SASKATOON, Sask. – Exclusive Autosport is pleased to announce that Mexican driver Manuel Cabrera will rejoin the team for the 2019 Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, competing in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship season.
The 18-year-old spent the first half the 2018 season running with Exclusive Autosport’s USF2000 program, where he was named the ‘Star of the Race’ at the Royal Purple Grand Prix of Indianapolis by the Road to Indy Insider. During that weekend, Cabrera hard-charged his way from the 22nd position to finish an impressive ninth in a field stacked full of talent. With that experience now part of his racecraft, Manuel is determined to make his mark on the first rung of America’s top development ladder system.
“It is a real pleasure to welcome Manuel back to the Exclusive Autosport USF2000 program,” enthused Michael Duncalfe, Team Principal. “He showed his speed, racecraft and a lot of promise in the first half of the season last year. He has been training really hard in the off-season and I am looking forward to positive results from Manuel in 2019.”
Cabrera began his racing career in the assorted Mexican karting series in 2010 at the age of 10, running upfront and winning numerous races and championships along the way. Manuel made the move to car racing by attending the Skip Barber Racing School in 2016, and then participated in their Championship Series.
Cabrera graduated to the Formula PanAm series in 2017 and earned the championship title, winning a ticket to attend the Mazda Road to Indy $200,000 Scholarship Shootout in the process. In the Formula PanAm program, he scored four wins in the six series races and was on the podium in the other two. He also raced in the Formula Masters Asia series, scoring six top-five finishes, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year honors. In 2018, Manual raced seven races with Exclusive Autosport, racking his highest finish of eighth place at Road America. He has since taken time off to concentrate on his fitness in an effort to prepare for his attack on the 2019 season.
“I feel extremely happy to be back with the Exclusive Autosport team and I’m really anxious to be back behind the wheel and start the season,” commented Cabrera. “Last year was quite tough for me, but I’m really convinced that this year is going to be different. We are preparing ourselves differently and I hope this will show during our on-track performance. I’m really positive that this year is going to be different and great for the whole team. I feel so happy to be part of the team once again and to be able to work again with all the crew members.”
Led by Team Manager Mirl Swan, Cabrera and the entire EA crew are ready and the cars have been prepared for the next official test for the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, which will take Exclusive Autosport back to South Florida for official Spring Training at Homestead on March 1-3, followed immediately by the 2019 season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 8-10.