AT SPEED IN THE TREES – THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY GOODYEAR HEADS FOR THE TIME WARNER CABLE ROAD RACE SHOWCASE THIS WEE

Elkhart Lake, WI (August 18, 2010) – After negotiating the shotgun-barrel confines of the famed street circuit of the GP3R at Trois-Rivières last weekend, the teams and drivers of the 20th anniversary Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear head for the wide-open (both kinetically and geographically) environment of the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at one of North America's premier natural-terrain road-racing facilities, Road America.

Trois-Rivières produced interesting racing and a surprising result, but one that had little effect on the driver rankings in the championship points battle. The winner, Louisiana racer Alex Ardoin, also won in 2009 and was back for a one-off race in the #51 Team GDT / General Data Tech / Oral and Facial Surgery Center Mazda. As a result, while he got the 1st place medallion, 1st-place points went to the 2nd-place finisher, Venezuelan driver Jorge Goncalvez in the #9 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda. Conor Daly, who started from the pole (his 7th of the year) in the #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda -- and has won five races so far this year -- finished 3rd and increased his points lead.

Norwegian racer Anders 'The Viking' Krohn, who started alongside Daly on the front row in his #47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda, remains second in the championship with 351 points, one pole, five podiums and a top-5 finish in every race so far this season. Brazilian racer Caio Lara, who drove his #19 JDC Motorsports / MLD / ATW Mazda to is first-ever victory in Race 1 / Round 6 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, finished 6th today but remains third in the championship with one win, three podiums, a top-10 finish in every race this season and 320 points.

So the 20+ drivers representing ten countries will be returning to Road America after a one-year hiatus find themselves in a situation the exact opposite of what they faced the last time the rotary-powered open-wheelers of the Star Mazda Championship went howling through the forests of Eastern Wisconsin, back in 2008. That race was Round 6 of a 12-race season instead of Round 11 of a season with 13 races; and every race had been won by a different driver. It was at Road American that Irish racer Peter Dempsey began his winning streak of three in a row (he won four total during the season) and earned himself the nickname 'The Irish Steamroller.'
Now, in 2010, the Star Mazda Championship rolls into Road American with one driver, Conor Daly, already having won five races (and seven pole positions). But there are a maximum of 135 points remaining to be won (44 points for a win, one point for pole) in the three events still on the calendar (Road America on August 21, Mosport on August 28 and the season finale at Road Atlanta on October 1) --- and there are eight drivers still within theoretical striking distance. So the matter of the championship – and the career-enhancing prize that goes with it, a Mazda-funded full-season drive in the Grand-AM GT1 class for 2011 -- is far from settled.

In addition to the aforementioned Anders Krohn and Caio Lara (who is one of only three drivers in this weekend's field who raced with the Star Mazda Championship here in 2008; he finished 9th), two other drivers have won races this year, and both are in the top-8. Frenchman Tristan Vautier (right) won the season opener at Sebring in the #38 Andersen Racing / Moulin TP / Cecibon / Circuit du Laquais / Fontanel Mazda, and followed it up with another win in Race 2 / Round 7 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Add in a podium finish at Autobahn (another fast track, like Road America) and four top-10 finishes and Vautier sits 6th in the championship with 308 points. The other race-winner in the field is Quebec youngster Mikael Grenier, who won from the pole in Race 1 / Round 8 at Autobahn. He has two poles, six top-5 finishes and 315 points, placing him 4th in the championship.

Other drivers still in the running include Californian Connor De Phillippi, the 2009 Skip Barber Pro Series champion who is racing the #11 JDC Motorsports / MAZDASPEED Motorsports / Skip Barber Mazda this season via a full-season 'scholarship' provided by the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder. He is 8th in the championship battle with 297 points, five top-5 and three top-10 finishes. And finally, but certainly not least, the two South American teammates competing for the hottest first-year team in the Series, Team Apex. Brazilian racer Joao Victor Horto drives the #18 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments / BomBril-Programa LeiLoes Mazda. A rookie with four podium finishes and four top-10s, he is currently 5th with 309 points. His teammate, Venezuelan driver Jorge Goncalvez, is in his second season of Star Mazda Championship competition and is 7th in the championship with 301 points driving the #9 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda. He has three podium finishes, including last weekend at Trois-Rivières where he finished 2nd, but got 1st-place points because race winner Alex Ardoin was driving a one-off and not officially entered in the Series and thus ineligible to earn points.

The other driver who has Star Mazda Championship experience at Road America is Texan J.W. Roberts, who races in the Expert Series for drivers 30-44 years old. He won his class in 2008, and has continued his winning ways in 2010, scoring seven in-class wins in the #65 Team GDT / General Data Tech Mazda; he leads the Expert Series championship. The top Master Series (drivers 45 and older) competitor is Puerto Rican racer Carlos Conde in the #31 Team GDT / Pronto-GMT / Olympus Securities Mazda. He has five in-class wins, including last weekend at Trois-Rivieres – which gave Team GDT a 'clean sweep' of the weekend, winning the main race (the team's first-ever main-event victory), as well as both the Expert and Master Series events that comprise the race-within-a-race that are part of every Star Mazda Championship race.
On-track activities for the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear begin with several test sessions during the 'Promoter Test Day' on Thursday, August 19. There will be two half-hour practice sessions, 8:40 am - 9:10 am and 12:40 pm - 1:10 pm Friday, Aug. 20. The 45-minute qualifying session to set the grid for the Series' traditional standing start will take place 8:40 - 9:25 am Saturday, August 21, with the field getting the green light for the start of the 45 minute race at 1:00 pm.

This is the second event of a 3-race, back-to-back 'road trip' for drivers and teams in the Star Mazda Championship. The next event, Round 12 at MOBIL1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport will take the green at 1:15 pm Saturday, August 28. The series' finale, also with ALMS at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, will take place October 1.

Star Mazda drivers are competing for prizes valued at $1.5 million, with prize money paid down through 15th place. The series champion wins $100,000 in cash, a test with a top Indy Lights team and a Mazda-sponsored drive in the 2011 Grand-Am series, racing an RX-8 in the GT1 class as part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder, the only automaker-supported motorsports scholarship program reaching from entry-level karting to the top levels of the sport. Drivers in the series also benefit from the IndyCar 'Road to Indy' program that provides a clear path for young open-wheel drivers whose goal is to race in IndyCar and the Indy 500.

About Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear
For 2010, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will feature an 11-weekend, 13-race schedule, most on major race weekends with American Le Mans and the Indy Racing League. Rising stars from around the world will compete for prizes valued at $1.5 million and benefit from two driver development programs, including the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder and the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' program. Series alumni include Indy Car stars Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and Raphael Matos, rising NASCAR drivers Michael McDowell, Scott Speed and Colin Braun and prototype racers Dane Cameron and Guy Cosmo. Drivers 16 and older are welcome to compete and the Star Mazda Championship also features Expert (30 to 44) and Master (45 and older) classes for more mature racers. The Star Mazda Championship features standing starts, wheel-to-wheel racing at 150 mph and budgets a fraction of other top open-wheel ladder series. For more information on the Star Mazda Championship please visit www.starmazda.com.