Cooper Tyres Championship Kicks Off

Drivers from 15 different countries, including Great Britain, Venezuela and Canada, will be among the contenders of the opening two rounds of the 2005 Cooper Tyres Championship for Formula Ford 2000 cars, that kicks off as part of the Grand Prix of Atlanta ALMS event at Road Atlanta next weekend.

Drivers Jay Howard and Joey Foster will be representing Britain. Howard contested two races in the Cooper tyres championship last season, winning once at Infineon Raceway. Foster won the Formula Ford Festival and World Cup at Brands Hatch in 2003, and will drive for Cape Motorsports, which has won the title in three of the last five years.

“We were gaining momentum toward the end of last year,” series president Jon Baytos explains, “and the level of interest we have already this year is very encouraging. Drivers and teams are realising the value of the Cooper Series and they’re proving it by coming out to the races.

“This sport is never going to be cheap, but we provide extremely close racing for a fraction of what it costs to compete in most of the other open-wheel classes. We race at high-profile venues and the quality of the racing is second to none, both in terms of excitement and competitiveness.”