MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Up-and-coming American open-wheel paralyzed racer Michael Johnson is excited to announce the extension of its current partnership with the Coloplast Corporation for the 2013 season to support Johnson’s Mazda Road to Indy program in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda series.

Twenty-year-old Michigan native Johnson, who is paralyzed from the chest down after a motorcycle racing accident in 2005, will be driving the specially-designed USF2000 car with hand-controlled throttle and brakes again for championship-winning Minneapolis-based JDC MotorSports in 2013.

The SpeediCath® brand of catheters, manufactured by Coloplast, will be featured again on the car’s side pod, front wings and nose for the 2013 season including the pre-season 2013 Winterfest series.

“I am very excited about Coloplast’s continued support of my program in 2013” explained Johnson. “It’s great to have them back as my sponsor and after what we learned in 2012, we aim for greater success in 2013. I’ve used SpeediCath for several years and I can truly say it has changed my life simply by allowing me to live my day to day life on my own schedule. The travel schedule and long days at the track would be very hard to accomplish without using SpeediCath."

“Coloplast’s mission is to improve patient quality of life, and Michael embodies that mission. In the 2012 season, Michael showed he is redefining the sport and erasing boundaries, proving that with the right mix of innovation and passion, any obstacle can be overcome,” said Matt McRitchie, Marketing Product Manager US Continence Care. “The entire Coloplast team is very proud to be part of his racing program and I am happy that we can continue our support of Michael in 2013.” 

About SpeediCath
SpeediCath is a hydrophilic coated intermittent catheter that is pre-hydrated in saline water, making it ready to use with no waiting time. The uniform hydrophilic coating and polished eyelets ensure low friction insertion and withdrawal, safeguarding the urethra and minimizing the risk of urinary tract complications.

About Coloplast
Danish medical device company Coloplast develops products and services that make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions. Working closely with the people who use our products, we create solutions that are sensitive to their special needs. We call this intimate healthcare. Coloplast’s business includes ostomy care, urology, continence care, and wound and skin care.

Coloplast operates globally and employs more than 7,500 people worldwide. In 2009,Coloplast opened the new North American headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The campus is LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and is home to one of the company’s three global research-and-development Innovation Centers. Others are located in Denmark and France.

To learn more about Coloplast, visit www.us.coloplast.com.

About Michael Johnson

Twenty-year-old paralyzed racer Michael Johnson, who currently is the first and only paralyzed licensed INDYCAR driver, was on his way to becoming a professional motorcycle racer, having already won races and championships on a regional and national level when on August 13, 2005 he was involved in an on-track racing accident which left him paralyzed from the mid chest down.

After several years of recovery Johnson has started racing and winning again and now has set his goal to become the first paralyzed driver to run the Indianapolis 500.

Johnson drives his specially modified race car with hand controls only and became the first paralyzed racer to win in an open-wheel formula car race during round two of the Skip Barber Summer Series at Watkins Glen International Raceway in 2011. Outside of his first time win at Watkins Glen, Johnson additionally scored two wins at Road America, one pole position, four third place podiums and several top five finishes in the 2011 season.

In 2012 Johnson moved up to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda with championship-winning team JDC MotorSports, step one of the “Mazda Road to Indy” program.

In his first year as a professional licensed INDYCAR driver Johnson had several top-ten finishing positions in qualifying and races and finished 15th in overall championship points standing out of 36 drivers participating in the 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda series.

In 2013 Johnson again will compete with JDC MotorSports in the series.

Follow Johnson on Facebook@michaeljohnsonracing, Twitter @racer54iscool and Instagram @johnsonracing54. 

For more information about Mike please visit: www.MichaelJohnsonRacing.com.