30/11/2005
NEWS STORY
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A couple of years back, David Coulthard claimed that if he didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all.
A young driver who can sympathize with these sentiments is Charles Hall, who has just had a couple of the worst years of his life.
A former BRDC 'Rising Star', Charles first attracted attention in Formula Renault, when he beat a young Finnish lad by the name of Kimi Raikkonen.
He subsequently went on to win the inaugural race for three-and-a-half litre Formula Chrysler single-seaters at the A1-Ring, and in 2002 won his first ever F3 race, at Silverstone, before moving on to the Fran-Am Winter World Championship and the Fran-Am Pro World Series. The Englishman even found time to compete in the Monza 500 km, part of the GT FIA World Sportscar Championship, finishing second in the Ascari-Judd.
Then it all started to go terribly wrong, and the (well founded) talk of a possible F1 test role seems a distant memory.
Despite finishing runner-up in the 2003 Formula Renault Fran-Am Pro World Series, the youngster found himself seriously out of pocket - and therefore without the financial resources to secure a 2004 race seat - when the series' promoter failed to hand over the prize money.
Then, while travelling in a passenger car in the UK, Charles was hit by a drunk driver. Both the driver of the other vehicle and his passenger were killed in the accident, while Hall suffered numerous injuries including a crushed femur.
Consequently he missed all of the 2005 season as he fought to recover from the physical and mental scars from the crash.
Hall recently underwent surgery to correct a discrepancy in the length of his legs, a result of the damage to his right leg sustained in the crash, damage that impacted his ability to walk and drive. The original injury and subsequent surgery have left him almost an inch shorter than when he last raced.
Now, as he continues with his rehabilitation at a clinic in Italy, Charles finally has something to look forward to in 2006.
Having driven for GTI Motorsport in Fran-Am, Charles will be part of the new GTI Atlantic team for his comeback as the squad utilizes some of its old resources under a new banner and management in 2006.
"We want to be in a position to win races and compete for championships with both Charles and his teammate and we believe the Atlantic championship will present the opportunity to do just that," said Robert Lewis, one of the new GTI Atlantic team principals. "With a new car, new chassis, new engine and many new teams, the series will certainly be on a more level playing field."
The team will rely heavily on the engineering acumen of Peter Berry to help get to the front of the Atlantic grid. Berry, the team's chief engineer, has been the driving force behind numerous race wins and championships. He brings a wealth of F3 experience and helped guide current Juan Pablo Montoya to two wins in the 1996 British F3 series. In 2005, Berry engineered the Coloni GP2 team that featured drivers Gianmaria Bruni and Mathias Lauda, son of former world champion Niki Lauda.
"I am delighted to be returning to the Atlantic series and to be a part of the new GTI Atlantic team and its superb engineering staff, headed by such a well-respected engineer as Peter Berry," says Hall.
With its team headquarters located in Houston, Texas, GTI Atlantic will begin testing with Hall in January, ahead of the first race (Long Beach) on April 9.
"We don't underestimate the mountain that we'll need to climb to get up to speed," Lewis added. "We'll need to do a lot of testing to make sure we're ready for the start of the season."
The squad is actively seeking a driver for its second entry as it hopes to hit the ground running in the New Year.
"We're anxious to settle on another driver," Lewis admitted, "as we know that for a successful championship run we really do need two cars competing in the series to learn and share knowledge."