MIAMI – After 20 years of experience in the world of karting, International Motorsport today confirmed it will contest its first season in the open-wheel ranks with entry in the YACademy Winter Series and the new USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires next year.
This was the next logical step for the Carlos Martinez-led team after victories and titles in the Florida Winter Tour.
Justin Garat (USA) and Alan Isambard (France) were named as drivers, continuing a long history with the team from their karting platforms. The pair will compete in the February YACademy Winter Series at Sebring Int’l Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in preparation for their racing debut in USF Juniors at Ozarks Int’l Raceway located outside Gravois Mills, Mo., on April 23-24.
“We have high expectations for this new stage,” Martinez said. “We are ready to join YACademy as a preamble to USF Juniors, and have three cars ready and two drivers confirmed. There is a lot of work ahead but the team is mentally and technically prepared to meet this new challenge and learn more about open-wheel racing.
“I feel our racing program is stronger than ever. It is rewarding to see drivers like Nick Sanchez, who competed with us in karts in his early years, as a benchmark in ARCA and on his way to NASCAR. With this new step for the team, International Motorsport hopes to see the names of its newly confirmed drivers on the pathway to the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires.”
USF Juniors debuts next year as a pre-step to the highly acclaimed Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires driver development platform, a clear-cut path to the NTT IndyCar Series.
Owned and operated by Andersen Promotions with sanctioning from USAC Racing, the entry level series is professionally run to Road to Indy standards providing the necessary training on and off the track to drivers as young as 14 years of age.
A prize package of over $325,000 is on offer including a scholarship valued at more than $200,000 for its champion to advance to the first step of the ladder – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – in 2023.
For more information, visit usfjuniors.com.