Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Three FWT karters win not only an SBRS Three Day School, but also entry into the annual Karting Shoot-out.

LAKEVILLE, Conn. – Skip Barber Racing announced an extension of its partnership with Formula Kart Productions, Inc., owner and promoter of the Formula Kart Racing Florida Winter Tour presented by Tony Kart, and will continue its award program, but with a new addition: those prizes will now include the entry fee into the annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out.

”Each year, the Florida Winter Tour gets bigger, more geographically diverse, and more prestigious,” says George Ayres, COO and president of Skip Barber. ”The best karters in the world are gravitating to this championship and we obviously want to point FWT’s most successful racers to Skip Barber and the MAZDASPEED ladder. Our Scholarship Shoot-out is the biggest and most significant North American event for karters moving up to auto racing. We want to help draw those kids to the Florida Winter Tour and expose them to the MAZDASPEED ladder – Skip Barber Race Series to Star Mazda to the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda.”

Two to-be-determined Florida Winter Tour (FWT) class points-champions, plus one “at-large” FWT competitor, will each be awarded a Skip Barber Three Day Racing School and a paid, guaranteed entry into the Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out. Each of the three Skip Barber prizes* is valued at $5,998 (school + shoot-out entry).

”As always, I’m excited about the continuation of the Skip Barber Three Day Racing School awards,” says Formula Kart’s Bill Wright, adding that the partnership has been in place since 2004. ‘‘Now, with the addition of paid entries into the Shoot-out, the Florida Winter Tour’s competitors have an even more significant prize to aim for.

”This long-standing partnership has brought both our organizations some great racers – most recently epitomized by 2007 FWT / Skip Barber award winner Joel Miller, who went on to capture the 2007 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda series and was championship runner-up in this year’s Star Mazda series,” Wright said. ”The Skip Barber awards help bring top-level drivers to the FWT as they look to make their mark in karts and cars, while at the same time, the Florida Winter Tour exposes many future auto racing drivers to Skip Barber and the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development ladder system. That’s a winning combination.”

The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out awards more than $130,000 in scholarship seat time, including the grand prize of nearly $50,000 to compete in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, courtesy of MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development.

For more information about the details and requirements* for participation in the FWT/Skip Barber awards program, contact Bill Wright at [email protected].

Click here for more information about karting and Skip Barber Racing

*To be eligible for the FWT/Skip Barber awards program, participants must pre-register for and compete in all 6 Rotax or all 6 Formula Kart race-days, and must display Skip Barber decals prominently on the front and both sides of their racing karts. Each must also display the Skip Barber patch on the breast of their driving suit during podium presentations, and must meet the specific eligibility requirements for the 2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout.

Rick Roso