For release: July 22, 2005

D’AGOSTINO BIDS FOR FURTHER FORMULA FORD VICTORIES

BRENTWOOD, July 22, 2005: America’s Joe D’Agostino may be down, but he’s certainly not out – that’s the message the 20-year-old Floridian wants his rivals to hear as they prepare for next weekend’s (30/31 July) 13th and 14th rounds of the UK Formula Ford Championship at Brands Hatch in Kent.

For despite the knock-back he suffered at Castle Combe last month, when he failed to finish both races, Joe is coming out fighting and has not yet given up hopes of defeating his chief rival, Irishman Charlie Donnelly, for top spot in the Ford-backed championship.

Brackley-based Team JLR man D’Agostino trails Donnelly by 69 points despite winning six rounds to Donnelly’s five, but says: “It’s not over until the fat lady signs and I haven’t heard her yet. Charlie can still have some bad luck and fail to finish a race, and then the championship will be wide open again. I’m getting in the car at Brands Hatch with the intention of doing the best job that I can, which is what I’ve always done.”

Joe has his sights set firmly on a Formula 3 drive in 2006 but knows that without major financial backing his hopes could remain unfulfilled. “To still be second in the UK Formula Ford championship after three DNFs I think says a lot about my pace, and hopefully enough people out there will recognise that and support me.”

A day’s testing at Brands – amazingly, the first full day of preparation that D’Agostino’s budgetary constraints have permitted since the season started – have confirmed to him that he has the pace to run at the front. “If a victory is there to be taken, I will do so… I’d like to thank my personal sponsors, who have all banded together to make a huge effort to help me through to the end of the season.”

But Dubliner Donnelly, 22, and his Jamun Racing team-mate Duncan Tappy are likely also to be on top form on the sinuous Indy circuit at Brands. Tappy has been knocking on the door of race victory all season and reached the top step of the podium at Castle Combe on his 21st birthday, consolidating his third overall placing in the championship.

Backing up D’Agostino’s bid to close the gap will be his regular JLR running mates, Norwegian Thor-Christian Ebbesvik and Buckinghamshire-based Jonny Baker, as well as a fourth team member, Japanese champion Kenji Otaki, 28.

Meanwhile, East Lothian 20-year-old Sarah Playfair is to step up at Brands to drive one of Kartstart Motorsport’s newly introduced Spirit chassis. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” said Sarah, who has proved a frontrunner in this season’s Scholarship Class for younger and less experienced drivers. “The Spirit has shown great promise all year and recent development has taken it on further still. It will be great to go behind the wheel of an up-to-date car and to show what I can do with it.”

Shropshire star Steve Roberts will be aiming to rack up his 10th Scholarship Class victory of the season, provided that his chief class rival, Jonny Baker, doesn’t get the better of him and his Kevin Mills Racing-prepared Van Diemen.

The championship regulars will be joined at Brands by a host of guest drivers including Otaki, the Myerscough College-prepared cars of Sean Gaffney and Andrew Bentley; Clubmans championship pacesetters Linton Stuteley, Craig Bell and Matthew Payne; Robert Sunderland and British Racing and Sports Car Club director Steve Burns, who will be hoping to set a scorching pace at the wheel of a second Kevin Mills Racing car.

For further media information: Please contact Nick Carter at Max Communications on 01530 563200 or nick.carter@maxcomms.com

For further championship information: Please contact the co-ordinator, Barbara Armstrong, at RacingLine Ltd on 01908 210077 or formulaford@racinglineltd.co.uk

Championship website: www.ukformulaford.co.uk