Victorian Tim Macrow will head overseas to test a Champ Car Atlantic racer just weeks after clinching the Australian F3 Championship.
2007 Australian Formula 3 Champion Tim Macrow will test a Champ Car Atlantic car for leading team Jensen MotorSport in the US later this month.
23 year-old Macrow will test the Mazda powered Atlantic chassis – the series a major feeder category to the Champ Car World Series - at Roebling Road Raceway, in Georgia, on November 19th following an invitation from experienced team owner and former driver Eric Jensen.
Jensen MotorSport fielded a two-car Atlantics team this season for first year Atlantic drivers Tom Sutherland and Hollywood actor Frankie Muniz.
The team is in its 11th season of Atlantics competition with the series now regularly featuring 30 car grids.
The winner of the Champ Car Atlantic Championship is awarded a US$2Million dollar prize to use towards a drive in the Champ Car World Series the following season.
Team Australia Champ Car driver Simon Pagenaud won the 2006 championship and, along with Graham Rahal, graduated to the Champ Cars this season.
Brazilian Raphael Matos won the series this year following yet another competitive year.
It will mark the first step towards a possible move to the United States next season, Macrow having targeted the US open-wheel scene as a viable option to continue his career following three successful years in Australian Formula 3.
In 46 race starts the driver from Melbourne, Victoria, scored seven wins and a total of 26 podium finishes, finishing second in the 2006 championship and scoring a triumphant win in this years series in the final race of the year last weekend.
“I want to stay in Open-Wheel racing so this is a fantastic opportunity for me to further my career and take a step forward,” Tim Macrow said.
”I’m really looking forward to the test with Jensen MotorSport. The team has a lot of experience in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship and have had plenty of success in the past so I’m keen to get over there and work with them at Roebling Raceway in Georgia.”
Macrow said that the Aussie influences on the US-based Open Wheel scene were just one of the attractions that have generated his interest to compete in the Atlantic championship next year.
“Team Australia, Paul Stoddart, Kevin Kalkoven, Will Power – there are a lot of very successful Australians working amongst the Champ Car scene and I’d love to be part of that,” he enthused.
“Champ Car is a good series and gets a lot of exposure in Australia thanks to the Surfers Paradise event and Will Power’s performances. The opportunity is there for the Atlantic champion to step up to Champ Car the following season – not too many series at that level anywhere in the world offer that kind of a prize.”
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