Montreal, January 21st, 2008 - Yannick Hofman has inked a deal and will campaign the 2008 Star Mazda championship with Andersen Racing team from Palmetto, Florida. After spending two seasons in Formula BMW USA, the 19-year old driver who hails out of Rosemere, Quebec is stepping up to a high performance ladder series where speed and competition meet. Hofman entered two rounds last year with Andersen, earning a deserving fifth place in his maiden race at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. Hofman will remain a rookie for the 12-round calendar starting with the 12 Hours of Sebring race on March 14. Meanwhile, Hofman will take to the track for two days of testing in Sebring on January 28 and 29.
"The two rounds I did with Andersen Racing last year in the Star Mazda series were convincing enough to race a whole season with them. This rotary single seater has power to spare and requires skill. In this championship, Andersen Racing is a strong team that always delivers fast machines to its drivers. I have a lot to learn about this car and Andersen is the best place to be. Although we will have to deal with new features this year: radial tires and standing starts, two characteristics that were part of the series where I was for the last two seasons. The calendar is pretty different: we race 12 weekends from March to October, one 45-minute race at the time. I will spend a lot more time on the track in 2008. It will be exciting to be at the open test days next week."
"Yannick has shown definite racing skills and capacity of learning the race tracks when he joined us last year, declares John Andersen. We're happy to have him with us this year. He is a disciplined and intelligent driver that knows when to be aggressive. He's going to be a front runner."
Camirand and Mercier
Yannick Hofman will count on two high-profile individuals that will help him along the season. His engineer will be Pete Mercier: a former driver himself, Mercier spent the last ten years in the Star Mazda series. Marc-Antoine Camirand will be the driver coach: Camirand has steered everything from a Daytona Prototype to an Atlantic racer and holds a solid reputation.
"I'm very happy to work with Pete, confirms Yannick. He is among a very few that know all the secrets about this car. I met Marc-Antoine at the GP3R last year and we really enjoyed working together. He knows all the tracks and always finds a way to polish my driving. I'm convinced I can win with those fellows behind me. I'm looking forward to race in Trois-Rivières, my home race."
Talks going on
Hofman admits he is still negotiating with sponsors for the 2008 season. He had support from the Jig-A-Loo lubricants when he raced with Andersen at the GP3R. An oil company is also involved. "It is still too early to announce anything, replies Hofman, but we will make it official before the reds go out in Sebring."
Source: Michel Poirier-Defoy
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