Juan Manuel Polar (born 24 September 1983 in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

is a racing driver from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. He has previously competed in the

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

Spanish Formula Three Championship The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...

and

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

among other series.

Career

Polar started is autoracing career in 2000 in the

Skip Barber John "Skip" Barber III (born November 16, 1936) is an American retired racecar driver who is most famous for previously owning and founding the Skip Barber Racing Schools. Driving career Barber started racing in 1958 while studying at Harvard ...

Formula Dodge Southern Race Series. At

Sebring International Raceway Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run i ...

the Peruvian won his first ever autorace. He eventually ran ten races in the series winning four races and he ended on the podium eight times. The Peruvian driver eventually classified seventh in the championship. In 2001 Polar competed in the inaugural Formula Dodge National Championship. At Sebring Polar won his only race in the series. He beat

Júlio Campos Júlio Campos (born January 15, 1982, in Curitiba) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He currently drives in the Stock Car Brasil and Copa Fiat Brasil series. Campos won the Formula Dodge National Championship in 2001 and Pick Up Racing Brazil in ...

and

A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger's professi ...

. In 2001 the Peruvian racing driver also competed at the opening round of the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series season. At Sebring he qualified thirteenth but failed to finish after making contact. For 2002 Polar moved into

, firstly the Mexican championship and in 2003 the British championship. In the British championship his best result was an eleventh place at the season finale at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

. In the first four rounds of the 2004 British Formula Renault championship Polar raced for Mark Burdett Motorsport, the last two rounds of the championship he raced for Team AKA. At

Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...

the Peruvian driver finished eighth, which moved him up the championship standings landing him the 25th place. In 2005 Polar moved up the racing ladder towards the

. He was signed by IGI Tec-Auto but later transferred to

ECA Racing ECA may refer to: Companies * ECA International, a consulting firm * ECA Records * Encana * Eurocypria Airlines * European Coastal Airlines Education * ACES Educational Center for the Arts, in New Haven, Connecticut, United States * Edinburgh Col ...

. At ECA Racing Polar finished third during the season finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The following season Polar drove in the Copa-class of the Spanish Formula Three Championship. The Peruvian driver scored four class victories and was placed second in the championship, behind Germán Sánchez. In 2007 he was again placed second in the Copa class, this time behind

Thor-Christian Ebbesvik Thor–Christian Ebbesvik (born 17 December 1983 in Bergen) is a professional racing driver from Norway. Career Formula Ford Ebbesvik began his racing career in 2005, driving for Team JLR in the British Formula Ford Championship. He finished the ...

. For 2008 he returned to the United States of America to race in the

. He was first signed by

Brian Stewart Racing Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...

. At

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...

Polar was replaced by

Wade Cunningham Wade Grant Cunningham (born 19 August 1984) is a racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand who competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Racing career Indy Lights Cunningham's professional career began when he won the Karting World Champ ...

which left Polar without a ride for the remainder of the season. He rejoined the field at

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern S ...

with

Guthrie Racing Guthrie Meyer Racing is a former Firestone Indy Lights Series team. The team started in 2005 as Guthrie Racing owned by 1997 IndyCar Series “Rookie of the Year” winner and 1997 Phoenix race winner Jim Guthrie. The team began running in the St ...

. After the 2008 season Polar returned to his home country. He continues racing in his national TC2000 series.

Motorsports results

American Open-Wheel racing results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest race lap)

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Indy Lights results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polar, Juan Manuel 1983 births Sportspeople from Lima Euroformula Open Championship drivers Barber Pro Series drivers Indy Lights drivers British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Living people Peruvian racing drivers CRS Racing drivers Mark Burdett Motorsport drivers