News:

ROMAN LAGUDI EARNS TWO PODIUM POSITIONS AT USF2000 SEASON OPENER

"Second year pilot off to a successful start in the 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship"

March 19, 2012 - After ending his 2011 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda series with a podium finish at the Baltimore Grand Prix, Belardi Auto Racing driver Roman Lagudi picked off right where he left off for the 2012 season. Heading to the Sebring International Raceway as part of the 60th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida for the first two rounds of the Mazda Road to Indy series, Lagudi garnered two podium finishes at the challenging, 3.7 mile course.

Taking on qualifying during Thursday's session, Lagudi was quickly up to speed to earn a career-high third place starting position. Later that day, Lagudi lined up on the inside second row for the first round of the 2012 season. In a race plagued with incidents and yellow flags, Lagudi emerged as the second place finisher as the final laps were completed behind the safety car.

Starting in the fourth position for the second round on Friday, with the grid being determined by race one's lap times, Lagudi was able to place his No. 4 Belardi Van Diemen in podium contention during another incident-filled race. Slotting into fourth during the opening stages, Lagudi made an excellent pass to take over the third place. The second podium finish has Lagudi off to a successful start to his first full season in the USF2000 ranks, and the Sydney, Australia native Lagudi currently holds third place in the championship standings.

"I'm very happy to start the season with two podium finishes," said Lagudi. "The competition is very tough and they are all great drivers. I am just going to take things one race at a time and hopefully put myself in a position to succeed."

Lagudi will look to continue his success when the series resumes this weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, running in conjunction with the IZOD IndyCar series season opener. As Roman takes to the famed street circuit March 24- 25 for another double-header event, be sure to follow live timing and scoring at http://www.usf2000.com/Multimedia/Live.aspx.

The 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda series will see 11 stops at some of the most prestigious tracks North America has to offer. Running weekends with the IZOD IndyCar series, the American LeMans series and the United States Auto Club, Lagudi is set to contest for the overall series title with championship-caliber team Belardi Auto Racing. The Las Vegas, Nevada resident is working towards a dream career in motorsports and is proud to represent drivers taking the first step in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder development program.

Roman Lagudi is proudly sponsored by High Performance Distributors and Champion Stone Tool and Supply. For more information on Roman Lagudi, please visit www.RomanLagudi.com or email Paul Lagudi at paul@romanlagudi.com.

2012 Schedule:

Sebring International Raceway, Florida
March 14-16, 2012
(With American Le Mans)

Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida
March 23-25, 2012
(With IZOD IndyCar Series)

Lucas Oil Raceway, Indiana
May 26, 2012
(Night Before the 500 with USAC)

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
August 3-5, 2012
(With IZOD IndyCar Series and ALMS)

Road America, Wisconsin
August 17-19, 2012
(With American Le Mans)

Streets of Baltimore, Maryland
September 1-2, 2012
(With IZOD IndyCar Series and ALMS)

Virginia International Raceway
September 14-15, 2012
(With American Le Mans)