INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Team Pelfrey was one of nine Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda teams to participate in the two-day, sixth Annual Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team was eager to debut the two brand-new Tatuus USF-17 cars around the Grand Prix circuit in preparation for the 2017 season with Team Pelfrey regulars Kaylen Frederick, USF2000 Rookie of the Year Robert Megennis and Calvin Ming piloting the current spec Van Diemen machine.
Ming made an impressive USF2000 debut driving the bright yellow No. 80 around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course as he drove the second highest number of laps over the course of the two days with 165 laps completed.
“Driving the 2016 spec car, I was able to contend with drivers who were more familiar with the car than I was,” said Ming. “I am very pleased with the changes we made throughout the weekend.”
He gained valuable track experience finishing in the top-three during most of the practice sessions with a best lap time of 1:28.5060-seconds during session six.
Teammate Megennis from New York, N.Y., showed impressive pace in the USF-17 No. 82 Palo Alto Networks #PelfreyPower machine as he shattered the track record with a first-place finish and best lap of 1:25.3194 (102.912 mph) on the first day of testing in session four.
“It was an epic first test in the new USF-17,” stated Megennis. “I am super happy with how everything went this weekend. We made a ton of tweaks to the car and made vast improvements. We showed serious speed and I can’t wait for the for the first rounds in March!”
Megennis continued to lay down solid laps finishing within the top-five in all eight sessions with two first-place finishes on the first day of testing.
“Driving around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a special treat for all racers, and certainly was for me during my first on-track experience,” said 14-year-old Frederick who tested the USF-17. Finishing in the top-five in seven out of the eight practice session was an incredible feat for the youngest open wheel Pro Racing Driver in the United States. He claimed first place in session six with a 0.196-second lead over his teammate Megennis.
“I want to thank Team Pelfrey for putting together an amazing package for this test,” said Frederick. “All in all, this Indy weekend was a great introduction ahead of my first full year in the MRTI series.”
Team Pelfrey made tremendous improvements on all fronts this weekend including USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights. Stay tuned for updates throughout the off-season at Team-Pelfrey.com, @TeamPelfrey or #PelfreyPower on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.