The Mazda Road to Indy continues to expand its outreach to the grassroots levels of the sport with today’s announcement that Andersen Promotions has formed an alliance with the Australia Formula Ford Association Inc. (FFA) with immediate effect which will see the representative body for Formula Ford racing in that country become an Official Partner of the ladder series through 2016. The first level of the highly acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – will be promoted as an endorsed progression path for Australian drivers pursuing international careers in motorsports.

The Mazda Road to Indy – the most successful driver development program in the world – is now further engrained in the grassroots level of the sport following today’s announcement that Andersen Promotions has formed a partnership with MAXSpeed Group, the United States distributor of the Rotax MAX engine platform. The nationwide professional karting series – with 21 Rotax MAX Challenge (RMC) divisions throughout the country – will become an Official Partner of the Mazda Road to Indy effective immediately to foster the next wave of up-and-coming drivers.

Rookie Aaron Telitz scored an impressive first-ever career victory in this evening’s Allied Building Products Oval Challenge, Round 7 of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda at Lucas Oil Raceway in the 69th Annual Visit Hendricks County Night Before the 500. It was also the first win for Wisconsin-based ArmsUp Motorsports.

Less than two weeks after thrilling road course encounters as part of the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis, all three steps on the Mazda Road to Indy – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires – will return to the Indianapolis area this week for some oval track competition.

19-year-old Californian Adrian Starrantino takes his breakthrough win, overtaking Brazilian Victor Franzoni on Lap 11 and holding off a determined challenge from Frenchman Florian Latorre to claim what was also the first-ever USF2000 win for Jay Green’s JAY Motorsports team.