31/01/2007
NEWS STORY
A1 Team Brasil, heading down under this weekend for round seven of the 2006/07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, is delighted to announce that it will introduce another young Brazilian talent to the paddock in the form of 18-year-old Luiz Razia (right). Luiz will back up team regular Tuka Rocha at the Eastern Creek circuit, near Sydney in Australia.
Tuka Rocha will head up the team this weekend after spending the last week in Sydney, continuing his recovery from a hairline fracture that he sustained to his left leg. It will be Tuka's return to the cockpit from his last race in December at the Sentul round in Indonesia. It will be the final race that Tuka will be eligible to take part in the rookie practice session, so Team Brasil will be putting him on track in all the available sessions to maximise his track time.
Reserve driver Luiz has already made an impressive foray into racing. He began in karts just three years ago in 2004, before embarking on the Brazilian Formula Renault and South American Formula 3 Championships. In his debut year of the SudAm F3 he notched up two wins and four further podiums. In his sophomore year in 2006, he won the championship outright with seven victories and four podiums in 16 races. In 2006 the young Brazilian also embarked on a part-season of
F3000 International Masters, instantly impressing with three wins from three outings in treacherous weather conditions. His results were rewarded in the winter of 2006 with a GP2 series test.
A1GP heads back to Eastern Creek for the second year running, and after an improved performance last time out in New Zealand, A1 Team Brasil is looking forward to a competitive weekend in Australia.
Tuka Rocha: "I am looking forward to the race this weekend and getting back in the car. I'm really motivated as I know we can develop the car during the weekend. I was here in Eastern Creek last year as reserve driver, but I didn't drive the car. It's important for me to be able to do the rookie sessions this weekend, because of the situation with my leg, I need to be able to feel what I can do and make sure we don't need to set up anything special, and this gives us extra time to do this. It's also always a benefit if you can do the rookie sessions because it gives you a slight advantage over some of the other drivers, who are not eligible for the session. It will be nice to have Luiz join the team this weekend. He will be able to learn about the team and the people so he can start working with us."
Luiz Razia: "I'm really happy to be joining A1 Team Brasil. It's a very good opportunity for me as a racing driver, and I want to make the most of it. I've met some of the team already and am really looking forward to experiencing the whole race weekend and working together with Emerson Fittipaldi."