Series reschedules preseason test to March

Atlantic Championship Preseason Testing Rescheduled to Early March

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (January 18, 2010) - Officials from the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda announced today that series-sanctioned preseason testing has been rescheduled from January 22-24 at Sebring International Raceway to early March at a venue to be determined.

The reason for the change was to move the test closer to the beginning of the 2010 Atlantic Championship season and minimize the amount of travel required for Atlantic teams, especially those based on the West Coast. The 2010 Atlantic season gets underway on Friday, March 19 at Sebring International Raceway in Central Florida.

"The feedback we received from a majority of our teams was that the January Sebring test was not practical for them," said Atlantic Championship Vice President of Operations John Brunner. "We could have gone forward with the test this weekend, but participation would have been minimal. It is an expensive proposition for teams to travel cross-country, and the January test would require two cross-country trips. By moving the test to March, the teams can do the test and the race at Sebring in one trip. There is a significant amount of interest from drivers and teams to participate in the 2010 Atlantic Championship and we are confident that we will have a strong field at the test and throughout the season."

Exact dates and the venue for the test will be announced as soon as possible. In 2009, the official series-sanctioned preseason test took place the week prior to the Sebring season opener at Palm Beach International Raceway. Spanish rookie Borja Garcia was quickest on both days of the two-day test in his first exposure to North American open-wheel racing. He went on to finish seventh in the 2009 championship standings with three podium finishes.

-source: atlantic championship