08/03/2008
NEWS STORY
Bruno Junqueira will be joined by a new rookie driver in Felipe Guimaraes as A1 Team Brasil heads to Mexico City for round eight of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
After making his comeback for the team at the last race in Durban, scoring points in the feature race, Bruno Junqueira will continue main driver duties for Team Brasil in Mexico. The Mexican circuit is well known to Bruno, who has raced there five times previously, finishing on the podium on four occasions and scoring two pole positions.
Felipe Guimaraes is recognised as one of Brasil's brightest young talents. He began his career in karting and made his single-seater race car debut just last year in the South American Formula Three Championship. The 16-year-old made an instant impression, scoring a pole position, two race wins and six further podium finishes in his first year of competition.
The first Mexican round of A1GP was held at the Monterrey circuit in 2006, but moved to Mexico City last season. The 4.4km track has a bumpy surface and, combined with the high altitude at the venue, which lies 2,285 metres above sea level, provides challenging conditions for the team and drivers.
Bruno Junqueira: "I know the track at Mexico City really well and have had some good results there so I am definitely looking forward to racing there again with A1GP. Last year we qualified well there and we showed how competitive we are this year at the last race in Durban. The team and car is much better but unfortunately in Durban the races did not go well although we showed our speed. We are competitive now and we should be aiming for podium finishes in Mexico."
Felipe Guimares: "It will be a very good experience for me, I am very happy about this test and to work with Emerson Fittipaldi. I hope to learn a lot. I will give my best, to learn everything as quickly as possible, and to have a good performance on track."
Emerson Fittipaldi: "Last year Bruno qualified well in Mexico (seventh) and our car was not as competitive as it is now. We have improved the set-up and the team a lot since then, and Bruno demonstrated in Durban that we have the capability to be running right at the front - he qualified just 0.018s behind the polesitter. He knows the track very well and I am confident that we can fight for the win. We haven't always turned our improvement into points this season and these last few races will be very important to do that. We have Felipe joining us as our rookie and he is a very talented young driver. It is very exciting and important to Brazilian motorsport to give the young guns a chance to show their talent."