Donegan's Indy money at Wild Horse Pass
Keith Donegan returned to Navan on Sunday night after he scooped a $200,000 jackpot at the Bondurant Racing School circuit at Wild Horse Pass racing circuit in Chandler, Arizona last week.
The 20-year old Navan man topped champions from nine countries for a place in the 2018 Cooper Tyres USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and will be based in Florida for 2018.
The programme was initiated by Mazda in 2006 to help championship-winning drivers compete at the highest levels of both sports car and open wheel racing.
Donegan qualified for the Arizona Shootout by finishing second at the prestigious Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in October and was one of 17 drivers in the Mazda Road to Indy competition.
The drivers began the weekend with a chance to win the $200,000 scholarship by driving Formula Mazda race cars provided by the Bondurant Racing School on the challenging 1.6-mile track.
There were 12 series champions plus five at-large entries and they were broken into four groups for three 20-minute practice sessions on the Saturday and a 12-minute Sunday morning practice.
The drivers randomly rotated through the Bondurant Formula Mazda fleet and after each session received feedback from the judges.
The panel included former Indy car driver Scott Goodyear, former USF2000 champion and current Mazda sports-car driver Jonathan Bomarito, reigning Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires champion Victor Franzoni and reigning USF2000 champion Oliver Askew, who won the inaugural $200K shootout a year ago.
Following the final 12-minute practice on Sunday, the field was narrowed to five drivers for a mock qualifying session and mock race. In addition to Donegan, the final five consisted of Jake Craig (20) from California, Olin Galli (21) from Rio de Janeiro, Aaron Jeansonne (19) from Louisiana and the youngest was Liam Lawson (15) from New Zealand.
Based upon lap times and other criteria, Donegan was selected by the judging panel as the overall winner of the scholarship
The $200,000 will enable Donegan to compete in the upcoming season of the Cooper Tyres USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda with the first round next March.
It's the first rung of the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder guiding aspiring drivers and teams to the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“The weekend was really good and I enjoyed it. I have to say a huge thanks to Mazda and Cooper Tyres and everyone at the Mazda Road to Indy. I enjoyed every moment,” he commented.
“You see all these champions here today that will go on to great things in the future and I’m sure the names you see here today aren’t going to disappear.
“It is an unbelievable opportunity and for Mazda to provide that for any young driver, it just gives that bit of motivation that you need.
"The US is where you need to go to become a professional these days, it is such a boost to my career," he added.
Donegan finished second in the 2013 Ginetta Junior Championship and that earned a nomination for the Meath Chronicle Young Sportsperson of the Year award.
However, in 2014 he opted out of motorsport to concentrate on his education doing business in Trinity College before returning to racing action in April of this year.
From the shootout’s opening dinner on Friday night through the final drivers meeting Sunday afternoon, the drivers were regularly reminded that they were being judged on how they would represent Mazda at all times.
The final five drivers were randomly assigned the Formula Mazda machines for the mock race. On-track passing without the assistance of a blue flag from the race director was not allowed, so the drivers were judged on running consistent race-pace laps.
Following the race, Kimball announced Donegan as the winner, and he was immediately mobbed by family and friends who made the trip from Ireland to support him.
“I kept my head down all weekend and did all the simple things right and it all paid off in the end.
“We had good pace all through testing as well. Obviously, the judges liked that. They are great drivers, so they know what they are talking about.
"I took on a lot of what they said. The advice they gave me really helped.”
Because the contestants were so evenly matched and the final decision so tough, the judges met individually with the other four finalists to explain their selection.
“I think that Keith was the best candidate for everything on track and the best candidate for everything off track,” said Goodyear, who was judging the Shootout for the second time.
“Speaking to him, he certainly understands the off-track responsibilities that go with not only racing a car, but also representing a company like Mazda.
“What we were looking for is somebody that can go and drop into USF2000 next year and be successful," he added.
NEXT UP
The Mazda Road to Indy season starts with doubleheader race weekends at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th March.