LUIS DIAZ BIO - Adrian's Bio

A championship winner in 2006, former open-wheel rising star Luis Diaz has more than proven his talent in the sports car ranks. For 2007, he will combine his skills alongside those of long-time hero Adrian Fernández as the duo prepare for their first season of competition in the American Le Mans Series.

It is a partnership that almost came to fruition several years ago when Diaz substituted for an injured Fernández in the 2002 Mexico City Champ Car race. He was later named as the team’s official test driver in 2003 in the hopes that a program could be assembled to unite the pair on a regular basis. Three years later that goal has finally been realized with Diaz and Fernández set to challenge as teammates in ALMS competition this season.

Luis Diaz At-A-Glance

• Debuted in sports car competition in 2004 and has claimed eight wins over the past three years as well as Rolex Sports Car Series Team Championship honors in 2006 and a second-place result in the Driver Championship
• Finished third in laps led by drivers in the Rolex Series last year
• Is a two-time elected member of the AARWBA (All American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association) All America Team (2005 and 2006) comprised of drivers in various top categories of professional motorsports
• Won the Mexico Formula 3 championship in 1998
• Earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Mexican Indy Lights Pan-American Championship, Mexico Formula 3 Championship and Formula Reynard Series Mexico
• US open-wheel success includes a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Toyota Atlantic championship
• Began racing go-karts at the age of 12, winning several national championships
• Was born in Barcelona, Spain, his mother’s home country, but claims his father’s Mexican citizenship

Diaz made his start in the open-wheel ranks in Mexico, progressing from national championships in go-karting during his teenage years to Rookie of the Year honors in the Mexican Formula Reynard Series, and Rookie of the Year and the champion’s crown in Mexican Formula 3 competition.

After a highly-successful partial season of competition in the Mexico-based Indy Lights Pan-American Championship where Diaz earned Rookie of the Year honors with one win and five additional top-five results in 1999, he set his sights on racing Stateside in 2000. He spent the next four years competing in the Dayton Indy Lights and Toyota Atlantic Championships, both at the time a stepping stone to Champ Car competition.

An opportunity to team with Chip Ganassi Racing in sports car competition in 2004 sent Diaz in a different direction however, and he quickly made his mark in closed-cockpit competition. After a strong debut season in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series with co-driver Jimmy Morales and a seventh-place finish in the team rankings, Diaz went on to capture third in the 2005 driver championship and second with co-driver Scott Pruett in the team championship.

He went one better in 2006 and, once again co-driving with Pruett, brought home the team championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. Following a down-to-the-wire battle, Diaz and Pruett also snared a second-place finish in the driver championship, only 16 points shy of the title

Luis Diaz' Career

2006 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series
Alongside co-driver Scott Pruett, won the Team Championship and finished second in the Driver Championship on the heels of five wins and eight podiums in 14 races with Chip Ganassi Racing; finished third in laps led for the season

2005 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series
Finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Driver Championship with Chip Ganassi Racing and co-driver Scott Pruett claiming three wins and only failing to finish outside the top five in three of 14 events

2004 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series
Claimed 10 top-10 finishes in 11 races, including six top-five runs, en route to a seventh-place ranking in the Team Championship and 11th in the Driver Championship with Chip Ganassi Racing and co-driver Jimmy Morales

2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship
Finished eighth in the championship driving for Dorricott Racing with nine top-10 finishes in 12 events; competed in the Champ Car race at Mexico City driving for Walker Racing, qualifying 10th but retiring with a mechanical problem

2002 Toyota Atlantic Championship
Made his debut in Toyota Atlantic competition finishing fourth in the championship with two wins and eight top-six drives in 12 events with Dorricott Racing; substituted for an injured Adrian Fernandez at Mexico City in the Champ Car Series, but finished 19th after an early retirement with a mechanical problem

2001 Dayton Indy Lights Championship
Finished seventh in the championship driving for the reformed Roquin Motorsports team in Indy Lights competition after a seven- year absence, claiming four top-five results in 12 events

2000 Dayton Indy Lights Championship
Contested first full season of Indy Lights competition driving for Team GO (also known as Team Mexico). Finished 13th in the standings claiming five top-10 finishes

1999 Mexican Indy Lights Pan-American Championship
Earned Rookie of the Year honors driving for Team GO in a partial season of Pan-American Indy Lights competition with one win and five additional top-five results; contested one race in the Dayton Indy Lights Series finishing 10th at Laguna Seca

1998 Mexico Formula 3 Championship
Won the championship driving for Team GO

1997 Mexico Formula 3 Championship
Earned Rookie of the Year honors with Team GO

1996 Formula Reynard Series Mexico
Finished third in the series and won Rookie of the Year honors in his first season of driving for Team GO

1989 - 1995 Go-Karts
Began racing go-karts in 1989 at the age of 12, winning several national championships including the Super 100cc National Championship, two Enduro Go-Kart National Championships and a Category A National Championship prior to moving up to race cars in 1996