St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Following a busy preseason, Frenchman Nico Jamin, 19, is heading to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the opening two rounds of the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.
Just a year ago, Jamin competed in his first USF2000 race at St. Petersburg and scored the first podium finish of his American racing career.
Last winter, Jamin was hired by one of the top USF2000 racing teams, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, and will drive the No. 2 Synova Automotive Eco-Plastics Van Diemen-Mazda. Cape Motorsports was formed in 2010 as a partnership between two successful racing entities. With leadership from brothers Nicholas and Dominic Cape, and with Wayne Taylor and his organization in Indianapolis, the team campaigns cars in the Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
The Cape brothers have won eight national championships, seven rookie-of-the-year honors, one oval-crown championship and six team-of-the-year championships, and amassed 68 wins, 76 pole positions and 202 podiums in the USF2000, IMSA Lites and won two SCCA National Championship titles.
Only a few weeks after signing with his new team, Jamin competed in the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Winterfest and won that coveted championship with one victory at Barber Motorsports Park, four podium finishes and two pole positions. That marked the first Winterfest championship win for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing.
Last week, Jamin raced at Sebring to prepare for St. Pete's race week. The Frenchman competed in the opening rounds of the 2015 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship Powered by Mazda with ANSA Motorsports and scored his first non-open wheel racing podium finish in his prototype debut. He finished third in Race One.
"We're now a few days away from the first race of the 2015 Cooper Tires USF000 championship at St Petersburg," Jamin said. "I really can't wait to get there. We've been working hard this winter with Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, to be ready, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the green flag now. I'm confident for this season; Cape Motorsports is a great team, and I'm very proud to be racing with them this season. We won the Winterfest championship, so now we have to keep this momentum and score big points for the championship."
Since its inception, Cape Motorsports has won eight USF2000 driver championships, including four titles in the last four seasons.
"Nico and the whole team had a great Winterfest, winning the final race at Barber and securing the championship," Dominic Cape, co-owner of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, said. "Nico potentially would have won the last NOLA race, if he had not been taken out. We have high expectations for the opening two rounds at St. Pete, especially that it is our home race, since our team is headquartered in St. Pete."
The first practice session of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda series starts in the streets of St. Petersburg on Friday, March 27, at 8 a.m. EDT. The second practice is set for 2 p.m. EDT on Friday. Qualifying is Saturday, March 28, at 8 a.m. EDT, and race 1 of 2 is Saturday at 10:15 a.m. EDT. Race 2 is set for Sunday, March 29, at 8:55 a.m. EDT.
Stay tuned for live timing and scoring at www.usf2000.com. Follow Nico Jamin all season on his website: www.nicojamin.com, on Facebook at www.facebook/nicojamin.racing and on Twitter @Nico_Jamin.