GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Open-wheel veteran Homero Richards won the opening round of the rejuvenated Formula Panam series in Guadalajara on April 10. The 20-lap race was held as part of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Super Copa Telcel Presented by Fox Sports weekend.

Axel Matus took second place and Paul Jourdain marked his debut in the series with a third-place finish. 

“I proved that after participating in three other series, I still have what it takes to win in the very competitive Formula Panam,” said Richards.

Matus admitted that although he would have liked to climb to the top of the podium, he was relatively content with a second-place finish to commence his title challenge. As the highest finishing driver under age 25, Matus also took the lead in the chase for the coveted invitation to the Mazda Road to Indy $200K Scholarship Shootout which will take place later in the year. The shootout winner will secure a $200,000 prize to move onto the first step of the Mazda Road to Indy, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, in 2017.

Jourdain also was content after finishing third.

‘This is a good result for my debut race,” he said. “Hopefully, I can continue to make good progress and turn this into a win soon.”

The top five finishers:
1. Homero Richards, 28:50.398
2. Axel Matus, 28:51.632
3. Paul Jourdain, 28:53.324
4. Eduardo Lopez, 28:54.491
5. Gerardo Garcia, 28:55.823

The top five drivers fighting for the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout prize are Matus, Jourdain, Diego Ramirez, Everardo Fonseca and Hugo Rangel.

The championship chase will continue this coming weekend, April 23/24, in Monterrey, Mexico.