Mazda scholarship winner Dickerson confirmed at Afterburner

Dickerson, who finished fifth in the 2015 Formula Ford Festival and won a race in the Skip Barber Winter Series, secured a $200,000 Mazdaspeed scholarship in the Skip Barber shootout, ensuring his move to the first tier of the Mazda Road to Indy.

The team he'll be making that move with is one that has won four races over the past three seasons in USF2000 - two with Frenchman Alex Baron and two with Brazilian Victor Franzoni.

"My main goal is to reach the Verizon IndyCar Series,” said Dickerson.

“The best way to get there is the Mazda Road to Indy. I’ve been racing karts for 10 years, so it’s been one of my dreams to represent a manufacturer. And I am very proud of the program we’ve put together, and to be running under the colors of Mazda is an honor."

"My goal for this season is to win the championship and earn the Mazda scholarship to move up to Pro Mazda."

At Afterburner, Dickerson joins Brazil's Felipe Ortiz, with the team looking to add further entries for the upcoming season.

“We’re happy to have Dakota with us,” said team boss Tim Walsh. “I’m impressed with him and his thirst for knowledge and understanding the set-ups on the car. He’s equal to or faster than any other driver we’ve had."

2016 USF2000 line-up so far:

Team	Driver
Afterburner	Felipe Ortiz
	Dakota Dickerson
Cape	Parker Thompson
	Nikita Lastochkin
	Anthony Martin
Chastain	Sam Chastain
JCR	Ayla Agren
	Lucas Kohl
Pabst	Garth Rickards
	Yufeng Luo
	Jordan Lloyd
Pelfrey	Robert Megennis
	Jordan Cane
	TJ Fischer
	James Munro
RJB	Michai Stephens
Spencer	Eric Filgueiras