By Dave Lewandowski – Indycar.com
Thursday, February 25, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ana Beatriz will make her IZOD IndyCar Series debut in her hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Beatriz, the first female to win a Firestone Indy Lights race, will compete with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the season opener March 14 on the streets of the most-populated city in South America.

“We are excited about going to Brazil for the first time with the IZOD IndyCar Series and putting Ana Beatriz in our car at Brazil adds another dimension to our program,” team co-owner Dennis Reinbold said. “We are happy to have her on board for the Brazil race.”

Click it: Beatriz’s Firestone Indy Lights stats, bio

Beatriz attended the Feb. 24-25 IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park to watch new teammates Justin Wilson and Mike Conway. She will test this weekend at Sebring International Raceway.

Beatriz finished third in 2008 in the Firestone Indy Lights standings for Sam Schmidt Motorsports with one win (at Nashville Superspeedway), nine top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes. In ’09, she won at Iowa Speedway in the No. 20 Healthy Choice/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car among seven top-10 finishes in 13 races.

“It’s great to be with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the Brazil IZOD IndyCar Series race,” she said. “Hopefully we can get the rest together for the whole season. I think the team is very professional and I have great teammates with Mike Conway and Justin Wilson. I hope that I can learn a lot from these British drivers.

“This is very special for me doing my debut race at my home event. It’s also very special to be the first female Brazilian race car driver to race there and it will be a great experience.”

source http://www.indycar.com