It’s year three for Christian Potolicchio in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, and there is one goal on his mind – winning the championship.
Venezuela native Potolicchio, 19, finished third in the 2014 championship and is the top returning driver leading into the 2015 season, which is set to take off March 18-20 at Sebring International Raceway.
“We’ve pretty much had the cars for three years, so our goal now is to take the next step and win the championship,” Potolicchio said.
Potolicchio, who lives in Hallandale Beach, Florida, will continue to drive for 8Star Motorsports under the supervision of his father, team owner and veteran sports car driver Enzo Potolicchio.
“We are looking to fix small things this year, watch videos, change different things in the car and see what works,” Potolicchio said. “We are working to be one of the fastest out there this year.”
After overcoming obstacles in his rookie season in 2013, Potolicchio made significant improvements and became a regular podium contender in 2014. His consistency and growing speed were apparent during the second half of the season, when he finished on the podium in four of his last eight starts.
Potolicchio’s top finish in 2014 was a career-best second in Round 9 at Road America. He is a strong contender to earn his first career victory in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Development Series this season.
The No. 2 8Star Motorsports car with Potolicchio behind the wheel should be a potent combination next week at Sebring. But there are many young drivers coming to the series who also are ready to challenge for the top spot on the podium.
“I like the series because every year there’s more competition,” Potolicchio said. “Right now I think it’s the best series to be in to jump to prototypes. My goal is to one day race in a PC, LMP2 or LMP1. Prototype Lites is a good stepping stone to the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship.”
Potolicchio is looking forward to opening his third consecutive season in IMSA on Sebring International Raceway’s historic 3.74-mile road course.
“Growing up, I watched almost every race at that track,” Potolicchio said. “I love opening the season at Sebring.”
For more series news and updates, follow @IMSA on Twitter, like IMSA on Facebook and visit www.imsa.com.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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