Ganassi Generation G driver Devlin DeFrancesco will join Carlin’s MSA Formula team for the 2016 season. The 15 year-old has spent the last season as member of the Carlin Academy, preparing for his first season in single-seaters in 2016. DeFrancesco joins already announced driver James Pull.
DeFrancesco has a successful background in karting, with highlights including winning the Canadian National Junior Championship in 2013. DeFrancesco was also also named Vice-Champion of the CSAI Italian Championship and was third overall in the CIK FIA European Karting Championship.
After a serious karting accident which left DeFrancesco with a fractured wrist at the end of 2014, the Canadian underwent surgery which ruled him out of a full time race programme in 2015. During his rehabilitation process with Carlin, which took place firstly on the team’s simulator and later on track, DeFrancesco tested alongside Carlin’s 2015 MSA Formula line-up. In preparation for the 2016 season, DeFrancesco competed in selected rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship towards the end of 2015, claiming a pole position at Rockingham, ahead of a full season on the BTCC support package.
DeFrancesco has had a busy few months, competing in the Spanish F4 Winter Junior Challenge. The Toronto born teenager is also the first member of Generation Ganassi, a programme established by the legendary Ganassi Racing Teams to identify 13-18-year-old drivers as “Ones to Watch” in the world of motorsport. DeFrancesco and his counterparts will be offered professional guidance to aid their growth within the sport, including working with a current Ganassi driver who will act as mentor.
Speaking about his 2016 season, DeFrancesco said, “It is a great honour for me to continue with the Carlin ‘family’. So far it has been an awesome year, with the pole position in Rockingham and then with the great program Chip Ganassi Racing put together, the Generation G. I’m really looking forward to 2016 and can’t wait to be in a racecar again. I need to thank everyone who has supported me for making this happen.”
“Devlin is a welcome addition to the race team,” commented Trevor Carlin, “although he’s been part of Carlin for a season already. We’ve seen him come a very long way over the last year and he has potential that has obviously been recognised by us and the Ganassi Racing Teams. I look forward to seeing what he can achieve on track in 2016.”
