Northwest Autosport Prepares Post-Season Testing Schedule and Winter Series Participation

September 25, 2007. Milwaukie, Oregon. With the 2007 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear winding down Northwest Autosport has released their initial early post-season test schedule in preparation for the 2008 championship and announced their intentions of participating in the Formula Mazda Challenge Winter Series presented by Standing Start.

“The level of competition in the Star Mazda Championship is so strong that it is necessary to start testing almost as soon as that final checkered flag falls on the season,” explained team manager Michael Hernandez. “With that in mind we have already scheduled eight test days in October and November at our Buttonwillow Raceway Park test facility and will compete in the winter series to hone their skills in competition.”

The team, which has scored one win this season at Miller Motorsports Park and has current driver Eric Freiberg in eleventh place overall and Phil Fogg Jr in contention for the Expert Series crown, will host its first testing session October 30th through November 1st at the Buttonwillow, California, facility with a second block of dates scheduled for November 26th through the 30th.

“With multiple track configurations allowing us to simulate street circuits, high speed road courses and everything in between, Buttonwillow Raceway Park is an ideal testing facility allowing our drivers to get a lot of miles behind the wheel and learn how the car handles in a variety of situations,” commented Hernandez. “The track has become a top off-season testing facility for Champ Car, Atlantic and Star Mazda teams looking to gain an edge which was why we chose it as the location of our secondary shop.”

The 2007 Formula Mazda Challenge Winter Series presented by Standing Start will kick off at Buttonwillow Raceway Park with a double race weekend on November 16-18. The Buttonwillow weekend will be preceded by a special Standing Start Driver Development Day at the circuit on November 14th. The series will then travel to Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona, for rounds three and four of the championship on December 7-9, before wrapping up with rounds five and six at Phoenix International Raceway in January of 2008.

Drivers interested in participating in any of these tests are encouraged to contact Michael Hernandez at 503-266-6927

About Northwest Autosport                                                              

Based in Milwaukie, Oregon, Northwest Autosport is one of the top teams participating in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, which will feature twelve races across the United States and Canada supporting the American Le Mans Series, ChampCar and the GrandAm series. The team is dedicated to developing young driving talent and will award the highest finishing driver on their team a test in an Indy Pro Series car prepared by Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which is currently running a car for Northwest Autosport alumni Ryan Justice. For more information please visit www.northwestautosport.com.