Пресс-релиз - Howard Dewitt joins Pegaso
Howard Dewitt joins Pegaso
The Canadian, ranked 5th in the world, will race for the Spanish team in the upcoming season.
Perhaps Pegaso is not the best team on the grid, but one thing they do know how to do is secure unlikely agreements for a team of their level. After two transitional seasons and a good start in the current one, with the first podium in 14 seasons at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Escudería has announced the signing of Howard Dewitt, the recent winner of the Indianapolis 500 and current leader of the IndyCar Series.
The operation has been described as 'complicated' and 'very tough', since the driver had more tempting offers from higher-level teams. However, it seems that the good personal relationship between the Pegaso Management Board and the driver's manager, Keiyote, has facilitated and tipped the balance in favor of the flying horse.
"We have been following Dewitt since season 50; however, at that time both parties decided that the best thing for the driver was to give him more time to continue developing. We have mainly focused on having both drivers and, consequently, the managers themselves, collaborate to be better. It's extremely difficult to convince a talent like Howard, so we are delighted with his incorporation from the next season. Of course, this also implies that we have to raise our level to match his, which is within our plans for the near future." - were the words of nicorz, team manager of the team from the Iberian Peninsula.
When asked about it, the Canadian gave his thoughts: "I am really happy with the opportunity because it feels like it was the perfect fit, an up-and-coming driver for an up-and-coming team. I have proved I can compete in a lot of other series from touring cars to stock cars to open wheels, so the land of milk and honey with the best of the best is the next logical place to show what I can do. It also doesn't hurt that I have known a few of Pegaso's members and staff over the seasons, racing and competing against each other and talking shop around the track in various other series and racing, so why not start working together? The Pegaso car has been coming on leaps and bounds recently so it makes it a great way to break onto the F1 scene."
In this way, the North American will become the fifteenth driver in 18 seasons to compete for Pegaso. In addition to his results in the current season, Howard Dewitt was the champion of the V8 Supercars in season 49 and runner-up in both the Porsche Supercup in season 51 and IndyCar Series last year. Previously, he won the NASC Silver Cup Series in season 47 and the Formula 3 North America series in season 45. Unlike other relevant drivers of his age generation (except for Álvaro Cobos and Sixtosz Xalonna), Dewitt's career has developed entirely in motorsport, whether it has been in single-seaters, GTs, or Stock Cars.
As for the second seat, nicorz didn't want to clarify anything, only to emphasize the great work of the team's current drivers. "At the beginning of the season, I asked them about their intentions for the future. Both were open to negotiate since we didn't know what awaited us this year, although we knew it would be better than in previous seasons. It will be very complicated to have to decide between Samuel and Thibau, I just have to refer to the fantastic weekend they both had in Montmeló, but it's also true that I wish all the decisions I had to make were of this kind, with such excellent drivers".
We hope this move serves as an incentive for Pegaso, which is currently in seventh place in the constructors' standings, with 37 points, remaining competitive on all circuits and occasionally causing a surprise or two.