Star Mazda – Team Pelfrey is Locked and Loaded

Both barrels for Team Pelfrey are loaded with two new drivers for the 2012 Star Mazda Championship. Jack Hawksworth was announced as the first of Team Pelfrey’s driver duo last week after a successful weekend of testing on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Open Test on the last weekend in October. Mr. Hawksworth come to the Mazda Road to Indy program from the British Formula Renault 2.0 series where he earned eight top-five finishes, four podiums, a pole and a race win, coming in fourth overall in the championship.

“I’m delighted to have agreed terms to compete for such a successful outfit. I really like the way Team Pelfrey work. Their preparation is excellent, and it’s good to be in such a professional environment. I can’t wait to get back in the car, and I believe we can carry our testing form forward into next year.” — Jack Hawksworth, Team Pelfrey

Gustavo Menezes who split his time last season between running in the Star Mazda Championship for Juncos Racing and running Formula Renault 2.0 for the Interwetten.com Junior Team, has now also signed on to Team Pelfrey, completing the second-year team’s driver stable. Gustavo brought with him in 2011 his personal sponsor, TrueCar.com, and is likely to do so for 2012. Mr. Menezes showed a significant amount of improvement over the course of the 2011 season, and he’ll be a powerful addition to the team.

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“I am very happy to say that next year I will be a part of Team Pelfrey. They are a great team to be a part of and are awesome to work with. This past season they did a great job, especially for a rookie team, winning the team championship and more. I think I will learn a lot with such an experienced crew and with my new great teammates. I am so stoked to work with one of the most familiar faces in my racing career, Rocky Moran. Geoff has got a solid team for next year, and I cannot wait for the first race of the season next year to see what happens.

“I had a great time with Juncos this past season and learned so much. I wish them the best of luck next year as our competitors, and I think we will have some good racing.” — Gustavo Menezes, Team Pelfrey

While the car counts in the Star Mazda Championship still look to be on the low-side, the talent level in both the teams and the drivers is as high as ever. Team Pelfrey is now well set to make a serious run at the 2012 Championship. They came close to the drivers championship with Connor Di Phillipi and Nick Andries finishing in P2 and P3, but that was enough to secure the team championship title. It was a very impressive inaugural season for the team, and they’re going to be a tough squad to best in 2012.

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