David Martinez announced today that he has been selected by Forsythe-Pettit Racing to compete in this year’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which will take place April 18 – 20 in the streets of Long Beach, California.
The 34th edition of this historic race will serve as a celebration of Champ Car’s history as it transitions into one unified open wheel series in North America. Today’s announcement also separates Martinez as the only Mexican driver in the world competing in a premier open wheel series.
Over the last two years Martinez has developed a strong relationship with the Forsythe-Pettit team both on and off the track. The Monterrey native has made all three of his Champ Car starts with the 2003 championship winning team, finishing in the top-10 in Mexico City (2006) & Surfers Paradise (2007), and narrowly missing a top-five result in Mexico City (2007) due to a mechanical failure.
The 26 year old has kept himself busy during the off season following a strict physical conditioning and karting routine at his home town, he also logged over 400 trouble-free miles of testing with the DP01 at Champ Car’s pre season test in Sebring International Raceway last February.
David Martinez
"I am very excited to be back with Forsythe-Pettit Racing. I’ve enjoyed every minute I’ve spent with the team over the last two years and we have developed a great relationship.
Their engineering group is the best in the business and I am confident that we will be very strong in Long Beach. It’s been a very difficult off season for everybody, it seems like things change by the minute but I’ve kept myself prepared for opportunities like this and I will make the most of it.
I have followed Champ Car ever since I can remember. The series has had a great tradition of Mexican drivers and fans and I feel extremely proud to be the one to be able to represent this heritage as we celebrate Champ Car’s history.
And what better place to do that than Long Beach, where there is such a huge Hispanic following. I’m looking forward to giving everybody a great result and opening up a new chapter in racing for all the Hispanic fans out there."
For more information please visit www.davidmtz.com.
- Toni Calderon-
