Juan Manuel Polar
Juan Manuel Polar | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1983 Lima, Peru |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Juan Manuel Polar (born on 24 September 1983 in Lima) is a Peruvian professional racing driver with experience competing in series such as Indy Lights, the Spanish Formula Three Championship, and various Formula Renault championships.
Career
Polar initiated his motorsport journey in 2000 by participating in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge Southern Race Series, where he claimed victory at Sebring International Raceway in his debut race. Throughout the season, he achieved four wins and stood on the podium eight times across ten events, ultimately ranking seventh in the overall standings. The following year, 2001, saw him compete in the first-ever Formula Dodge National Championship, where he secured a win at Sebring while racing against drivers like Júlio Campos and A. J. Allmendinger. Additionally, he took part in the opening round of the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series season, though he did not complete the race.
In 2002, Polar stepped up to compete in Formula Renault, starting with the Mexican championship before advancing to the British championship in 2003. His top finishing position in British Formula Renault was eleventh place at Oulton Park. During 2004, he drove for Mark Burdett Motorsport before switching to Team AKA, earning an eighth-place finish at Donington Park and concluding the season 25th in the championship standings.
Polar moved to the Spanish Formula Three Championship in 2005, initially driving for IGI Tec-Auto before transferring to ECA Racing. He achieved a podium finish by placing third at the final race held at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, competing within the Copa-class category, he secured four class victories and finished as runner-up in the championship both years, trailing behind champions Germán Sánchez and Thor-Christian Ebbesvik, respectively.
In 2008, Polar returned to racing in the United States by joining the Indy Lights series with Brian Stewart Racing. Midway through the season at Kansas Speedway, he was replaced but later resumed competition with Guthrie Racing at Sonoma Raceway. After completing his stint in Indy Lights that year, he went back to Peru where he continued his racing career within the national TC2000 series.
American Open-Wheel racing results
(key) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole positions; those in italics indicate fastest laps)
Barber Dodge Pro Series
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | SEB 19 |
PIR | LRP1 | LRP2 | DET | CLE | TOR | CHI | MOH | ROA | VAN | LS | 31st | 0 |
| 2003 | STP | MTY 14 |
MIL | LAG | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | MOH | MTL | 30th | 2 |
Indy Lights results
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Brian Stewart Racing | HMS 14 |
STP1 9 |
STP2 7 |
KAN DNS |
rowspan=2 style="background:#CFCFFF;" |26th rowspan=2 style="background:#CFCFFF;" |100 | |||||||||||||
| Guthrie Racing | SNM1 15 |
SNM2 12 |