Mathiasen set to test Sciuto

As Mathiasen Motorsports focuses on fitting the final pieces into its pursuit of the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2008, American Karting and Champ Car Atlantic standout Alan Sciuto will test one of its Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda race cars at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California later this week.

"I'm really looking forward to testing the Champ Car Atlantic car with Mathiasen Motorsports this week," Sciuto said. “Over the past couple of seasons Mathiasen Motorsports has shown the growth and competitive fire that clearly makes them a championship contender for 2008 and I’m really excited about getting back into an Atlantic car. I want to thank Ray and Leslie Mathiasen, Alain Clarinval and the entire team at Mathiasen Motorsports for this great opportunity.

"Everyone on the team is excited about the test, stated owners Ray and Leslie Mathiasen, “We are thrilled to have a racer the caliber of Alan Sciuto test the Mathiasen Motorsports Swift 016.a race car, as we feel Alan is a true Championship contender and should work very well with our team Technical Director, Alain Clarinval. We’re very confident that both of us will learn a lot this week about our car’s performance potential." The test will be the first in a series of Mathiasen tests geared toward finding the best available drivers for the two car team to contest for the 2008 Champ Car Atlantic championship.

Next up for the Champ Car Atlantic Championship is the first of three open test sessions to be held prior to the start of the 35th Anniversary season of Atlantic at Long Beach on April 20. The first open test of 2008 will be held at the famed Sebring International Raceway circuit in central Florida. Atlantic cars will take to the 1.669-mile "short course" on February 5-6.