Valiante confirmed at Lynx for 2002.

Canadian standout Michael Valiante has cemented his deal with Lynx Racing for the 2002 Toyota Atlantic campaign, and will act as team leader in his second season in the class.

Valiante, who scored two podiums and two top-five finishes in five starts with the Lynx team in 2001, finished ninth in the overall championship and will replace the graduating David Rutledge as driver of the team's traditional #19 car. Rutledge is working on a deal to take himself into the senior CART series, a process the team will assist with, as it has with previous graduates including Patrick Carpentier (Player's/ Forsythe), Memo Gidley (Target Chip Ganassi) and Alex Barron (Arciero-Blair).

For 2002, Valiante will be teamed with Grant Ryley, a 28-year old Californian, who will race a car fielded by Lynx and sponsored by the Kart2CART programme of Microsoft executive Rick Waddell.

"Lynx is a legend among young drivers looking for a way to graduate up into CART, and I'm thrilled to be chosen for the team," Valiante said, "The five races I drove with the team this season were a real education in how a top team operates and what it takes to compete at this level.

"My goal this year was to satisfy both myself and the team that I can learn and run fast at the same time, and I feel I've achieved that. As for next year, the team is ready and able to win another championship, and I'm going to do my best to give them what they want. I'd also like to thank Lynx for the opportunity, David Rutledge for his generosity and help this year."

Valiante got his professional racing career off to a spectacular start, winning the Canadian and North American Formula A karting championships in 1996. In 1997, he won the prestigious Elf Constructors' Championship, as well as the US Grand Nationals
and the IKF Gold Cup series.

Moving up to racing cars in 1997, he attended both the Skip Barber and Bridgestone racing schools. In 1998 he won the Elf Campus Shoot-Out at La Filiere's Le Mans base, the North American 125 Shifter Formula C championship, and the Elf Constructors' championship. This resulted in a full-season scholarship in the Skip Barber Series, where he won both Rookie of the Year and the series championship. This spectacular performance earned him the Rio Big Scholarship, a fully-sponsored, full-season ride in the Barber Dodge Pro Series.

During his first year in the 1999 BDPS, he scored seven top-ten and four top-five finishes and was co-Rookie of the Year. In 2000, he finished in the top-ten eight times, was on the pole in the first race of the season at Sebring, and won from the pole at Road Atlanta and finished sixth overall in the championship.

"Michael is an absolute natural to be a CART star in the future, and we're delighted to help him get there," says Lynx co-owner Peggy Haas, "We've had our eye on him for a couple of years, and the job he did with us this year simply confirmed our assessment that we're the right team for him and he's the right driver for us. We're very much looking forward to the coming season."

2002 will mark the twelfth anniversary of Lynx Racing, one of the most unique organisations in auto racing today. Created and owned by two women, Haas and Jackie Doty, Lynx is both a championship-winning racing team and a uniquely successful driver development programme that focuses on a driver's mental, psychological and spiritual growth in addition to their on-track skills.

"Part of what we look for in a Lynx driver is a certain level of self-awareness, spirituality and a willingness to look inside yourself for improvement in your on-track performance," says Doty, "Michael has demonstrated all those things, as well as the ability to take what he learns - both technically and emotionally - and put it to use in the car. It's obvious that, like Memo Gidley, the thing he loves most is driving and winning, and that makes it exciting for all of us."

The Lynx mission is to seek out young drivers with the desire and potential to become champions at the highest levels of the sport and provide them with the funding, equipment and training to take the last step toward realising that potential, a process the team calls 'Destiny by Design'.

"We had a hard choice to make between Michael and Jason LaPoint who also drove several races with us this year," says Lynx team manager and driving coach Steve Cameron, "They're both very talented, worked well with the team, had exceptional technical feedback and demonstrated the ability to run at the front at tracks they've never raced on before against drivers with much more experience.

"We are still very impressed with Jason, and have recommended him to several other teams. That said, Michael was able to achieve podium results for the team and that tipped the balance in his favour. I'm confident he will challenge for the Atlantic championship in 2002."

LaPoint tested this week for the Michael Shank team, and looks to be a candidate for the seat there in place of the departing Martin Basso.