Franck Perera Back in Superleague

Franck Perera Back in Superleague Formula with CJ Motorsport's "Dream Team"

For Episode 2 of their "Dream Team" concept, CJ Motorsport have called upon Franck Perera to drive the Flamengo car in the Superleague Formula by Sonangol round at Assen, Netherlands, on May 14th to 16th.

It will be a return to the Series where he made quite an impression on his first ever outing, competing for AS Roma at Estoril in 2008. Having only just landed from the USA and with no prior mileage in the car (this was race weekend 4 for the rest of the field), the mercurial Frenchman stormed to pole position, to the amazement of fellow competitors and race followers alike.

Perera brings with him a wealth of experience and an impressive track record. He won numerous karting titles including the Junior French Championship and the Junior European Championship in 1998 before being crowned the World Champion (Formula A) in 1999, aged 15. He was one of the first two drivers signed in 2001 to the Toyota F1 Young Driver Program.

Other European career highlights include Formula Renault 2.0 Champion in 2003, F3 Euro Series where he was "Rookie of the Year", a fifth-place finish in Macau and a second-place finish behind Lewis Hamilton in GP2 in Monaco in 2006.

In 2007, he joined CJ Motorsport and embarked upon an American adventure that would see him finish Vice-Champion in Champ Car Atlantics, with 3 wins, 8 podiums, 2 poles, and 12 out of 12 finishes in the top five.

He then graduated to the Champ Car World Series and proceeded to beat Sebastien Bourdais' Sebring lap record in pre-season testing. Sadly, Champ Car's days were numbered and in the Championship's last ever race, Perera qualified P3 and finished 6th, running out of fuel on the very last lap.

He then joined Indy Lights mid-season, scoring 1 win, 2 poles, 2 podiums, 2 fastest laps.

Having attracted the attentions of several Indy Car team bosses, he was handed an opportunity by Foyt to race in the top category. However, with only his talent for currency but no sponsorship backing of any significance, and despite some strong performances, he would only compete three times.

CJ Motorsport Director Serge Celebidachi: "Franck is an exceptional talent and he has proven in the past what he is capable of in a Superleague Formula car, or in any car for that matter! Duncan Tappy did a really good job for us at Silverstone and put Flamengo on the podium, so he will be back for sure in future rounds. In the meantime, he will support Franck from the sidelines, as will Bruce Jouanny, in the true spirit of what we are doing"

"We do have an embarrassment of riches at CJ Motorsport", added Celebidachi. "This feels a bit like bringing Steven Gerrard off the field and replacing him with Franck Ribery", he joked.

Franck Perera: "I'm really happy to be back. I have raced in many different Championships and I have to say that this is one of my favourites. I even turned down a drive in IRL to be available for Superleague Formula. The car is seriously good, the driver line-up is really competitive, the fans are amazing and the whole team behind the Superleague do an amazing job."

"Duncan ran a good first leg at Silverstone last month" added Perera, "so it's up to me to take the baton now and run with it... I can't wait!"

-source: cjmotorsport.co.uk