DALLAS, March 18 — With a fourth-place finish in the season opener under his belt, Juan Camilo Acosta of M1 Racing is ready to tackle his first street-course races ever this weekend as the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires supports the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg IZOD IndyCar Series season opener.
Two 40-minute Pro Mazda races are on the schedule for the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course beside Tampa Bay: one at 1:10 p.m. Saturday and the other at 3 p.m. Sunday. Acosta will be in the beautiful yellow and white Studio F/Ela Special No. 11 fielded by Dallas-based M1 Racing.
They’ll be the last two races Acosta competes in as a 22-year-old, as the rookie from Cali, Colombia will turn 23 on March 31. Most of the circuits he’s facing in his first season of racing in North America are totally new to him, but Acosta attended this race in 2009 so he has an idea of what he’ll face when two 30-minute practice sessions are held at 8:35 a.m. and 4:25 p.m. Friday prior to one 30-minute qualifying session at 8:35 a.m. Saturday morning.
“The biggest challenge will be to find the limit of the car without hitting the walls,” Acosta said. “I feel I’m very well prepared to fight for a top-five positions though; I’ve been working on the mistakes I made at Austin.
“Now that I already have completed one event, I think I’m a little bit more experienced,” he noted. “I’m focused on doing everything I can to earn points for the championship.”
Fans are encouraged to meet Acosta at an autograph session at 10 a.m. Saturday in Fan Village. He is also hoping that his family is able to attend this event.
“Usually my family isn’t with me on race weekends because they’re always working and it’s not easy for them to be with me,” he said. “I’m excited for this race because I think they’re going to be with me. They love racing, and even if they aren’t able to come they keep abreast of all of my races and tests.”
Fans are also encouraged to follow the team via its website at M1Racing.co and to interact with its members via Facebook at M1 Racing – Pro Mazda or Twitter @M1Pro Mazda.
Live timing and scoring is planned for the series’ website at promazdachampionship.com