October 8, 2004
A Northern Star Rises In Mexico
Champ Car Debut with Walker Racing in Mexico City Season Finale.
Rising Canadian open-wheel racing star Michael Valiante will be making his Champ Car debut in a second car from the Walker Racing team at the series' season finale, the Gran Premio Telemex Tecate at the Autódromo Hermanos RodrÃguez on November 7.
Walker Racing will expand to a 2-car team, a situation it is working to continue in 2005, fielding a Ford-powered Reynard for the 24 year-old from Burnaby, B.C. Valiante, who won six Toyota Atlantic races with the Lynx Racing team during the 2002 & 2003 seasons, has tested impressively in a Walker Racing Champ Car on several occasions, and was scheduled to make his debut in last year's final race at Fontana until the event was cancelled due to wildfires in the area.
"Over the past year I've been so close so many times to racing a Champ Car that to have it all finally come together is a real thrill," says Valiante. "It's taken a lot of hard work and help from a lot of people to get to this point, and I'd like to thank Derrick Walker and my sponsors for this opportunity. With Champ Car looking at adding one and possibly two more Canadian races, and with one of the series' top Canadian drivers leaving at the end of the season, racing in Mexico City is a great opportunity to get my Champ Car career started, and I plan to make the most of it."
Valiante will compete in the Mexico City event with sponsorship from JV Investments, Lynx Racing, Italkart, Wasteco, Serengeti Design Group, CMSI Canadian Mortgage Strategies & Investments and Premier Pacific Developments.
"We've been following Michael's career for several years now, and he's a most impressive young driver," says Walker Racing team owner Derrick Walker. "It's been a difficult time for a young driver to break into the ranks of Champ Car, and we're extremely pleased to have Michael in one of our cars for Mexico City. Hopefully it will be a good weekend for him and help us finalize the plans we have to run him as part of a full-season, 2-car effort in 2005."