Team USA Scholarship Drivers Looking Forward To New Zealand Grand Prix

Jan 15, 2004
Invercargill, New Zealand –– Three Team USA Scholarship drivers have a chance this weekend to join some illustrious company by winning the New Zealand Grand Prix. One of the most prestigious titles in the Southern Hemisphere, the race has been won in the past by some of the most famous names in the sport, including Sir Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and John Surtees.The event will count as the second round of the Talley’s International Formula Ford Series and will be held for the third year running at the world’s most southerly race track, Teretonga Park, Invercargill.

Joe D’Agostino, 18, from Plantation, Fla., Charlie Kimball, 18, from Camarillo, Calif., and Ryan Millen, 19, from Newport Beach, Calif., tested impressively today at the ultra-fast Teretonga track in their trio of identical, patriotically liveried Team USA Scholarship Stealth/Van Diemens, and are excited about their prospects.

“This race has a huge history,” said Kimball, “and just being a part of it is really neat. Legendary names in motor racing have won this race, and it’s a great opportunity for us to be able to try and follow in their footsteps.

“Teretonga is a great place to hold the race,” added Kimball, who finished third in both the 2003 U.S. Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship and the more recent British Formula Ford Zetec Winter Series. “It’s a real flowing track, kind of like Road America. The first corner is a very fast Carousel kind of corner. If you had five percent more grip you’d maybe be flat-out through there; but you don’t so it’s an incredibly challenging corner.”

The New Zealand Grand Prix, with a history dating back to 1950, holds a very special significance for Millen, who’s uncle, Steve, won the race in 1980. The youngster contested the event last year, running well until making a mistake, and is determined to make amends this time around.

“Big!” is how Millen describes the race. “It’s a really important weekend for me. My uncle’s won it and I wanted so desperately to win it last year, but just blew it due to my inexperience. I’m not going to let that happen again.”

Millen, who won the 2002/2003 New Zealand South Island Formula Ford Championship and competed in a handful of Barber Dodge Pro Series races in 2003, certainly should be in the running, along with his teammates. All three finished among the top five in one of last weekend’s pair of races at Levels Raceway, Timaru — with D’Agostino leading the way with a pole and a second place — and were among the pacesetters at today’s test.

“It went well,” said D’Agostino, who competed in the 2003 Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by Racer and subsequently won the Barber/Champ Car Scholarship, worth a fully paid ride in the 2004 Barber Dodge Pro Series. “I think the lap times we were running were very good – as fast as anyone else. The track is going to promote a lot of slipstreaming, so it should be fun – and fast. And it’s really cool to be competing in a race with so much history behind it.”