McDowell to Rocketsports for Surfers, Mexico.

Grand-Am Daytona Prototype star Michael McDowell will get a late-season opportunity to race in the Champ Car World Series after impressing during a test with Rocketsports Racing last week.

The 20-year old will link up with Paul Gentilozzi's squad for the final two CCWS events in Surfers Paradise and Mexico City, driving the #31 Lola-Cosworth pilot until now by fellow American Ryan Hunter-Reay. McDowell will also continue to co-drive the Finlay Motorsports Daytona Prototype in Grand-Am's Rolex Series, whose final round shares the bill with Champ Car in Mexico City 250 on 5 November.

"Michael came highly recommended to us by [Grand-Am team owner] Rob Finlay and others in the racing industry," said Rocketsports boss Gentilozzi. "He shows great potential and the desire to learn to be competitive in anything he races. We are looking forward to the next two races to allow him to get comfortable with the car and crew in preparation for 2006.

"We hope that his eagerness to be in the race car and to win, along with the team's desire to put Rocketsports back in to victory circle, should prove to be a winning combination."

McDowell will test the #31 machine again at Putnam Park this weekend but, after a few hours running prior to the last Grand-Am round, was both amazed and awed by the performance of the Rocketsports car.

"I have a new level of respect for the guys who can drive a Champ Car for three hours at a time," he admitted, "It's an extremely physical experience and I really like the fact that it doesn't have power steering and traction control like a Daytona Prototype, because that makes it much easier to feel the track and the changes you're making to the car.

"Going back and forth between the two different types of cars, particularly in Mexico - where I'll be driving both during the same weekend - will be a challenge, but with two of the best teams in motorsports today backing me up, I'm ready."

In racing both a sportscar and an open-wheeler in the same season, let alone the same weekend, McDowell joins the likes of Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt. In racing both during the same weekend at the same track, he may well be unique, as the history books struggle to recall a similar 'double' on the same weekend.

"This is an extreme opportunity that goes well beyond any racing driver's wildest dream, and for that I'd like to thank the men who made it possible - Rob Finlay and Paul Gentilozzi," McDowell continued, "I also owe thanks to my Finlay Motorsports co-driver Memo Gidley - the fittest, fastest driver I know - for setting a standard of personal and professional excellence that gave me the strength to believe I could do this.

"Thanks also to Finlay Motorsports team manager and driver coach Steve Cameron, and engineer Rick Cameron for helping make me into a driver that can be an asset to two top teams in two top series. I'll do my very best to make sure that everyone involved agrees this was a good idea."

DP boss Finlay plucked McDowell from the ranks of Star Mazda single-seaters to co-drive Gidley - another Rocketsports alumnus - in his new sportscar venture, and has not been disappointed by the rookies performance.

"I consider Michael McDowell to be the finest young American driving talent racing in North America today," he insisted, "Hes just 20 years old, he's already won a championship in a highly competitive open-wheel series, and has a bright career ahead of him.

"His performances this season, against some of the best and most experienced drivers from around the world, demonstrate clearly that he is a champion in the making, and I'm delighted to help provide him with this opportunity to showcase his talent with a competitive and professional Champ Car team like Rocketsports."