Dublin, Ireland – Niall Murray is set to continue his sequence of debuts with confirmation that he will return to America next month to join the Newman Wachs team for his Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda debut.
Having come so close to a heavily funded season in the American championship by making it to the final six in the Mazda Road To Indy Shootout last December, Murray narrowly lost out to eventual winner Oliver Askew. Since that event, the 22-year-old has had a burning desire to return across the Atlantic ocean and race in the 2-litre Tatuus USF-17 single-seater series to prove his worth.
Having met with Newman Wachs Team Manager Brian Halahan during his brief visit last year, the pair have kept in regular contact until finally the opportunity Murray had been waiting for presented itself, to race in the series he hoped to spend 2017 competing in.
Murray’s first taste of the enhanced FIA Formula 4 specification single-seater will come with an evaluation session in Chicago next week, followed by a two-day test at Watkins Glen, a 3.37-mile 11-turn road course. This valuable mileage will all serve to prepare the current British Formula Ford Champion for his competitive debut at the same venue on the weekend of September 1-3, the final round of the 2017 series.
Niall Murray – Newman Wachs Racing: “Last year we met Brian Halahan from Newman Wachs Racing at the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout and we’ve kept in regular contact since. I’m absolutely over the moon that this opportunity has finally come together. Having come so close last December, USF2000 is a series I’ve wanted to race in since, so I will be making sure I make the most of every lap. We’ve worked very hard behind the scenes to make this happen, and I have a lot of people around me to thank for this so I’ll be making sure to give them a good performance. I’m hoping this run in the car will help me if I make it back to the shootout again this year, and prove to the judges that I am very serious about my intentions of racing in the USA in 2018.”