The 2012 Star Mazda Championship was the 14th season of the

Star Mazda Championship The USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship, Pro Mazda Championship, and later Indy Pro 2000 Championship, is an open-wheel racing series serving as the third step on the Road to Indy l ...

, an American-based

open-wheel racing Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-s ...

series sanctioned by

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

as part of the

Road to Indy A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

program. It featured 17 races held over 10 race weekends. Five race weekends were held on temporary street courses, three on permanent road courses, and two on ovals. The series increased the number of double-header weekends to reduce the costs per race for competitors. Fastest lap times in race 1 determined the starting grid for race 2 on double-header race weekends.THE STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP TAKES A MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN 2012 WITH AN 18-RACE SCHEDULE ON 10 WEEKENDS, MOST WITH INDYCAR
, ''Star Mazda Championship'', December 1, 2011, Retrieved 2011-12-04 The championship consisted of a main championship as well as a Star Mazda Expert Series for drivers over 30 years old. The expert class consists of a driver's best 10 races, enabling an Expert Series competitor to complete a full complement of races in just five race weekends. 21-year-old Englishman

Jack Hawksworth Jack W. Hawksworth (born 28 February 1991) is a British professional racing driver from Bradford, West Yorkshire. , he competes in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for AIM Vasser Sullivan. He has also raced in the Star Mazda Championsh ...

driving for Team Pelfrey dominated the championship, winning eight of the 17 races and four of the eight poles awarded, setting a series record for wins in a season. He sat out the final race of the year but still won the championship over Colombian-American

Gabby Chaves Gabriel "Gabby" Chaves (born 7 July 1993) is a Colombian-American racing driver, currently competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. He raced in the IndyCar Series and is the 2014 Indy Lights Champion. ...

by 37 points. Chaves won the final two races of the season. American

Sage Karam Sage Rennie Karam (born March 5, 1995) is an American professional racing driver who competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 43 and 45 Chevrolet Camaros for Alpha Prime Racing and part-time in the IndyCar Series, drivi ...

won three races and finished third in points in a tie-breaker over fellow American

Connor De Phillippi Connor De Phillippi (born December 25, 1992) is an American professional racing driver and gold rated BMW Motorsport works driver. Racing career Early career De Phillippi began karting at the age of 5 years old and by the time he was 14 years ol ...

who won two races after finishing second in points a year ago. Finn Petri Suvanto finished fifth in points, in his first season in Star Mazda, winning the seat by winning the Road to Indy's

U.S. F2000 National Championship The USF2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires is an American racing series using the American variation of the Formula Ford formula, "F2000", that resumed operation for the 2010 season. As of 2022, it is sanctioned by the United States Auto ...

the year before. Other race winners were Chile's Martin Scuncio and Venezuela's Camilo Schmidt, who won a bizarre wet-dry race in Edmonton. American Walt Bowlin won the Expert series championship by virtue of being the only Expert series competitor to participate in more than two race weekends.

Drivers and teams

Race calendar and results

The series schedule was announced December 1, 2011. Two race weekends were listed on the schedule with the location yet to be determined. The season finale was later confirmed to be held at

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

, supporting the

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans ( French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which a ...

Drivers and teams

Race calendar and results

Championship standings

Drivers'

Teams'

References

External links