Indy: Sam Schmidt Motorsports sign Yacaman

Sam Schmidt Motorsports have swooped to sign Colombian teenager Gustavo Yacaman to their Indy Lights squad for the 2009 season.

The 17-year-old is a race winner in Spanish F3 will make his first foray into American car racing with the team which guided Richard Antinucci to second in the drivers' championship last year.
"I'm very excited to enter the series," Yacaman said. "The new experience of racing on ovals is something I'm looking forward to. I'm also very pleased to drive a car with so much more horsepower. Being with Sam Schmidt Motorsports makes me even more motivated because of its legacy as the most successful team in the series."

Yacaman also admitted he had some advice from two Latin American racing legends in choosing which team to go with in '09.

"I spoke to Juan Pablo Montoya about which was the best team to race with in Indy Lights. He mentioned a few teams but he spoke most highly of Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Eliseo Salazar also reached out to me about racing in the US and he made the introduction to Sam Schmidt."

The Colombian has experienced American motorsport before having forged a successful career in karting as a youngster, winning the Rotax Junior class of the Florida Winter Tour in 2005 and the National and East Coast JICA championships.

Team owner Sam Schmidt said: ""Gustavo's resume is certainly impressive and when both Montoya and Salazar call to support a driver, you have to listen.  He brings a strong and broad background to our team, as well as a maturity level beyond his years.  Even at such a young age, he's accomplished quite a bit in various racing series around the world and we are quite pleased to have him on the team."