New York racer poised to be among those challenging for top honors during Night Before the 500 at Lucas Oil Raceway
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – Up-and-coming racer Luca Forgeois returns to the cockpit this Saturday (May 26) ready to change his early season misfortunes into a spirited second half charge for top honors. Racing under the lights at Lucas Oil Raceway as part the famed Night Before the 500 event, the New York teenager is confident that the lone oval on the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda schedule is the ideal venue to steer his Belardi Auto Racing entry into victory lane.
A winner and champion behind the wheel - having captured the USF2000 Championship National class title in his first full-season of car competition last season - Forgeois has endured a frustrating start to the 2012 campaign. A mix of unforeseen mechanical problems and some poor luck have robbed the 16 year-old of the opportunity to showcase true talents behind the wheel. That being said, Forgeois and his Belardi Auto Racing squad are not ones to give up, working hard over the lengthy hiatus following race four in Florida in March to prepare for the lone oval event on the series calendar.
Forgeois, now focused solely on battling for wins each time he goes racing, enters Round Five ideally positioned to achieve that goal. The Café Noir/Splashlight/Gearup backed racer recently impressed in official USF2000 testing at Lucas Oil Raceway. Putting into practice the insights and information gained from Mazda Road to Indy Oval clinic - which featured IndyCar Series team owner Ed Carpenter, former Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Steve Knapp, and former Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal among the speakers - the Championship class rookie not only worked with his mechanics and engineers to fine tune his racing steed, but ultimately posted the fourth best lap. Add in the experience gained from his superb top-10 finish overall and National class win one year ago under the lights at the banked Indiana oval, and the stage is set for a second half charge by the talented young American, commencing on Saturday.
"I'm very excited about the upcoming race in Indy," commented Forgeois. "The start of the season has definitely not gone as planned, but everyone is working real hard to change that. The test showed we have a good car, and I am confident I can be one of the drivers challenging for top honors when the checkered flag waves on Saturday night."
Forgeois commences his chase for the win at Lucas Oil Raceway on Friday (May 25), when the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda cars conduct three hours of testing. The Night Before the 500 event official commences on Saturday (May 26) with two 30-minute practice sessions prior to single-car qualifying. Round Five, the lone oval the series will contest in 2012, is scheduled to begin at 7:40 pm local time under the lights. Live timing and scoring will be available at www.f2000.com/Multimedia/Live.aspx
Follow Luca’s career on www.lucaforgeois.com
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About Luca Forgeois:
A resident of New York City, New York, the 16 year-old Luca Forgeois is an aspiring race car driver with the goal of becoming a professional competitor. Luca emerged from his development years in karting to win the 2011 National class title in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, and for 2012, he is back in the series campaigning the headline ‘Championship Class’ category with Belardi Auto Racing.