Profile: Mario Moraes

For someone who's first season in karting happened only nine years ago, Mario Moraes has already come a long way. After three years in the Brazilian karting scene, the young man (only 15 at the time) from Sao Paulo moved to the US in 2004 to run in the Formula TR 1600 Series, where he racked up three wins & five poles in just eleven starts.

In 2005 Mario came back home to Brazil to run in the South American F3 Series, finishing eighth in the championship with one pole & one podium finish to his credit. He would return in 2006, this time notching five wins and finishing second in the standings. He would also run four events in the British F3 National Series, winning twice.

2007 would find Moraes racing in the British F3 International Series. It would be something of a lackluster year for him, with two fifth-place finishes - Rockingham & Spa - as his best showings.

It was therefore understandably something of a surprise when, in early 2008, Mario was tabbed to be one of the new faces in the IndyCar Series, driving for Dale Coyne Racing, one of the former squads of the now-defunct CCWS. After an unimpressive - and occasionally rough - first half of the season learning the ropes, Mario started to show good form in the back half, notching three top-ten finishes along the way.

For the 2009 season, Mario moved to the KV Racing Technologies squad. He continued to show great potential, posting three top-five and and three top-ten finishes. 2010 would prove to be a difficult & chrash-filled year for all three KVRT drivers, and yet Mario would notch one top-five and three top-ten results; the best of the squad.

It is unclear at this point if Moraes will return to KVRT in 2011.