COMEBACK KID READY FOR TITLE FIGHT

Autosport International, Birmingham NEC, UK - 11 January 2007: Ryan Lewis will compete for the Champ Car Atlantic crown with Walker Racing in 2007. After a successful rookie season, Ryan moves over to the 2006 Championship-winning team this year, putting himself firmly back on target for single-seater success.  He will partner Swiss driver, Simona De Silvestro, who also joined the team recently.

Ryan stormed to the British F3 Scholarship Championship title in 2004 before moving up to the top class in 2005. A troubled season took the young British driver's eye off the F3 title chase and by the start of 2006 it looked like Ryan would retire from racing. What a difference a year makes! Ryan headed Stateside in 2006 and set about proving his doubters wrong. Finishing second in his first Atlantic race he completed a part season with the Mi-Jack Conquest team where his competitiveness drew praise from such luminaries as Bobby Rahal.

Under the leadership of Derrick Walker, Walker Racing has a fantastic history as a Champ Car team, fielding great drivers such as Gil de Ferran, Alex Tagliani and Christian Fittipaldi. The team's first foray into the Atlantic Championship produced a title for Simon Pagenaud in 2006 with seven podiums and a win for the Frenchman.

“I can't wait for the season to start now”, said Ryan.  “It is going to be great to drive for Derrick Walker as he has such a strong reputation and is one of the real characters of single-seater racing.  There is obviously the opportunity for progression into the Champ Car World Series but before I even think about that I need to get my head down and make every race count in 2007.”

"Securing Ryan Lewis is an important part of our 2007 line up and our efforts to retain the Atlantic Championship for a second year in a row. This first test has been a success, Ryan and Simona bonded well and we learned some new directions in car set ups to make things look well for another good season," stated Walker Racing owner Derrick Walker.

Ryan has just returned from a productive test in Moroso, Florida, in order to appear at Autosport International.  He will be appearing on the main at Autosport stage tomorrow (Friday 12th, 1415hrs) to talk about the season ahead and will also be taking part in a kart race to raise money for charity later that day.  Ryan's next outing for Walker Racing will be pre-season testing at Sebring on 27 January.

ENDS

For further information on Ryan Lewis please contact Lindsay Morle on M. +44 (0) 7971 481078 or E. lindsay@morle.com

2007 Champ Car Atlantic Schedule
April 8  Las Vegas
April 15 Long Beach
April 22 Houston
June 9  Portland
June 10 Portland
June 24  Cleveland
July 1  Mont Tremblant
July 8  Toronto
July 22  Edmonton
July 29  San Jose
August 12 Elkhart Lake
August 19 Denver