Dane Cameron

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Rising KARTing star Dane Cameron chosen for Red Bull driver search finals

Dane Cameron, the 15-year old kart racing 'phenom' from Sonoma, California who made a mid-season switch to the 125 ICC Super Pro class and immediately emerged as a top contender, has been chosen as one of the ten 'scouted' drivers for the finals of the 2004 Red Bull Driver Search.

Chosen by a panel of anonymous experts on the basis of his on-track performance, professionalism and potential, Cameron will bypass the East and West Coast runoffs required of the several hundred other drivers who are participating in the competition, and will go directly to the runoffs at Sebring Raceway in Florida August 1 - September 2.

This final round of competition will determine the top six drivers who will go to Europe later this year for the final round of evaluations that will determine which of them receives sponsorship support from Red Bull to race in Europe for the 2005 season.

"It's a tremendous honor that took me completely by surprise," says Cameron. "I was up in Canada racing in the national karting championships when the news came, and its been a blur of activity ever since. The main thing was that the Red Bull tests take place in an open-wheel car and I've only done the three-day beginner course at the Jim Russell school at Infineon Raceway, and they were kind enough to make a seat available for me on short notice in the advanced class. I felt comfortable in the car right away, and my lap times were good, so I've done what I can to get ready, and now its all down to what happens in Florida."

When the Red Bull invitation arrived, Cameron was in Chilliwack, Canada competing in the Canadian National Karting Championships., In that event, he qualified 2nd and finished 5th on a wet track in the pre-finals, and finished 2nd in the finals. The top three drivers in the event were all racing for the Italian Motors team; Jake Thompson finished 1st, Cameron was 2nd and Jordy Vorrath was 3rd.

Prior to running the Canadian championship rounds, Cameron and his Italian Motors Rapido chassis with a TM engine prepared by Italian Motors, competed in the most recent round of the Snap-On Stars of Karting. He qualified 6th for both races, but was disqualified from Saturday's race for a 'carburetor infraction' - a decision still under dispute as it was a factory-stock part that had been approved by tech inspectors. He finished 4th in Sunday's pre-final, but was bumped back two places for 'overly aggressive driving' and finished 6th in the final.

Cameron is the son of Lynx Racing engineer Rick Cameron, and nephew of Steve Cameron, the Lynx Team Manager and driver coach. The Italian Motors team for which he races is owned by the family of Michael Valiante, the Lynx driver who won three races and finished 3rd in the 2003 Atlantic championship.

"There's no doubt that having all these connections is a big help to a young driver like me who working his way up the ladder, but at the end of the day, its still you alone in the kart, or car, and you're the one who has to perform," says Cameron. "This Red Bull opportunity will be a true test for me because I'll be alone in Florida, and, if I make it, in Europe. It's a true test of character, and I'm a bit nervous, but I'm also very confident."

Cameron's primary sponsor for his 2004 kart racing program is OSKAR Systems, a state-of-the-art software system for indoor karting centers. Created by ex-Microsoft developers who are themselves karting professionals, OSKAR handles everything from timing and scoring to scheduling and food and beverage sales with fast throughput, an intuitive touch screen interface, security features, marketing tools, auditing and flexibility. OSKAR's innovative software licensing plan keeps karting center systems up to date and costs low.
Cameron also races with sponsorship from Ital Kart and Cameron Karting (Ital Kart's Northern California distributor). He plans to compete in the Las Vegas SuperNationals at the end of the 2004 season (date TBD) with sponsorship assistance from Drive4USA, a driver development program created by racer and Microsoft executive Rick Waddell; Drive4USA is also assisting Michael McDowell in the Star Mazda Series Championship and Lynx Racing driver Bryan Sellers in the Toyota Atlantic Championship.

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For further information, please contact Peter Frey at (818) 906-6997. More information about Dane Cameron, his sponsors and the racing series in which he competes can be found at the following web sites:

www.italkart.com
www.italianmotors.com
www.cameronkarting.com
www.norcal-karting.com
www.oskarsystems.com
www.jimrussellusa.com
www.skusaonline.com
www.ekartingnews.com
www.mackeymarketing.com/drive4usanews.htm

For further information on Lynx Racing, please visit the team's web site at www.lynxracing.com, or telephone team P.R. Manager Peter Frey at (818) 906-6997. The Toyota Atlantic series has a web site at www.toyotaatlantic.com.