International Formula Ford Champion to receive test in Pro Formula Mazda

January 7, 2003. Competitors heading to New Zealand this January to take part in the International Formula Ford Championship will have an extra incentive to capture the championship as Star Race Cars has announced that they will offer the champion a free test in the new Pro Formula Mazda.

“This championship has produced some outstanding drivers and we are thrilled to offer the upcoming champion the chance to get behind the wheel of our new car as he or she seeks to further their career,” Star Mazda Series president Gary Rodrigues commented. “The Star Mazda Series has strived to create a cost-effective environment where the driver is key, and we feel our new car is the perfect vehicle for a champion to showcase his or her talent.”

All new for 2004, the Pro Formula Mazda features a carbon fiber chassis matched with the new Mazda “Renesis” rotary engine that produces 240 horsepower and a six-speed sequential gearbox. The 2004 Star Mazda Series North American Championship presented by Goodyear is a ten-race championship, sanctioned by IMSA, in support of the American Le Mans Series events in the United States and Canada, with a prize package totaling $500,000.

This year’s Formula Ford championship, consisting of six races over three weekends in January, will see Jeremy Shaw’s Team USA Scholarship return to New Zealand with three promising American drivers seeking to equal the successes A.J. Allmendinger and Bryan Sellers had during the 2001/2002 championship.

For more information on the Star Mazda Series and the new Pro Formula Mazda please visit www.starmazda.com