Indianapolis, IND. - Two months after the championship opening round on St. Petersburg's street circuit, RP Motorsport is ready to continue this "American dream" by landing in one of the motorsports worlds’ most prestigious tracks.
The legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit will host the second round of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper tires, a series that for the second year in a row sees the Italian team involved in a fascinating Stars and Stripes adventure.
A new face will join American Kyle Kirkwood for the INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend: Ian Rodriguez, a young driver from Guatemala, will make his debut in the American series. However, this will not be the first experience in a single-seater car for Rodriguez, who has already collected strong experience during the last two seasons competing in the Italian F4 Championship – but racing in Indianapolis will be an important test that will see him come to gripes with several new circumstances, including the rolling start.
The 18-year-old Guatemalan made his racing debut at a very young age in karting, graduating in 2010 from Central America in the 60cc class before earning the Easykart International Championship in the same category in 2012. His debut in the single-seater took place in 2015, when he made his debut with the DRZ Benelli team in the Italian Formula 4. He competed wiht the team over the next three seasons, collecting a victory, six podium finishes and a seventh place which earned him a seventh place finish in the standings in 2017.
Ian Rodriguez: "I'm really happy to make my debut in this championship with RP Motorsport. It is a great opportunity for my career, which will take place in a such a prestigious place as Indianapolis: a circuit where all drivers dream of racing at least once in their life, though of course my goal will be to stay focused on driving and learn as much as possible. I'm sure the team will give me great help in this regard and I can't wait to start!"
After the excellent second place reached by Kirkwood in the inaugural round of St. Petersburg, the target will be to maintain the same levels of competitiveness already shown in order to repeat last year’s extraordinary from driver Harrison Scott that saw the team triumph earn the victory in race one at the iconic circuit.
Fabio Pampado (Team Principal RP Motorsport): “Running in Indianapolis always represents a particular emotion. Last year we realized a dream, capturing experiencing victory for the first time in the series, but this year we feel much more prepared and with more experience gained. For this reason we want to fight at the top level: Kyle is a young and very talented driver, so we are convinced that he can give a very strong performance here too. At the same time, we welcome to our team Ian Rodriguez, who impressed us with his talents and his accumulated experience, despite his young age, in Italian Formula 4. It will be a very intense weekend and we absolutely want to get out of here with a good result in our pocket .”