Solid Start to Kenney's European Season

Sterling, Virginia April 17, 2009: Liam Kenney’s rookie European campaign, racing in the German-based 2009 ADAC Formula Masters Championship, kicked off last weekend with the Virginia teenager collecting a pair of solid seventh place finishes at Oschersleben.

The 17-year-old made an impressive debut for Ma-Con Motorsports behind the wheel of his Dallara-built, Volkswagen-powered open-wheel race car. Kenney qualified in fourth for the first of the weekend’s double-header races and followed that up with a sixth place effort on the grid for the second start.

While both races would ultimately see Liam lose some ground initially, the American once again proved himself adept at overtaking despite Oschersleben’s reputation for being a tough track to pass on. Reveling in the high-speed, fast, flowing nature of the 2.28-mile facility, Kenney was successfully able to claim seventh in both the weekend’s races from a competitive field of 19 entries.

“It was a pretty good weekend,” reflected Kenney arriving back in Virginia this week. “My finishes were solid and all the while I was on track, I was continuing to learn more and more both about the car and the team. The Ma-Con Motorsports crew are great to work with and the car was just impeccable. All in all my first race weekend of the 2009 season was a positive one.”

While having experienced one previous outing in Europe at the end of the 2008 season, Kenney is looking forward to a whole season in the ADAC Formula Masters Championship and soaking in the atmosphere of racing outside of the United States for the first time in his short, but decorated career.

With a pair of wins in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup last season, on his way to runner-up in the points, and multiple wins in the Formula TR Pro Series in 2006 and 2007, Liam is equally keen to prove himself on the other side of the Atlantic.

“I have to develop new driver skills to compete in Europe,” Kenney stated. “It’s a much more aggressive form of racing with simply no room for error. The competition is so tough it’s all about who can find the last couple of tenths of a second in the car to set themselves apart. It’s a challenge I’m relishing and put simply, anything that helps me become a better driver will undoubtedly have a pay-off and benefit for my long-term career racing ambitions.”

Liam returns to the ADAC Formula Masters Championship next month, racing at Assen in The Netherlands, Friday 8th – Sunday 10th May 2009.