Niko Palhares is a Brazilian

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 former racing driver.

Palhares began in Formula Ford

Formula Ford

Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....

 and won the Formula Ford Festival

Formula Ford Festival

The Formula Ford Festival is an annual meeting of Ford powered single seat racing cars which is held at the end of the British racing season, at the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in the county of Kent, in Southern England...

 in 1989. He moved to the British Formula Three Championship

British Formula Three Championship

The British Formula Three Championship is an international motor racing series that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is...

 in 1990 competing in 6 races but not scoring. He moved to Italian F3

Italian Formula Three Championship

The Italian Formula Three Championship is the Formula Three racing competition in Italy.-History:Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's career at which most drivers in the series are aiming at...

 the next year and finished 11th in points. He was second in Italian F3 in 1992 with 2 race wins. In 1993 he competed in four Japanese F3

All-Japan Formula Three Championship

, also known as Japanese Formula Three, is a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis....

 races and finished 12th in points. After taking 1994 off from high-level racing, he competed in the American Indy Lights series in 1995 for PacWest Racing

PacWest Racing

PacWest Racing was a Champ Car racing team owned by Bruce McCaw founded in 1993. The team's first full time season was the next year, 1994, with drivers Dominic Dobson and future Indy Racing League co-champion Scott Sharp...

 for the first four races of the season with a best finish of 8th at Phoenix International Raceway

Phoenix International Raceway

Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...

and finishing 20th in points. That was the end of his professional racing career.

External links

• Niko Palhares at Driver Database
• Niko Palhares Indy Lights stats at ChampCarStats.com