MAPLE, Ontario, Tuesday, July 3, 2012 – David Ostella comes from a large Toronto-based family, and this weekend an entire grandstand will be filled with his friends and family to cheer him on as the only Canadian driver in the Firestone Indy Lights Series this season.
And on the off chance that an entire grandstand wasn’t enough support, LiUNA’s Ontario Provincial District Council (OPDC) has signed on as the young Canadian’s primary sponsor for the Honda Indy Toronto.
LiUNA has more than 60,000 members throughout Ontario, which is adding a healthy contingent to Ostella’s already sizable fan base for Toronto’s weekend of racing.
With this kind of turnout it would be expected that the 20 year-old driver might feel pressured to do well. Instead, Ostella is ready to get behind the wheel of his No. 22 LiUNA/Global Precast Team Moore Racing entry and make his hometown proud.
“I’m looking forward to racing at home because I’ll have friends and family there to support me. It will also be exciting to have the support of my hometown sponsors,” said Ostella.
Ostella’s sponsor has a special connection to the unique race course that winds through the streets of Toronto as members of the LiUNA Locals were instrumental in the construction of the race-course that winds its way through Exhibition Place.
Having raced on the Toronto streets once before, Ostella has practiced redirecting the pressure to make his large hometown fan-base proud by channeling that energy into an acute focus on the 10-turn track that he knows so well.
“Over the years I’ve learned to zone out all distractions to really focus on what I need to do on track to be sure I’m focused 100%. My large family doesn’t like that very much as they like to spend time with me, but when it’s time to focus, it’s time to focus,” said Ostella.
During his 2012 racing season, Ostella has proven his confidence and perseverance. At the halfway mark of the season he carries two consecutive top-five finishes and sits eighth place in overall driver points standings for the Firestone Indy Lights series, which is one ladder rung below the IZOD IndyCar Series cars which race in the storied Indianapolis 500.
“As we head to Toronto I’ve just come off of two top-five finishes on oval-courses,” said Ostella, “So finishing top-five on the road course would be great, but a podium-finish would be even better!”
Ostella hits the Streets of Toronto on Friday, July 6 for practice from 9:45 – 10:45 am and 3:25 – 4 p.m. Qualifying for the Toronto 100 takes place on Saturday, July 7 from 8:45 – 9:30 am and the green flag drops on the 50-lap race at 4 p.m.