After having a strong showing for the second year in a row in front of his countrymen at the Champ Car Season Finale in Mexico City, David Martinez goes into the holiday season with high hopes as he prepares to fight for the 2008 Champ Car Rookie of the Year title. 

The Monterrey native has spent most of the off season at his home town following a strict workout routine which he will maintain throughout the winter in order to keep up with the physical demands of the 750 horsepower DP01 Champ Cars.  Last Saturday he also had time to relax as he celebrated his 26^th birthday by competing in a 3 hour endurance Rotax race, and later that night by performing in a concert with his band where he plays lead guitar.

Martinezis a product of the Champ Car Ladder System and has quickly become the new young Hispanic face of Champ Car, enjoying undertaking multiple promotional activities, especially around the Mexico City event.  This year he contested the last two rounds of the Season with Forsythe Championship Racing, finishing tenth in Australia and narrowly missing a top five result in Mexico due to a mechanical problem.

David Martínez

“From the moment I got out of the car in Mexico City this year I began preparing myself both mentally and physically for 2008.  Being able to run comfortably at the front with guys like Paul Tracy, Simon Pagenaud, Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal in only my third start gave me great confidence and now that I’ve ran the DP01 for two races I have high expectations for next season.

It’s been a long and difficult road to get to Champ Car but it has given me the experience and the skills that I need to compete at this level.  I think that being able to compete successfully again in Mexico opened up a lot of eyes and it has really gotten the ball rolling, things are looking good for next year and we are going to keep working really hard to make sure we race the full 2008 season starting at Long Beach.

Champ Car recently announced that it has seen a significant increase in its Hispanic following, this is a very important market for the Series and I’m pleased to be playing my part in developing this important fan base as a new generation driver.  I’m looking forward to giving all these fans something to cheer about next year.”