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Andretti Green Signs Christian Fittipaldi To Drive Acura in ALMS
Andretti Green Racing announced today it has signed Christian Fittipaldi to co-drive its #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura in the American Le Mans Series beginning in 2008. Fittipaldi will join Bryan Herta as the team’s other full-time driver of the car. Fittipaldi, who teamed with Michael Andretti to create a formidable duo at Newman/Haas Racing from 1996 through 2000, comes to Andretti Green’s ALMS program with an impressive racing resume that includes experience in Formula One, CART, NASCAR and sports-car racing. For the past five seasons Fittipaldi has driven sports cars in Grand-Am, highlighted by a victory at the 2004 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
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The 36-year old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, drove three seasons in Formula One before moving to the United States to drive in the CART Champ Car Series. Fittipaldi collected two CART victories; one at Road America and one at Fontana, and finished a career-best fifth in the CART championship in 1996 and 2002. In 1995, Fittipaldi finished second at the Indianapolis 500 and earned rookie of the year honors. He is one of four members of the AGR driver stable to earn the award, joining Michael Andretti (1984), Danica Patrick (2005) and Marco Andretti (2006).
Fittipaldi’s pedigree also includes a European Formula 3000 championship (1991) and a victory in the 1993 edition of the Spa 24 Hours endurance event.
Andretti Green Racing just completed a successful premier season in the American Le Mans Series. The team opened 2007 with a win at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the first start for both AGR and Acura. The team collected three podium finishes and the overall pole position at Long Beach, another first for Acura.
Christian Fittipaldi, #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura:
"I am definitely looking forward to this new challenge in my career. I was talking to Mike (Michael Andretti) about how five or six years ago we were teammates and now he has a team and I am driving for him. It is going to be different for us, though, because when we were teammates we had to work together and at the same time there was that internal rivalry that you always have in a team. But now, we are 200 percent on the same side.
"I think 2008 is going to be a really good season for Andretti Green. I am very motivated to do everything I can to get XM and Acura back into the winner’s circle."
Michael Andretti, Chairman, Andretti Green Racing:
"When you’re hiring a driver, you want to think that he is going to be fast. But, when you’re hiring a driver that you used to race against and were teammates with, you know he is going to be fast. For sure, that is why we’re excited to welcome Christian to the AGR XM Acura family. We need to go to the next level with our ALMS program in 2008 and we feel like this is a great step in that direction."
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