TROIS-RIVIERES, QUEBEC (August 14, 2012) – Sage Karam found himself standing on the top of the podium following Sunday’s Star Mazda Championship race in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The rain drenched 17 year-old make quick work of the leader, following a red flag condition to change over to rain tires. Karam was in 2nd place when the skies opened up and caused the red flag. Upon returning to green flag racing, Karam made his move on the 2nd lap and pulled away from the field to capture his road course victory for Andretti Autosport. “I knew once we were going to rain tires, I had a real shot to win. For some reason, we were struggling with a problem coming off of the turns, like a lack of power or a hesitation, all weekend. The leader would pull me off the turns and it was frustrating. The boys at AA will locate the problem this week I am sure. The rain masked the problem and saved the day,” said Karam.
The victory was Karam’s fourth in the series and moves him into 2nd place in the Star Mazda Championship point standings. He was the youngest competitor in the race and the victory marks his eighth podium in the last twelve races. “We are for sure on a hot streak right now and I couldn’t be more excited heading into the Baltimore GP (Sept 1st/2nd) with the way things are going. It’s hard to believe that the leader and I both have eight podiums each”.
The Comfort Revolution #88 has been the most exciting car in the show. Karam’s move from 21st to 3rd in Toronto in less than six laps has been the talk of the open-wheel since the early July race premiered in a YouTube highlight video. “We are the top American in a very international series and I am proud of that”.
Karam’s win backed up a 2nd place finish on Saturday. “We had a very solid finish on Saturday, but I am not content with 2nd place. We need to win races”. There are five races left in the series where Karam trails the leader by 41 points. “So many people are pulling for me to win this thing. 41 points is a lot of points, but anything can happen. I can only control my luck and that is where the focus will remain”.
“Obviously I have to thank the most important part of my racing, Comfort Revolution, for making this dream of mine happen! Also, my team is mega: Poppy, Yancy, Scott, Rat and Fred. These guys are the best and never let me down on race weekends. I can’t thank Michael Andretti enough for putting this crew on my car”.
“Looking back on the events that got me here, I think we made all the correct decisions. The USF2000 series prepared me perfectly for the Star Mazda series. The terminology, and understanding of what different changes do to the car, was developed in the USF2000 series. I learned to develop a car and work with a team in USF2000. The amount of information was challenging, but not overwhelming at that level. My first year in Star Mazda was a huge learning curve, but not nearly as large as it would have been if I never did the USF2000 series. I feel I am properly prepared to move up to the Firestone Indy Lights car, because of the Mazda Road to Indy process.”
