Three Top Five Finishes in Three Stars of Tomorrow Races
Photo Courtesy of Sean Burr www.goracingmagazine.com

Chilliwack, British Columbia September 12th -14th 2003

Rounds five and six of the Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow Series were held in beautiful Britsh Columbia in mid September. The Italian Motors/ItalKart team were out in full force contesting the headline ICC class.

Qualifying for Saturday's race went well, with David Jurca braking the track record at a time of 48.881. Second and third would be Italian Motors' Chevy Almond and Jordy Vorrath with Lorenzo Mandarino lining up fourth. The prefinal ended with an Italian Motors 1-2. Jurca would start pole, Vorrath off pole, and Mandarino third. The final race was down to a heated battle between Jurca and Mandarino. Jurca led from laps 1-17 with Mandarino making a move for the lead on lap 18. Four laps later and with only two laps to go, Jurca regained the lead. In the following corner, Mandarino's front nose cone would hit Jurca's left rear tire sending him flying off the track and out of contention for the win. Jurca rebounded with a second place finish and Kevin Glover would finish third. The race ended under protest, but the results were upheld to much disapproval.

Sunday's race brought in some tricky conditions. Qualifying was held in the rain and David was unfortunately in the first group that got the majority of the wet weather conditions. After qualifying ninth, Jurca was already up to fourth halfway through the prefinal. After making a pass on Trackmagic's Kyle Martin, Martin rebounded with an attempt in the next corner. The inside line was damp and Martin went wide at the apex making contact with Jurca's nosecone which sent it flying off. Under the Stars of Tomorrow rules, the nose cone is required so Jurca was forced to retire. Starting in the 26th position, Jurca would make a charge through the field and finish an impressive third behind Mandarino and Vorrath.

Moran Raceway, California
October 31st, November 1st - 2nd 2003

Due to the fire hazards near the Fontana area, The Stars of Tomorrow Grandnational finale was moved to the Moran Raceway for October 31st and November 1st - 2nd. Sixty eight drivers would appear in the ICC class from across North America, South America, and Europe.

Struggling with carburetor problems throughout the weekend, Jurca qualified 9th. The problems got even worse in the heat races and David would start 12th in the final event. After a great start, Jurca managed to make it up to 5th and would close in on the battle for third with Speed and Rahal. For Jurca, the 23 lap race was just not long enough to make up the ground he lost in the opening laps to battle for the third position.