| Michael Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | |
| Born | September 1, 1989 |
| Pirelli World Challenge career | |
| Former teams | Cadillac Racing, Blackdog Racing |
| Championships | 4 |
| Wins | 19 |
| Podiums | 37 |
| Previous series | |
| Pirelli World Challenge, Playboy Mazda MX–5 Cup, Skip Barber Racing School | |
| Championship titles | |
| 2011 2012 2015 | Playboy Mazda Mx-5 Cup Pirelli World Challenge TC Champion GTS Champion |
| Last updated on: October 11, 2017. | |
Formula Driver II All Position rib – This product is part of the Formula Brand, a Pirelli Tier II brand that will be launched in the U.S. And Canada, including the Formula Driver II All Position. Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli n.25 (reception in Via Bicocca degli Arcimboldi, 3) 20126 Milan, Italy. Our video playlist. DISCOVER PLUNGA. Explore our range of Pirelli F1 memorabilia which make the perfect gifts for F1 fans. Shop our collection further and discover more, from F1 racewear and F1 helmets to signed photos and signed F1 merchandise. The Pirelli tyres of 2020 seem to be anything but working for the teams and the drivers. The high level of wear and tear on the tyres means that drivers have no choice but to drive calmly throughout the race in order to save the tyres. According to many, this has to change and Lewis Hamilton wants to put more pressure on the Italian tyre supplier.
Michael Cooper (born September 1, 1989 in New York, New York) is an American-bornrace car driver who currently competes in the Pirelli World Challenge. He resides in Huntington, New York, and also has a business management degree from at NYIT (New York Institute of Technology), and a nutrition degree from Long Island University.[1]
Racing career[edit]
Early career[edit]
In 2009, Cooper's brother signed him up for the Bob Lutz Cadillac CTS-V Challenge driving competition. In wet conditions at Monticello Motor Club, Cooper was the fastest amateur, gaining the attention of GM Factory Driver Johnny O'Connell.[2] From there, Cooper began his racing career at the age of 19 at Skip Barber Racing School, racing in the Mazdaspeed Challenge in 2010.[3]
After winning several races in the Skip Barber series, Michael stepped into the Playboy Mazda Mx-5 Cup for his first season of professional racing. Cooper won the season opening event, and went on to finish fourth in the championship, narrowly missing out on rookie of the year honors.
In 2011 Michael won the Playboy Maxda MX-5 Cup driver championship with six poles and five wins in nine races. As a result of winning the championship, Cooper was awarded a full season ride for the following year in the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car (TC) division.[4]
Pirelli Driver Franchising
In similar fashion to 2011, Cooper dominated the Touring Car class in 2012, winning six out of 14 races, only finishing outside of the top five one time, and ultimately claiming the drivers championship.[5] For 2013, Cooper did not have a full time ride and missed the first 3 rounds of the Pirelli World Challenge touring car schedule.
Later in 2013, Cooper had the opportunity to step into a GT class car for the first time, qualifying ninth in the CRP Racing Hawk Nissan at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and retiring after only a few laps with a mechanical failure.[6] 2014 was more of the same for Michael, and without a full time ride, he competed in his first GTS class races at Miller Motorsports Park finishing in eighth and fourth place for Blackdog Speedshop.
In 2015 Michael made his full season debut in the GTS class of Pirelli World Challenge in the Blackdog Speedshop Z/28.R, winning only his second race of the season. Cooper went on to win the GTS championship with four race wins and two additional podium finishes.[7] In 2016, GM appointed Cooper as a factory driver, and hired him to race alongside Johnny O'Connell in the Pirelli World Challenge, racing the Cadillac Racing ATS-V.R.[8] With two wins and an additional seven podiums, Cooper finished third in the championship. The following season, Cooper returned to the Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Racing program for another full season to include the Sprint and SprintX championships. Cooper was paired with Jordan Taylor for the SprintX Championship, and the duo captured the 2017 Championship at Circuit of the Americas.[9]
Shortly after capturing the Sprint-X championship, Cooper went on to sweep the final Sprint race weekend of the year at Sonoma raceway. After the 2017 season, Cadillac Racing announced an end to the program, leaving Cooper a free agent.[10]
For 2018 Cooper was announced as one of the drivers for the Callaway Competition race team and their GT3 homologated C7 Corvette in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class. However he was released from his contract in February of 2018, before the season ever started due to the teams inability to field 2 cars.
Cooper would continue to drive a partial GT4 sprint-x season in 2018 with teammate Tony Gaples at Blackdog Speed Shop
Results[edit]
Pirelli World Challenge[edit]
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Atlanta Motorsports Group | MAZDASPEED3 | TC | SPGP 1 | SPGP 1 | UTA 4 | UTA 1 | UTA 5 | LAG 5 | MOS 2 | MOS 1 | MOS 4 | MOH 1 | MOH DNF | SONO 3 | SONO 2 | SONO 1 | 1st | |||||||
| 2013 | Atlanta Motorsports Group | MAZDASPEED3 | TC | AUS - | AUS - | AUS - | LRP 13 | LRP DNS | LRP 10 | TOR 1 | TOR 1 | MOH 1 | MOH 1 | SONO 9 | SONO DNS | HOU 3 | HOU 7 | 5th | |||||||
| 2014 | Blackdog Speedshop | Camaro ZL1 | GTS | SPGP - | LBGP - | BAR - | BAR - | DGP - | DGP - | ROA - | ROA - | TOR - | TOR - | MOH - | MOH - | SONO - | SONO - | UTA 8 | UTA 4 | 27th | |||||
| 2015 | Blackdog Speedshop | Camaro Z/28.R | GTS | AUS 8 | AUS 1 | SPGP 7 | SPGP 5 | BAR 5 | BAR 10 | MOS 14 | MOS 3 | ROA 17 | ROA 9 | MOH 1 | MOH 4 | UTA 6 | UTA 1 | SONO 2 | SONO 1 | LAG 10 | 1st | ||||
| 2016 | Cadillac Racing | Cadillac ATS-V.R | GT | AUS 3 | AUS 2 | SPGP 4 | SPGP 3 | LBGP 15 | BAR 2 | BAR 1 | MOS 11 | MOS 7 | LRP 9 | LRP 14 | ROA 7 | ROA 3 | MOH 7 | MOH 1 | UTA 15 | UTA 6 | SONO 3 | SONO 21 | LAG 3 | 3rd | |
| 2017 | Cadillac Racing | Cadillac ATS-V.R | GT | SPGP 7 | SPGP 5 | LBGP 14 | VIR 3 | VIR 3 | MOS 1 | LRP 4 | LRP 2 | ROA 3 | ROA 5 | MOH 2 | MOH 7 | UTA 8 | UTA 3 | AUS 4 | AUS 6 | AUS DNF | SONO 1 | SONO 1 | 1st (SprintX), 2nd (Overall), 3rd (GT Sprint) |
References[edit]
- ^Blattler, Tom. 'College Student Michael Cooper Set for Big Jump to Pirelli World Challenge GT Class As GTS Champion Teams With 4-Time GT Champ Johnny O'Connell in Cadillac Racing'. Pirelli World Challenge. Pirelli World Challenge.
- ^Cechal, Erin. 'SportsCar Feature: The Accidental Racer'. SportsCar. SportsCar.
- ^'MICHAEL COOPER DRIVES MAZDASPEED3 TO 2012 PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP'. PR Newswire. PR Newswire.
- ^'Cooper reflects on MX-5 Championship'. Parts and People.
- ^'2012 Championship'. Pirelli World Challenge.
- ^'Figge and Jonsson take poles in GT/GTS at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course'. Motorsport.
- ^'Michael Cooper Wins the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge GTS Drivers' Championship'. Pirelli World Challenge.
- ^McEachern, Sam. 'Cadillac Racing Confirms Michael Cooper To Replace Andy Pilgrim In 2016'. GM Authority.
- ^'Michael Cooper/Jordan Taylor Capture 2017 PWC GT SprintX Pro/Pro Division Title'. Cadillac V Club.
- ^Dizinno, Tony. 'Cadillac ends its title-winning PWC program'. NBC Sports Network.
Pirelli’s defence of their heavily-criticised new tyres for the 2021 F1 season has prompted a mixed response from drivers.
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The sport’s official tyre supplier provided examples of its new tyres for teams to test on Friday. The 2021 rubber was widely criticised by drivers, many of which said they should not be used next year.Pirelli responded by pointing out teams had not been able to set their cars up to optimise the performance of next year’s designs. But not all drivers are convinced that would make a significant difference.
Alexander Albon was among those who rejected Pirelli’s explanation when asked by RaceFans for his view on it.
“Balance-wise, I’m sure you can speak down the grid, but no one’s saying there was a big balance issue with the tyre, it was just that we didn’t have grip” said Albon
“We optimise it as much as we can. They tell us the compound of the tyre, more or less what we should aim for and what to expect from it. So the guys do their research or their best estimates and honestly, like every time, they get very close to the optimal set-up of the car on the tyre.
“But you put the old tyres on and you go much faster.”
Pirelli Driving Shoes
Albon’s team mate Max Verstappen also doubts whether set-up changes would improve the performance of the 2021 rubber. “Of course the cars are not fully set up for these tyres but honestly the difference we had yesterday in practice is not set-up,” he said.
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“You can adjust a few things but if the tyre is not turning, it’s not working. You can turn the car upside-down, it’s not going to be the same speed. I hope we will not use them but let’s see.”
However Pierre Gasly said Pirelli had made “a fair point” about the differences in set-up.
“Obviously we maximise our car with the current tyres, and obviously [we are] fitting something else with different characteristics, different construction.
“At the end of the day it was more like a discovery for us, trying to understand this tyre rather than performing with this tyre. So ultimately we’re going to have a better feeling with the current one than the new one.
“I think it will change if we work a bit in terms of car set-up around what we’ve been given if we understand a bit more the temperature, the pressure, et cetera, and maximise everything. But as the first feeling, obviously it didn’t feel great.”
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Pirelli’s head of car racing and F1 Mario Isola said he could “understand” the critical comments from some drivers about the 2021 tyres given they have two years’ experience of the current rubber.
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“They are running on cars that have been optimised on the current tyre [for] two years now, because they are the same tyre that we have used in 2019. So they have a level of confidence, of preparation and they are able to set up the car with the current tyre that obviously is at the end of the life cycle.”Last year teams rejected the new tyres which Pirelli produced for the 2020 season, and decided to keep using last year’s tyres. Isola said: “Every time that you propose a new tyre, there are some criticism there is a change in balance.
“For example, I heard a comment, I believe it was a team radio from Verstappen saying that he was feeling some understeer. We warned the teams that with the new construction they can have more understeer. We invited the teams to correct the set-up in order to re-balance the car. This is obviously something they will do next year.”
Isola said the test had mainly been a>Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free
2020 Bahrain Grand Prix
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