcomers Keyvan Andres Soori, Max Hanratty and veteran James Dayson.

Young German racer Keyvan Andres Soori joined ArmsUp Motorsports for his second year of contention in the USF2000 series. The 2013-2014 Skip Barber Winter Series Championship winner finished in the top 10 for more than half of the races this season, consistently bettering his results as the season progressed. He finished on a high note in the penultimate round, impressively pushing his way up from 11th place to finish an impressive sixth.

USF2000 Rookie Max Hanratty finished the season off eighth out of 18 rookies. Also a Skip Barber Racing School alumnus, the young American proved to be competitive in his opening season, as he dedicated his attention to bettering his race craft.

"I couldn't have asked for a better rookie USF2000 season," said Hanratty. "The ArmsUp crew did a fantastic job all year. It was definitely a huge learning year for myself, and we were able to make huge gains throughout the season. At times we did really well and were able to be more competitive than we thought we would be coming into the year. The Mazda Road to Indy is so competitive and it is a great environment for a developing young driver to be in. It forces you to be on the top of your game at all times and to always be looking for more out of the car. It really helped to push me out of my comfort zone. Lastly I want to thank the entire ArmsUp Motorsports Crew for a great season and also my sponsors Juniper Networks and SynerComm Inc."

Citing 2015 as the best season of his career, Canadian USF2000 veteran James Dayson showed vast improvements as the season progressed. In a series where thousandths of a second can make or break a result, Dayson continued to strive with every session, consistently leaving a race weekend several seconds faster than when he started.

"The growth I had was huge and something I am proud of. I worked hard to constantly improve and push myself as a driver. Closing the gap to the leaders to less than two seconds by the end of the season was a big accomplishment. The season definitely had its highs and lows as to be expected. Overall, it was a great year with forward progress throughout. I love racing in USF2000, and the level of competition was the best I've seen this year. It helped push me further to new levels I hadn't achieved. It has now been four years that I have raced with ArmsUp Motorsports and every year has been a pleasure to run with them. The level of professionalism has always been there. The cars have been great with solid reliability throughout my tenure. The team has definitely become a family to me and I'm grateful for everything they have done for me."
 
"It may have not been a podium filled year, but our guys should all be really proud of their progress over the season," summarized Borland. "It was a highly competitive year, and they really challenged themselves to come out better drivers."

The schedule for the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda has yet to be released, but is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. The first test of the off season will take place at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, November 21-22.