Pastrana switches to four wheels at Indy.

American motocross ace Travis Pastrana has been invited to switch his attention to four-wheeled competition at the end of the month, by trying his hand at the wheel of one of two Porsche AG entered GT3 cars at the United States F1 Grand Prix.

Pastrana will race the #1 Porsche 911 GT3 car alongside series regulars and another, as yet unnamed, star in the guest line-up. He will also be racing alongside fellow American Patrick Long as the Supercup plays a supporting role to the USGP for the fourth consecutive year.

Pastrana has only competed in a limited schedule of events in 2003, with injuries suffered in racing, training and in a traffic accident interrupting his season with Team SoBe Suzuki, so the Porsche outing will allow him a rare competitive outing.

Still only 19, he is one of the most exciting and diversified off-road riders in the world, having won the AMA Eastern Region Supercross title in 2001 and recorded three podium finishes in the 250cc AMA Supercross series before being sidelined by surgery in 2002. He turned pro in 2000 and won the AMA Chevy Trucks 125cc motocross championship that same year.

He has also won gold medals in the freestyle motocross competition at the Gravity Games in 1999, 2001 and 2002 and in the X Games in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and, more recently, finished as runner-up in the freestyle motocross competition at the 2003 Gravity Games in Cleveland, despite being hampered by a hard crash at the end of his first run.

As an amateur, Pastrana won the AMA national motocross championship in the 125cc and 250cc classes in 1999. He drew national headlines in 1999 when he jumped his bike into San Francisco Bay during the freestyle motocross competition at the X Games.