PALE RIDER -- LOUSIANA RACER ALEX ARDOIN 'PULLS AN EASTWOOD' AND, AFTER NOT DRIVING A RACE CAR FOR A YEAR, RETURNS FOR A ONE-OFF AND SCORES A REPEAT VICTORY IN STAR MAZDA GP3R AT TROIS-RIVIÈRES

 If Clint Eastwood were ever to star in a racing movie, this is the script he'd have picked.  Louisiana racer Alex Ardoin did his very best 'Pale Rider' impression in repeating his 2009 Trois-Rivières victory driving a one-off race for Team GDT in today's Round 10 of the 20th Anniversary Star Mazda Championship at the 41st annual GP3R.  Following him across the finish line for his third podium of the season was Venezuelan racer Jorge Goncalvez in the #9 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda, followed by pole-sitter and championship leader Conor Daly in the #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda. 

Finishing first in the Expert Series (drivers 30-44) was Texan J.W. Roberts in the #65 Team GDT / General Data Tech Mazda; Roberts is the owner of Team GDT and the man responsible for Ardoin being in the team's spare car.  The leading Master Series driver (45 and older) was Puerto Rican racer Carlos Conde in the #31 Team GDT / Pronto-GMT / Olympus Securities Mazda.  Altogether a great weekend for Team GDT, winning the main race (the team's first-ever main-event victory), as well as both the Expert and Master Series events that comprise the race-within-a-race that are part of every Star Mazda Championship race.

"A week ago I had no idea I'd be here, much less winning the race, so this just goes to show how things can happen to you in life," says Ardoin, who, although a three-season veteran of Star Mazda competition and previous race winner, hasn't driven a race car in almost a year.  "Paul Mata and the Team GDT crew gave me both a tremendous opportunity and a great car.  I got a great start and was battling with Conor Daly and Anders Krohn at the start, but then there was a yellow flag that bunched up the field and I was able to move up a place on the re-start and then finally passed both Anders Krohn and Conor for the lead.  He and I were pretty much nose-to-tail for the rest of the race and I feel it was a real accomplishment to win this race and give my career a shot in the arm right when it needs it most.  J.W. Roberts and I have been friends and competitors since the tube-frame Formula Mazdas back in 2003, and I'm delighted to be part of this historic weekend for the team."

The high-profile hard-luck story of the weekend came in the form of the local hero, Quebec racer Mikael Grenier who finished 4th in this event last year, scored his first Star Mazda Championship win several weeks ago at New Jersey Motorsports Park and arrived at Trois-Rivières with the hopes and expectations of Quebec race fans riding on his young shoulders.  A malfunctioning fuel pump in qualifying left him starting from 7th on the grid, and he didn't make it halfway around the first lap before contact with another car knocked off the nose of his #17 Andersen Racing / Slow Cow / April Super Flow / NAPA Auto Parts / HS Telecom / Desharnais Mazda and he had to pit for repairs; Grenier was ultimately credited with a 10th-place finish. 

All the various dramas, however, left the championship battle relatively unchanged since Ardoin was in as a one-off and thus not eligible for points.  Conor Daly's 3rd-place finish left him leading the championship with seven poles, five wins and 409 points.  Norwegian racer Anders 'The Viking' Krohn, who started alongside Daly on the front row in his #47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda, remains second in the championship with 351 points, one pole, five podiums and a top-5 finish in every race so far this season.  Brazilian racer Caio Lara, who drove his #19 JDC Motorsports / MLD / ATW Mazda to is first-ever victory  in Race 1 / Round 6 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, finished 6th today but remains third in the championship with one win, three podiums, a top-10 finish in every race this season and 320 points. 

The aspect of the points situation that needs particular explanation is the situation of 2nd-place finisher Jorge Goncalvez; in looking at the points chart, the #1 appears by his name under the Trois-Rivières event.  Because Ardoin was entered as a one-off and not eligible for points, the full 44 points awarded to a race winner accrued to Goncalvez – even though he finished 2nd – because he is a full-time competitor in the series.  That being the case, he moves up from 8th to 7th in the championship battle with 301 points. 

This is the first event of a 3-race, back-to-back 'road trip' for drivers and teams in the Star Mazda Championship.  Round 11, part of the American Le Mans 'Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase' weekend will take place on Saturday, August 21, followed by Round 12, also with ALMS, at the MOBIL1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport on August 28.  The series' finale, the 13th race in an 11-weekend season, is also with ALMS at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and will take place October 1.

Star Mazda drivers are competing for prizes valued at $1.5 million, with prize money paid down through 15th place.  The series champion wins $100,000 in cash, a test with a top Indy Lights team and a Mazda-sponsored drive in the 2011 Grand-Am series, racing an RX-8 in the GT1 class as part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder, the only automaker-supported motorsports scholarship program reaching from entry-level karting to the top levels of the sport.  Drivers in the series also benefit from the IndyCar 'Road to Indy' program that provides a clear path for young open-wheel drivers whose goal is to race in IndyCar and the Indy 500. 

About Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear

For 2010, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will feature an 11-weekend, 13-race schedule, most on major race weekends with American Le Mans and the Indy Racing League. Rising stars from around the world will compete for prizes valued at $1.5 million and benefit from two driver development programs, including the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder and the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' program.  Series alumni include Indy Car stars Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and Raphael Matos, rising NASCAR drivers Michael McDowell, Scott Speed and Colin Braun and prototype racers Dane Cameron and Guy Cosmo.  Drivers 16 and older are welcome to compete and the Star Mazda Championship also features Expert (30 to 44) and Master (45 and older) classes for more mature racers. The Star Mazda Championship features standing starts, wheel-to-wheel racing at 150 mph and budgets a fraction of other top open-wheel ladder series. For more information on the Star Mazda Championship please visit starmazda.com.