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| May 11, 2012 |
| Star Mazda: Chaves Named "Take 5 to Stay Alive - Don't Text and Drive" Spokesperson |
 | FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy racer Gabby Chaves will act as the spokesperson for the "Take 5 To Stay Alive - Don't Text and Drive" campaign
(Photo: Star Mazda Championship - Eric McCombs) |
MIAMI, FLA (May 10, 2012) – Star Mazda Championship rookie title contender Gabby Chaves is excited to announce his involvement with the newly created "Take 5 To Stay Alive - Don't Text and Drive" campaign in southern Florida. Committed to road safety, the ambassador of the FIA Institute in America and FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy racer will act as the spokesperson for this important new program.
While Chaves' primary focus for the past few years has always been to reach the upper echelons of motorsports, he has continually made time to help promote safe driving on the streets and highways. This led the former Italian Formula 3 Championship Rookie of the Year and Formula BMW Americas champion being invited by Sergeant Mark Wysocky of the Florida Highway Patrol to be part of a Drivers Ed program in South Florida, and subsequently recommended him as the spokesperson for the new "Take 5 To Stay Alive - Don't Text and Drive" campaign.
Currently 16% of all distracted driving crashes involve drivers under the age of 20, with texting being the primary cause. In effort to help prevent these crashes and save lives, the "Take 5 To Stay Alive - Don't Text and Drive" campaign is focused on young drivers. As an 18 year-old with vast driving experience and training, Chaves is the ideal voice for the new program.
“No text message is so important that it’s worth risking your life, or the lives of others. Take 5 to stay alive. Don’t text and drive.” said Chaves. “Come out to the event and hear the statistics. Learn how you can help save lives.”
One of 18 young up-and-coming racers in the 2012 edition of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy, Chaves is receiving advanced testing and training in and out of the car, covering all aspects of driver performance and safety. Using the skills gained from multiple FIA workshops throughout the year, he will promote road safety and responsible driving throughout the Americas.
The "Take 5 To Stay Alive - Don't Text and Drive" campaign kick-off event takes place on May 11, at 9 a.m. local time next to the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame in Dania Beach, Fla. Chaves will speak during the event, discussing the public safety campaign aimed at texting drivers.
Almost immediately following the event in south Florida, Chaves will travel to Vienna, Austria, to take part in the second FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy workshop. The highly-rated racer will then return to the U.S.A. in the cockpit of his No. 19 OMP/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports racing steed via Round Five of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear on May 26, at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis as part of the Night Before the 500. Chaves enters the opening oval event on the series calendar currently third in the title chase.
Those interested in supporting Chaves' charge towards a career in the upper echelon of motorsports are encouraged to contact Chaves and/or his management team.
Additional information on Gabby Chaves can be obtained from his website @ http://www.GabbyChaves.com . For direct contact, please email gabbyracing@yahoo.com
Keep up to date via Twitter @ GabbyChaves
Find out more about the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy @ http://www.fiainstitute.com/education-programme/drivers-programme/Pages/Academy.aspx
Learn more about the "Take 5 To Stay Alive - Don't Text and Drive" campaign @ http://www.broward.org/take5
Widely considered one the premier up-and-coming drivers in the junior formula car ranks, Chaves has made a name for himself by winning races and challenging for championship titles. The American first got behind the wheel of a race car at the age of 13, winning a Skip Barber Racing Shoot-out scholarship. In his first full-season of competition, the former Easy Kart, Stars of Karting and Florida Winter Tour champion captured the Colombian Grand Prix Formula Renault 2000 title and finished as the series runner-up in the Skip Barber Eastern Regional Series. Building on this success, Chaves went undefeated in the 2006-07 Skip Barber Regional Southern Series, winning all 10 races. The teenager continued his winning ways one year later, extending his Skip Barber Racing victory streak to 17 consecutive victories, leading the Skip Barber National Series before making the switch to Formula BMW Pacific competition. Chaves returned to the top of the championship charts in 2009, winning the final Formula BMW Americas title with five wins and podium finishes in every race. In 2010, Chaves raced full-time in Europe, winning the Italian Formula 3 Championship Rookie of the Year award. The teenager made his GP3 Series debut in 2011, earning five top-10 finishes. This season, Chaves returns to North America, competing in the Mazda Road to Indy-backed Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear with multiple series champion JDC MotorSports as an FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy racer. |
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