Aspen, Colorado
– On the heels of a successful debut several weeks ago at the
Molson Indy Vancouver, the Fran-Am 2000 North American Pro
Championship Series sponsored by Michelin International
followed up with another high mark event at Mosport
International Raceway, which featured more cars, more
international drivers, and more competition throughout the
field. Coming into the series’ third round at the Molson Indy
Montreal this weekend, the Fran-Am series is poised to
showcase its finest event yet, with even more competition from
several new drivers and teams.
“We are extremely delighted with the success of our first two
events,” said Andrew Field, President of Fran-Am Canada. “Both
races were very close and action-packed, and the cars showed
very well in their inaugural North American runs. We have some
great teams and drivers running with us right now with an
international field that stems to four different countries. We
also generated a tremendous amount of interest from potential
participants who had the opportunity to witness this exciting,
world-class series firsthand.”
All Fran-Am Molson Indy Vancouver and Mosport Grand Prix
participants are planning to compete at Montreal including
Vancouver race winner Sean McIntosh of Coquitlam, BC, and
Mosport winner Bruno Spengler, of St. Hippolyte, Quebec.
Mosport second-place finisher Dan McMullen from Gormely,
Ontario returns with his Phillips Motorsports teammate
McIntosh. Additional cars for Montreal include entries from
Condor Motorsports, Sandy Dells Racing, Bruno Racing and
several cars from the TCS Racing French Formula Renault
series.
“We’ve been taking orders for cars non-stop since the
Vancouver race,” said Arden Weatherford, Fran-Am’s Director of
Operations. “Montreal should be a very solid event for us as
we anticipate additional entries from existing teams as well
as several new teams joining the series. It’s a terrific
opportunity for drivers to experience one of North America’s
most prestigious race tracks, and to introduce them to a venue
we will be participating at twice a year (with Formula One and
CART) for the next five years.”
“These cars are just awesome,” said Lucas Strackerjan, of Nova
Scotia, who finished fourth in his series debut at Vancouver
and followed up with a fifth-place result at Mosport. “It’s
easy to see why this series is so successful in Europe. We
literally assembled our car right out of the box the day
before practice in Vancouver and everything worked perfectly.
They are very exciting to drive and we learn more about it
with every on track session. We’re really looking forward to
racing at Montreal.”
“I’m looking forward to getting another car for the rest of
the season,” said Condor Motorsports’ Carlos Bobeda, who also
fields a team in the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship. “The
Fran-Am series fills a large void in racing’s ladder system by
providing a cost-effective, professional approach to racing.
The cars are a terrific value, the schedule has a number of
marquee events, and we already have a host of drivers
interested in running with us.”
The Fran-Am 2000 North American Pro Championship is a cousin
of Formula Renault in Europe, South America and China. Each
Fran-Am 2000 race features a $25,000 Michelin International
supported cash prize fund, with the overall series champion
winning a ride with a leading Formula Renault team for the
2003 European series. Formula Renault is recognized worldwide
as a primary feeder for the Formula One stars of tomorrow.
Recent graduates include McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen (who went
straight to Formula One from Formula Renault) as well as
Sauber's Felipe Massa.
The Fran-Am 2000 race car features a spec-Tatuus carbon-fiber
monocoque chassis, sealed 2.0-liter/186-horsepower motor
(capable of running an entire season without a rebuild),
6-speed sequential gearbox, and spec-Michelin Sport racing
tires.
Further information on the Fran-Am series is available at
www.fran-am.com.
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Ricardo González
News and Commentary
