Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainstar
Well star mazda kinda fell into the breach due to atlantics going away but it's never really been well defined what it is or where it is going. Initially it started out as a reliable spec series for those amateurs that wanted an upgrade over formula ford without paying the costs of say racing an atlantic. Then it grew and partnered with the ALMS. Then it's ended up adrift supposedly as a ladder series for open wheel.
So I really don't know what purpose it serves out there. Certainly with indycar stagnating and dying off, there isn't really much need for these ladder series. Quite a few talented drivers have come through star mazda among other feeder series and most are lost out there in the cosmos, with indycar seats taken up by an elder woman backed by a dictator, comic book cover models, unknown euro pay drivers that raced in some obscure off shoot euro formula series and various other hangers on and sundry. No room for any talent. Price is written on the wall, you pay to play.
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At the end of the day it's not about the Road to Indy. All things considered I could give a damn about a Road to Indy, but we need a strong ladder system to create better drivers overall, no matter where they end up, the strongest junior category in the last twenty years has already been killed off, now they want to kill off the second strongest? It's not like the European ladder which needs clarification by subtraction. The American ladder desperately needs an overhaul, a complete change in structure, and I was willing to wait on the series to stabilize, and then get on with it, but Star Mazda is the only legitimate rung on the calendar. It makes absolutely no sense to me to get rid of it, manufacturer clash or not. They should be using Star Mazda as a base to build around.