Young Mexican racer Manuel Gutierrez will join Jensen MotorSport for it’s first competition in the Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 championship this weekend at the Portland Grand Prix.
The talented young Mexican (16) hails from Tampico Mexico. Manuel has been testing extensively with the Jensen MotorSport team in both the Formula BMW and ZETEC racecars since fall 2005.
Team owner Eric Jensen states, “This is an exciting new program. Manuel is a terrific teenager who has shown considerable speed and maturity. Our plan was to have Manuel test extensively in 2006 in the Formula BMW USA racecar, and compete full-time in that series in 2007. But given his recent pace, plus the fact that the Cooper Series races at 4 venues where we are already competing in ChampCar Atlantic, we decided to bring Manuel into race competition in the Cooper Series starting from Portland through the final races of the 2006 season.”
The Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 championship stages two races at the Portland Grand Prix the weekend of June 16th-18th. Upcoming series races include the Cleveland Grand Prix (with ChampCar) and the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto (with ChampCar).
The Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Championship is one of the first rungs on the professional open-wheel auto-racing ladder in North America. The series features modern, purpose-built, single-seat race cars powered primarily by four-cylinder, double-overhead cam, fuel-injected 2.0-liter Ford Zetec engines. Recent graduates of the series include three Indianapolis 500 winners – Dan Wheldon, Buddy Rice, and Sam Hornish Jr.
For more details about Manuel Gutierrez or Jensen MotorSport, contact Graeme Young via e-mail at team@jensenmotorsport.com |