CART: Newman/Haas Racing names Bourdais to second car
pr...@motorsport.com
Bourdais.
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. (January 30, 2003) --- Newman/Haas Racing (NHR)
announced today that Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, 23, will join
Brazilian driver Bruno Junqueira at the team in 2003. NHR will attempt
to earn their fifth CART Champ car title in this season's Bridgestone
Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford racing series.
"Paul (Newman) and I are very pleased to welcome Sebastien to our team,"
said Carl A. Haas, co-owner of Newman/Haas Racing with actor/racecar
driver Paul Newman. "From the first test with Sebastien, he has shown
that he can work well in our environment. We believe that Bruno and
Sebastien have the ability to win many races and fight for another
Championship."
Bourdais earned the 2002 FIA Formula 3000 Championship on the strength of
three wins and six pole positions as well as a total of seven podium
appearances. Also in 2002, he competed in the FIA Sport Championship
where he won two races and one pole position en route to a second place
finish in the standings and was part of the winning team in the 24 Hours
of Spa. A native of Le Mans, France, Bourdais began racing karts at the
age of 12 and steadily progressed from the French Formula Renault series
to French Formula Three where he won the championship in 1999. He then
moved to the Formula 3000 series and won the championship in his third
season of competition before moving to the CART Champ car series.
"To move to a new series is exciting but to do it with a team that won
the championship the previous season is the best opportunity to succeed,"
said Bourdais, who will reside in Miami, Fla. during the season. "Since
the first test, I have felt comfortable with the team and with Bruno and
it can only improve as we spend more time together. I am excited about
being a driver for Newman/Haas Racing."
Previous F3000 champions that went on to compete in CART include former
NHR driver Christian Fittipaldi (1991 championship), current team driver
Bruno Junqueira (2000) and Juan Pablo Montoya (1998). Alex Zanardi, who
was runner-up to Fittipaldi in the 1991 F3000 standings, went on to win
the CART championship in 1997 and 1998 while Gil de Ferran spent two
seasons in the F3000 series with a highest standing of third place in
1994 before he earned back-to-back CART championships in 2000 and 2001.
Newman/Haas Racing, owned by actor/race car driver Paul Newman and racing
entrepreneur Carl A. Haas, competes in the Bridgestone Presents The Champ
Car World Series Powered by Ford racing series. The team will begin their
21st season in CART in 2003 and will attempt to score their first
back-to-back CART titles as well as their fifth overall. Current drivers
Bruno Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais, were preceded at the team by
Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Christian
Fittipaldi and reigning 2002 CART Champion Cristiano da Matta. With 68
race wins, 70 pole positions and four championships, they are the most
successful team competing in the CART-sanctioned series in 2003. For
more information log on to newman-haas.com, brunojunqueira.com,
sebastien-bourdais.com, or cart.com.
-NHR-
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