Hearn Motorsports Announces Duc as First piece of '06 Puzzle

Hearn Motorsports Announces Duc as First Piece of '06 Puzzle

 

 

LAS VEGAS, Nev., November 16, 2005 - Richie Hearn (Henderson, Nev.) revealed
the first piece of the puzzle for his open wheel racing program today with
the announcement that driver Jules Duc (Los Gatos, Calif.) will pilot one of
his Formula BMW USA Series entries in 2006. Hearn Motorsports will be making
their debut in Formula BMW USA next season after two years entering cars in
the Star Mazda Championship. It will be Duc's second season of Formula BMW
USA competition. Duc, 15, is the first driver announced to what Hearn
anticipates being a three-car program in the entry-level, professional
formula car series next year. The Champ Car and IndyCar standout continues
to evaluate other drivers for his '06 plans and anticipates making
additional announcements soon.

 

"I met Jules about a year ago when he was just starting to race," said Hearn
about his latest prospect. "He had no experience racing anything then. Since
then he has a lot of progress. He has a lot of talent; a natural ability. He
just doesn't have a lot of experience racing. I think he has a great future.
He listens well and he is really committed to racing. He fits perfectly into
what we are trying to do. I think he could definitely be a future Champ Car
driver considering how far he has come in less than a year. We are really
looking at this to be a long-term deal with Jules. I'm excited to be signing
him as our first driver for '06 and I'm looking forward to working with him
and coaching him."

 

The young driver has been under Hearn's driving guidance for nearly a full
season and has made dramatic improvement since approaching the 1995 Formula
Atlantic Champion for coaching assistance. 2005 marked the first season of
competition for Duc in any form of motorsports. In fact, prior to entering
the season-opening round of the 2005 Formula BMW USA season at Laguna Seca
last April, Duc had only a three-day school at Skip Barber and Derek Daly's
school- based just down from the Hearn Motorsports shop- on his racing
resume.

 

Hearn will waste little time getting Duc on track. He anticipates beginning
to test with Duc within weeks in the spec-series BMW-powered formula car.
The two have been testing and racing over the last several months with
Hearn's No. 70 Star Mazda. Duc showed himself well at a recent race in the
car at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. In his first appearance in the
rotary-powered car, and his first time at Infineon against seasoned racers,
Duc won his first career event setting times better than his two pilots put
in during the Star Mazda event there in July. 

 

In 2005, Duc finished 26th in Formula BMW USA points overall and 17th in the
rookie standings. He ran in 12 of the 14 rounds- spread across seven tracks-
with a high finish of 14th. 

 

Hearn's second year team debuted in 2004 in the Star Mazda Series and has
scored multiple podium finishes and one victory, this year at Mosport
International Raceway, since that time. 

 

For more on Hearn Motorsports please visit www.richiehearn.com
<http://www.hearnmotorsports.com/> . 

To learn more about the Formula BMW USA Series, click on
www.FormulaBMWUSA.com <http://www.formulabmwusa.com/> .