Esteban Gutierrez

Hockenheim, Germany – Esteban Manuel Gutierrez Gutierrez, at the wheel of car #23 of the French team ART Grand Prix, lived today an interesting experience in his first race of the season, from which he learned very much.

After having qualified 13th – with a lap time of 1:34.838 – for today´s race, the young driver had a problem at the start, causing a second start of the race and being forced to start from the back of the field as the rule indicates. This worked as a great experience for the Mexican driver, who got to race an F3 car from the last position and move up the field 11 spots to cross the finish line in 16th place, with a time of 25:59.283 min.

Here’s an interesting fact, Esteban has become the first Mexican driver who participates in the European series in its six years of existence. With this, Gutierrez, who is the second youngest driver in the series, has opened a door for all the other Mexican drivers who could make it to the European F3 championship. Esteban and his team believe this will happen one day.

“I made a mistake with the clutch and stalled the engine at the start. Unfortunately this mistake put me in the last place on the grid. This happened because of my lack of experience with the car, but the good thing is that I learn something new every time. On the one hand I am happy for having had the opportunity to start from the back and get to feel how it is to race from that position and overtake in this series. This kind of experience brings in learnings for the following races and we are very motivated to continue working and improving”, commented Esteban Gutierrez.

Esteban will start the second race from row 8, in 16th place. It will be a 25 lap or 40 minutes race, whichever happens first. The race is scheduled for 10:30am - 11:10am (local time), 3:30am - 4:10am (Mexico time).

Live timing will be available at: www.estebangtz.com

Calendario Oficial de la Formula 3 Euroseries 2009:

Official Calendar for the 2009 Formula 3 Euroseries 2009:

May 15-17 – Races 1 & 2 - Hockenheim, Germany
May 29-31 - Races 3 & 4 - Lausitz, Germany
June 26-28 - Races 5 & 6 - Norisring, Germany
July 17-19 - Races 7 & 8 - Zandvoort, Netherlands
July 31-August 2 - Races 9 & 10 - Oschersleben, Germany
August 14-16 - Races 11 & 12 - Nurburg, Germany
September 4-6 - Races 13 & 14 - Brands Hatch, UK
September 18-20 - Races 15 & 16 - Barcelona, Spain
October 9-11 - Races 17 & 18 - Dijon, France
October 23-25 - Races 19 & 20 - Hockenheim, Germany

For more information about Esteban Gutierrez, the ART Grand Prix team, the Formula 3 Euroseries, or his sponsors Multigama, DeAcero, Telmex, Alpinestars and Bell, please visit their official websites at: www.estebangtz.com, www.art-grandprix.com, www.f3euroseries.com, www.deacero.com, www.telmex.com, www.alpinestars.com, www.bellsports.com