Valiante will join Brazilian driver Mario Haberfeld

source: champcarworldseries.com

At the final Champ Car World Series event of the 2004 season held on November 7th 2004 in Mexico City, Walker Racing will enter a second car for Canadian driver Michael Valiante alongside Brazilian driver Mario Haberfeld, with both drivers running the Reynard chassis car for the event at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Valiante's debut comes just one year after completing a strong Toyota Atlantic career. The Canadian finished second in the 2002 championship and third in '03, winning three races in each of those two seasons. A winner of multiple national championships in the karting ranks, Valiante, who will run the #15 car for Walker Racing, was denied his Champ Car debut a year ago with Cummins Walker Racing entry to be race at California Speedway before the race was cancelled due to wildfires in the area.

"It has been our intent for sometime to have Michael join our team," said team owner Derrick Walker. "He certainly has the talent and deserves a full time ride in Champ Car and we are happy to be able to end the season competing again with two car entries."

The two-car effort will not diminish the effort for the Brazilian Haberfeld, who continues to have a strong and consistent season in his first year in the #5 Cummins Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone machine. Haberfeld is just 27 points out of the 10th place in the points, important because the top 10 in the points will be recognized at the season-ending banquet November 7 in Mexico City. As the Champ Car season wraps up, Walker Racing is looking to finish the season strong and is excited about finally partnering up with Valiante, with an eye towards 2005.

Long-time Champ Car competitor Walker Racing has fielded entries for many of the top drivers in the series, based out of its state-of-the-art Indianapolis facility. For more information about Walker Racing, visit www.walkerracing.com.

For information on the drivers visit www.MichaelValiante.com  and www.mariohaberfeld.com