Estavas Cortez

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 Best Points
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**Estavas "The Phoenix" Cortez** is a semi-retired driver that drove in the Utica Rallycross Series. During his career, he drove for Axiom Racing Union.

He was known for various poor performances early in his URCS career, but after a hiatus to focus on rebuilding himself, returned to the series for the fourth season to various praises for his improved race craft.

## Pre-URCS

Estavas Cortez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico on April 15, 1987.

He raced stock cars for his father Bob Cortez' race team, but struggled to perform well.

## URCS Season 1

Cortez was one of seventeen drivers to start the inaugural Utica Rallycross Series race in Yuma, Arizona. Cortez, an aspiring road racer and traditional rallycross racer, saw the URCS as an opportunity to shine after a lackluster Utica Home Track Series career. However, Cortez finished poorly in Yuma and, despite getting his career best finished, made a blunderous move in Elk Horn Pike that cost him the victory. Just when things could not get any worse, RGE Motorsports announced that they would cut Cortez's schedule in half to allow driver Jeffery Finguy a chance in the #14 car. His season came to a disappointing end at Dead Man's Curve and he finished low in the points.

## URCS Season 2 and Racing Hiatus

Cortez was only given one race behind the #13 car for Season 2 in the round of Madagascar. Unfortunately, his only chance for redemption resulted in a last place, DNF finish. He was not called back by the team for Season 3, and he took a hiatus from racing.

## URCS Season Four

Cortez went back to America and was looking for a job somewhere in Atlanta. Coincidently, team owner Joshua Michaels also went to Atlanta to search for a new property for a garage for future uses. They went to a bar and they exchanged laughs and hugs, talking about Cortez's misadventures in previous Rallycross seasons, and Michaels proposed to Cortez to return to the Rallycross Series, for which he would have a full season. Cortez drunkingly agreed, and afterwards he started training for the next season, happy to be back racing in the series again.

During his first race since Season Two at Yuma, he impressed Joshua by running almost flawlessly and getting a podium position, and had the top time for a while, until Chris Dodd ran a even faster lap than Cortez. But even then, Cortez had his career best finish of 2nd, while his earlier efforts for a career best finish landed him a 7th place finish.

At Elk Horn Pike, Cortez had a decent run and also finally got redemption on the "Cortez Turn", but he didn't manage to get in the top five or the top ten, landing eleventh. At Blackpool, he scored another podium. At Meijendel, however, he barely got a top 10, finishing 9th. At Paparone, he finished a deadly 18th, his worst finish ever after coming back to the URCS. At Nairobi, it was another terrible finish for Cortez, finishing 17th. At Dubai, it was a better finish, 14th, but he was emotionally damaged after he undershot a turn, and running into the wall. At Tel-Aviv, Cortez raced hard to get another top 10 finish, finishing 7th. He finished 14th at Hong Kong, and at Dead Man's Curve he was fast but wrecked on the Double jump. Cortez finished 10th in the points standings.

## URCS Season Five

While prepwork was being done for Season Five, and Axiom Racing Union having a secured register spot, they were unsure about Cortez driving again. After a few weeks of thinking, and invitations sent to Emile Michaels, Joshua Michaels, and seeing if the Axiom Development program is doing any good, ARU decided to let Cortez drive a second full time season.

For Season Five, he will be joined by Jeffery Finguy, and it will be the first time they will ever drive together in full time entries.

Cortez started the year off with a strong sixth place showing at Yuma and stayed in the top ten following a fourth place at La Fortuna two races later. Cortez saw a slight hiccup in Meijendel, as he was one of many cars to wreck out oft he event.

Cortez was keeping an average pace throughout the year, before experiencing a high and a low. He finished third at Sarh, one of his best career finishes, but it was offset by a last place run in Tel-Aviv after an overly timid time trial.

Cortez attempted to qualify for Dead Man's Curve as his final send-off before retiring, but a wreck in the Qualifier resulted in Cortez missing the race. Cortez' last race was the previous round of Hong Kong, where he placed tenth overall.

## Past-URCS career

After retiring from the Utica Rallycross Series, he joined ITV Sports to produce highlight packages for Action rallycross for the channel with his own production company, **Phoenix Entertainment**. He left ITV Sports in 2022 and put his company into dormancy.

In 2023, he returned to racing, this time to race in stock cars during the weekends across Mexico and the United States on a "Comeback Tour" promotional stunt. He also participated in various *24 Hours of LeMons* events during that year, while also attempting a few international stock car racing series under various part time deals.

## Legacy

Cortez is known infamously as one of the poorest performing drivers in Rallycross history. He currently has the record for lowest point count, receiving only one point in Season 2 and finishing 45th in points.

The Elf Horn Pike street circuit has renamed the late-race hairpin turn the "Cortez Turn" in honor of Cortez's misjudged turn there during the Season 1 event.

*Off-Trak Magazine* listed Cortez as a "dishonorable mention" during their countdown of the 100 Greatest Rallycross Racers. Later on in the 2017 edition of the "Top 100 Greatest Rallycross drivers", he was #85, with the authors noting his improvement and ability to race after a long hiatus.

## Complete URCS Results

Note: \* indicates season still in progress