Ganassi protégé to be championship’s first Canadian driver
Canadian teenager Devlin DeFrancesco has been named as Carlin’s second MSA Formula Championship driver for 2016. DeFrancesco, who turns 16 in January, will line up in one of the champion team’s Ford EcoBoost-powered machines alongside Briton James Pull, as well as a further two yet-to-be-named running mates.
Devlin has spent 2015 in the UK as part of the Carlin Academy, preparing for his first full season of single-seater action. He has a successful background in karting, winning the Canadian National Junior Championship in 2013 as well as finishing second in the CSAI Italian Championship and third overall in the CIK FIA European Championship.
A 2014 kart accident left DeFrancesco with a fractured wrist which ruled him out of a full time race programme this year. During his rehabilitation, he tested alongside Carlin’s 2015 MSA Formula drivers as well as competing in selected rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship.
Said Devlin: “It is a great honour for me to continue with the Carlin ‘family’. So far it has been an awesome year, with a pole position at Rockingham. I’m really looking forward to 2016 and can’t wait to be in a racecar again. I need to thank everyone who has supported me for making this happen.”
“Devlin is a welcome addition to the race team,” commented Trevor Carlin, “although he has been part of Carlin for a season already. We’ve seen him come a very long way over the last year and he has potential that has obviously been recognised by us and the Ganassi Racing Teams. I look forward to seeing what he can achieve on track in 2016.”
The Toronto born teenager is the first member of Generation Ganassi, a programme established by the legendary Ganassi Racing Teams to identify 13-18-year-old drivers as ‘ones to watch’ in the world of motorsport. DeFrancesco and his counterparts will be offered professional guidance to aid their growth within the sport, including working with a current Ganassi driver who will act as mentor.
MSA Formula – Certified by FIA, Powered by Ford EcoBoost is Britain’s official version of the FIA’s Formula 4 concept and was introduced this season as a supporting series to the British Touring Car Championship, enjoying live TV coverage and bumper raceday spectator attendance. The scheduled opening rounds are set for Brands Hatch next April.
