Alegra Signs Rizzo and Benitez for 2011 Season
Rizzo, 19, from São Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, began racing karts at 13, winning the Vale do Paraiba championship in 2008. Since then, he has continued to race karts, Brazilian Formula Ford, and Stock Car Jr. Rizzo currently lives in Aventura, Florida and will be supported this season by Sat Log and PGR.
Benitez, 21, from Valencia, Venezuela, began racing at 15, winning the Venezuelan FF 1600 championship in 2005 and the Venezuelan FF 2000 championship in 2007 and 2008. He currently lives in Miami, Florida and will be supported this season by Grupo Akkar and Puntos Naranjas.
A team spokesman said: “At our recent test at Palm Beach International Raceway, we were impressed by the maturity, pace and feedback of both Gustavo and Angel. We expect the series to be stronger than ever and look forward to defending the championship."
Alegra Motorsports won the 2010 F2000 title with 17-year-old Brazilian Victor Carbone. Carbone won six out of 14 races and will be racing in Indy Lights this year.
The 2011 F2000 Championship Series opens its sixth consecutive season with a double-header weekend, like all the events, at VIR, April 8-10. The Series next heads to Road Atlanta with the highly-popular Formula Drift tour, May 6-7. Rounds five and six come at Watkins Glen, June 3-5, with Grand-Am. June 30-July 2 sees the Series visit Mid-Ohio before pairing up with ALMS at Mosport, July 22-24. The season starts to come to a close with the NASCAR Modifieds at Lime Rock Park, September 16-17 and finishes at Watkins Glen, October 14-16, with what is appearing to be a year full of massive car counts and a variety of new chassis, teams and drivers.