Martin set to begin Pro Mazda testing in the US

The Kalgoorlie-born driver will make the step up to the next rung of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder after winning the USF2000 title, and the US$363,850 (around AU$473,000) in scholarship money that goes with it.

After a short trip back to Australia to take in the Sandown 500 in Melbourne and then celebrate his title win with family in Western Australia, Martin will spend the next month in The States doing Pro Mazda testing as he looks to lock down a team for his 2017 campaign.

“It’s quite a big step up [to a Pro Mazda car],” he told Motorsport.com.

“The driving style is quite different to what I’ve been used to, but that’s just another challenge to experience and I’ll go hard at it. We have a fair bit of testing that we want to do, and we’re going to push hard ahead of next year.

“We’ve won the [USF2000] scholarship, and now we want to go for the $800,000 scholarship. We’ll give it everything we can, but we know it’s going to be a hard one.”

The 2017 Pro Mazda series kicks off in St Petersburg next March, and finishes at Watkins Glen in September after a six-round schedule that includes the Gateway Motorsports Park oval.