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E mail the editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk for details Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. Perera takes third victory in Champ Car Atlantic Season Finale at Road America Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport/Everflux/Perfect Nutrition) closed out his Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda rookie season in fine fashion by taking his third victory of the season in the 2007 season-ending Generac Grand Prix at Road America (ESPN2, August 22, 5:00 p.m. ET). Perera started from the pole position and got away cleanly when the lights went out to move into the lead. The Condor Motorsports driver was in control of the race throughout, but Brazilian Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) managed to close the gap to less than one second in the final laps of the race. However, Perera's lead was never seriously challenged and he went on to win by 0.676 seconds over Matos. Perera's previous two victories came at Mont-Tremblant and Toronto. It was Perera's eighth consecutive podium result. He closed out the year as the only driver in the series to finish every race inside the top-five positions, becoming the first driver since Patrick Carpentier in his championship-winning season of 1996 to accomplish that feat. Perera is the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Rookie of the Year and finished second overall in the final championship standings. After starting a season-worst ninth, Matos got a great start and immediately began his charge toward the front of the field. Matos spent the early stages of the race battling Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) and Alan Sciuto (#20 WS Deans/The Room Store) for second place, but eventually settled into the position and went on to pick up his ninth podium result of the season to cap his championship-winning campaign. Matos will be honored as the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic champion, and pick up his $2 million prize toward a ride in the 2008 Champ Car World Series, during the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Awards Banquet at The American Club in Kohler, Wis. on Sunday night. Matos beat Perera to the championship by 31 points, 341-310. Skerlong filled out the podium with a third-place run. It was Skerlong's best result since a second-place performance in Round 3 at Houston in April and was his fourth top-10 result of the season. The result allowed Skerlong to leap from 14th to 10th in the final championship standings to close out his rookie campaign. Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) finished out his 2007 campaign with a fourth-place result. It was Bomarito's third consecutive top-four result, a run that included his first victory of the season two weeks ago in the San Jose Grand Prix. It was also Bomarito's seventh top-four result in 12 races and enabled him to secure fifth in the final championship standings. Italian driver Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Gioco del Lotto/Global Pesca/Abbey Resort) finished out his rookie Atlantic campaign with a fifth-place result. It was Ricci's sixth top-six result in the past seven races and was his seventh top-six performance of the season overall. He finished sixth in the final point standings. Kevin Lacroix (#10 Uni-Select) finished sixth for his best result since winning Race #2 of the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland doubleheader in June. Immediately following the race, it was announced that Lacroix will join Walker Racing for the 2008 Champ Car Atlantic campaign. Canadian Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) came home seventh and wrapped-up third place in the final championship standings. Wickens finished one position ahead of his Red Bull Team Forsythe teammate, John Edwards (#7 Red Bull/INDECK), who started second but fell back in the field in the early stages of the race due to an off-course excursion. J.R. Hildebrand (#36 Nuclear Clean Air Energy) finished ninth to close out his rookie season in Atlantic with Newman Wachs Racing. Hildebrand started 21st and earned the bonus championship point for improving the most positions in the race. Englishman Ryan Lewis (#15 NCPI Solutions/Insport) rounded out the top 10. NOTES: · After opening the season with seven consecutive top-seven results, Canadian James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) finished ninth or worse in four of the last five races to wrap-up the season, including a 14th-place result in the Generac Grand Prix. Nevertheless, Hinchcliffe still finished fourth in the championship. · Justin Sofio (#26 RLM Investments/Stone Brewing/SAECO), who came into the weekend in 10th place in the championship standings, finished 15th in the Generac Grand Prix. The result dropped him to 11th in the final points. · After running inside the top-five throughout the early portion of the race, Sciuto's hopes of a top-five result fell by the wayside with a trip off-course on Lap 11. A second trip off-course on the final lap relegated him to 20th in the final race standings. Quotes : FRANCK PERERA (#11 CJ Motorsport/Everflux/Perfect Nutrition) of Condor Motorsports: "It was a great race. It's really nice to have a perfect weekend like that, especially in the end after losing an opportunity to win the championship, but Sierra (Siera Enterprises)) did a great job and Rafa (Matos) too with the second year of experience. The race was tough, because I had a technical problem in the end with the car, and it was difficult to keep the car up there, but it's great. I want to thank Condor Motorsports. They did a good job to make sure I can fight with a big team like Sierra. I also want to thank Everflux and for sure, CJ Motorsport, for giving me the chance to continue my career in America. I hope I showed enough to be in Champ Car next year. I also need to thank my family, also, for being here again." RAPHAEL MATOS (#6 ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "Definitely, it was a difficult weekend for us. We had to recover from a really bad qualifying position, and we just didn't know what the problem was with the car until the warm-up this morning. We certainly improved the car a lot in the warm-up. I knew that I had a car that could finish on the podium. It's just very difficult to keep up with someone who has the same speed on this track, because of the lack of downforce. You lose all your downforce when you run close. I'm just very pleased for the team. The Sierra Sierra crew did an amazing job. My engineer, Lee Dykstra, Dave Empringham, my driving coach, and everyone has been working really close together. All the hard work we've been doing throughout the season is being paid off with the championship and a solid result in the finale. I'm very happy. Let's celebrate tonight!" CARL SKERLONG (#24 King Taco/USRT) of US RaceTronics: "The first three or four laps, I was usually in at least a two- to three-car battle. I had a few moments that were very, very close with Alan Sciuto and Rafa (Matos) coming up. It was definitely tough to hold on. It was very hard in the beginning of the race. I think that somewhat hurt us from being able to get the victory in the end. Ending third, it's a lot better than where we've been for most of the season. I can't complain. It's a great way to end the season here. We definitely struggled at the beginning of this weekend. We had a good race in Houston, and then we've really been struggling since then. To go into next season on the podium is a great feeling."
Bomarito takes first 2007 Champ Car Atlantic victory in San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway The San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway featured two Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda celebrations, as local driver Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) picked up his first victory of the season and Brazilian Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) clinched the series championship and the $2 million prize toward a 2008 Champ Car World Series ride with a fourth-place performance. After starting from the pole position for the first time in his Atlantic career, Bomarito--a resident of nearby Monterey, Calif.--led every lap en route to the victory, beating French rookie Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport) to the stripe by 0.898 seconds. It was Bomarito's first Atlantic victory since taking the 2006 season finale at Road America and was his fourth podium result of the season. It was also Bomarito's second consecutive top-two result, as he finished second in the second race of the doubleheader at the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton one week earlier, and he moved back into fifth in the championship standings. Cementing his place at the top of the championship standings, however, was Matos. The Brazilian started fourth and moved to third entering Turn 1 after the standing start. He spent most of the race trailing Perera in third place, but surrendered the position to Canadian Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) in Turn 1 on a restart with six laps remaining and settled into fourth, where he would finish. The result--Matos' 10th top-four performance in 11 races this season--was enough to secure the title, as Matos departs San Jose with a 36-point lead over Perera, 314-278, and a maximum of only 34 points are still available in the 2007 season finale at Road America in two weeks. Matos will be honored as the 2007 champion in the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship Awards Banquet at The American Club in Kohler, Wis. on the evening of Sunday, August 12. It was the third North American title for Matos, as he previously claimed the Star Mazda championship in 2005 and the Formula Dodge National Championship in 2003. It was the first Champ Car Atlantic title for perennial front-runners Sierra Sierra Enterprises, which finished second in both the 2003 and 2004 seasons with current Champ Car World Series competitor Ryan Dalziel as its driver, and the team returned to Atlantic competition after a one-year absence last season. Despite a valiant effort on both accounts, Perera wound up second in both the San Jose Grand Prix and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship point standings. It was the Condor Motorsports driver's seventh consecutive podium result and he remains the only driver in the series to have finished inside the top five in every race. Perera has wrapped-up second place in the overall championship and also clinched the series Rookie of the Year honors, as he holds a 40-point advantage over Wickens. The third-place performance for Wickens was his fourth podium result of the season and his first podium since winning the first race of the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland doubleheader in June. Wickens owns top-five results in eight of 11 races this season. He also claimed the bonus point for running the fastest lap in the San Jose Grand Prix. Finishing a career-best fifth was Dutch rookie Junior Strous (#16 Shell/Best Box/HTP/Red, White & Bluezz USA) for Condor Motorsports. Strous' previous best result in Atlantic competition was a sixth-place run in the 2007 season-opener in Las Vegas, and it was his fourth top-nine result eight starts this season. Strous did not compete in Round 3 at Houston as a result of a wrist injury he sustained at Round 2 in Long Beach, and lingering effects from that injury also kept him out of the doubleheader at the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton last weekend. NOTES: For the second consecutive weekend, American rookie Adrian Carrio (#17 Carrio Cabling Company) earned an Atlantic career-best result with a sixth-place run in the San Jose GP. Carrio posted a seventh-place result in the first race of the Edmonton doubleheader last weekend. Alan Sciuto (#20 WS Deans/The Room Store) earned his sixth top-seven result in 11 races with a seventh-place result in the San Jose Grand Prix. It was also Sciuto's second top-seven result in San Jose, as he also finished fourth in the inaugural Atlantic event at Redback Raceway in 2005. Justin Sofio (#26 RLM Investments) claimed his third consecutive top-nine result in San Jose with an eighth-place run. Sofio previously finished eighth in San Jose last year and was ninth in 2005. The result allowed Sofio to move back into 10th in the championship standings with one race remaining. For the second time in four races, American rookie Frankie Muniz (#13 Chandler Development) earned the bonus point for improving the most positions from start to finish. Muniz charged from 24th on the grid to finish 11th--an improvement of 13 positions--and came home two spots behind his Atlantic career-best result of ninth, which he achieved three weeks ago in Toronto. Quotes from the top-three finishers in the San Jose Grand Prix and the 2007 championship-winning driver and team owner follow below: ROBERT WICKENS (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) of Red Bull Team Forsythe: "Basically, everybody in the top four was so evenly-matched. Unless someone made a mistake, the gap stayed exactly the same. Luckily, on the restart, I got a run and got around Rafa (Matos). I think Rafa was a little bit conservative and made a little bit of an error coming out of Corner 7 and I was able to take advantage of it and pass him in Corner 1." FRANCK PERERA (#11 CJ Motorsport) of Condor Motorsports: "It's good to be on the podium again, for sure. It was a tough, tough race. Jonathan (Bomarito) was really quick all this weekend and I fought a lot to be close to him in qualifying and the race, too. For me, what was really important was the start again and the safety car, and I tried everything to overtake him, because I had better restarts on the safety car, and also my start was better, I think. It's really difficult to overtake and the first corner is really small. I was not able to get the pass. I tried everything to keep the pressure on him, but he had a really good race and he was really quick this weekend. For me, it was a great season. We had, for sure, a difficult start of the season, but we caught Sierra Sierra Enterprises. In the end, it was not enough. I want to thank again Condor Motorsports, who did a really good job this year. For sure, CJ Motorsport gave me the chance to race in America. It's a great country. The series also gave me a chance and it's a really nice series. I want to thank all the people. I will be happy, for sure, if I come back (to Atlantic), but I hope I will be in Champ Car, too, with Rafa (Matos)." JONATHAN BOMARITO (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) of PR1 Motorsports: "It just feels incredible. Being here in San Jose, I have so many friends and family here, and just the season we've had up to this point, it's just a remarkable feeling. It's been a tremendous weekend from the second we put the car on the track. It's been really good. I can't thank the team and the guys enough. When you have such an up-and-down season, to stay positive week-in and week-out and keep working as hard as they have is very difficult to do. My hat's off to the whole Miracle Sealants/PR1 team. It's great to be back up here. What a great feeling." RAPHAEL MATOS (#6 ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "It's an unbelievable feeling. I can't really describe what I'm feeling right now. It's definitely like a dream coming true. I worked my whole life and I dreamed about this moment. I dreamed about being in Champ Car. I wanted to go to Formula 1, and my plans changed in 2002, when I came to the U.S. Since I first came to the U.S., I had a goal in my life, and it was driving a Champ Car. Winning the Champ Car Atlantic Championship, definitely, was the best way to put myself in a good position to be in Champ Car. I just can't thank enough the Sierra Sierra/ProWorks team. This is the second year that they gave me the chance to drive this car. They are like a family for me. I love them for life, and I appreciate very much what they've done for me." STACEY BEHRENDT, Owner, Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "It just feels amazing to be here today after a couple of years of coming in second (in the championship), struggling a little bit last year, and then coming back this year with Raphael and put everything together. It's been an amazing season. It's been so much fun."
Matos completes Champ Car Atlantic Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton doubleheader As the car of race-leader Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport/Continental Cartage Inc. sputtered on the final lap, Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda points leader Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) pounced on the opportunity and went on to claim his sixth victory in a thrilling conclusion to the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton doubleheader (ESPN2, 7/23, 5:30 p.m. ET). Matos started the race from the pole position and led into Turn 1 on the opening lap, but race officials determined that Matos blocked Perera going into the turn and ordered Matos to surrender the position to Perera. Once he assumed the lead, Perera set sail and led every lap in the race, but fuel problems on the Condor Motorsports machine began rearing their ugly head with three laps remaining. Perera did his best to hang onto the position, but with just four turns remaining on the final lap, his car slowed on course and Matos sped by to take the victory. Matos became the first Atlantic driver to win six races in a season since Jon Fogarty also won six on his way to the 2004 Atlantic title. The Brazilian has now finished on the podium in eight of 10 starts this season and has finished inside the top six in all 10 races. It was the fourth time in five races where Matos started from the pole position that he went on to win the race, and moved him 40 points ahead of Perera, 291-251, with two races remaining in the championship. Matos could clinch the Atlantic title if his lead is 34 points or greater following next weekend's penultimate round of the 12-race Champ Car Atlantic Championship at San Jose. Matos and Perera are the only two drivers still in mathematical contention for the title. American Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) also found his way past Perera on the final lap and finished second, 2.561 seconds in arrears of Matos. It was Bomarito's third podium result of the season and his best result since finishing second in Round 2 at Long Beach in April. He has finished inside the top five in five of 10 starts. Perera wound up third and extended his streak of podium results to six consecutive races dating to a third-place run in Race #2 of the Portland doubleheader in June. The streak includes back-to-back victories at Mont-Tremblant and Toronto. He also remains as the only driver in the series to finish inside the top five in every race this season, and he again extended his lead in the Rookie of the Year standings. He leads Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) by 40 points in the rookie standings, 251-211, with two races remaining. American Alan Sciuto (#20 WS Deans) earned his best result of the season with a fourth-place performance after starting seventh. Sciuto crossed the line in fifth-place behind rookie Adrian Carrio (#17 Carrio Cabling Company), but Carrio was disqualified when it was revealed that his car did not pass post-race technical inspection. Sciuto's previous best results this season were sixth in Houston and Toronto. Sciuto also earned the bonus point for running the race's fastest lap, which he achieved on Lap 31 at 1:06.371 (107.017 mph). J.R. Hildebrand (#36 Newman Wachs Racing) rounded out the top five. It was the rookie's best performance since finishing second in Round 6 at Cleveland and was Hildebrand's sixth top-nine result in 10 starts. Italian Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Lotto/Global) finished sixth for his fifth consecutive top-six result and maintained fifth in the overall championship standings. Canadian Kevin Lacroix (#10 Uni-Select) finished seventh, followed by 16-year-old American John Edwards (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) in eighth, Canadian James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) in ninth, and Toronto's Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) in 10th. NOTES: For the second consecutive race and the fourth time this season, Canadian Adrien Herberts (#45 Paladin Motorsports) claimed the bonus point for gaining the most positions from start to finish. Herberts finished 15th after starting 24th. The other races in which he earned the bonus were Mont-Tremblant and Cleveland. A day after matching his Atlantic career-best result with a 16th-place run in the first race of the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton doubleheader, rookie Richard Heistand (#37 Eola Capital Investments) posted a new career best with an 11th-place run. Heistand also finished 16th at Cleveland and returned to the series this weekend after sitting out Round 8 at Toronto. Quotes FRANCK PERERA (#11 CJ Motorsport/Continental Cartage Inc.) of Condor Motorsports: "I still don't really know what happened on the last three laps, and especially on the last lap, but it was worse on the last lap. I think it was the fuel or the fuel pump, which was a problem in qualifying and at the beginning of Race #1 yesterday. I have to check with my team. It's a big disappointment, because I had a great start and it was important to try to overtake Rafa (Matos). He also had a good start and he tried to defend his position right to left. I think that's why he got penalized. When I was in the front, I already had a good gap. Also, after the safety car, I was able to manage my gap. It was a great race. The car was really good, and it was easy to manage my gap. I was disappointed to lose the points, and especially a victory in Canada." JONATHAN BOMARITO (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) of PR1 Motorsports: "It's nice to be back up here on the podium. It feels like it's been way too long, even though it's been race, race, race through the summer. It was a solid race for us. We were a solid P3 car, and with some of Franck (Perera)'s engine problem or whatever the case was there, we were able to move up to second on almost the last corner of the last lap. It was pretty exciting. The car was good. We were suffering in just a couple of different corners through the track, but overall, it was very good. It was steady. My guys have been doing an awesome job and everybody has been working really hard. I'm glad to be back up here, especially for all the PR1 Motorsports guys." RAPHAEL MATOS (#6 ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "The start was very difficult. Franck (Perera) got a little bit better start than me, and I tried to defend my position, as I've been doing all season, and I got penalized for it. I thought that Franck was running out of fuel. With three laps to go, he was having problems, and with two laps to go, I really closed the gap on him. He really slowed down in Turn 1 and I tried to overtake him, but he was able to defend his position. I knew that it was just a matter of time that he was going to run out of gas. I just tried to be patient, and finally, with four corners to go, he ran out of gas big time and I was able to make the pass and bring the car to Victory Lane again. I just can't thank my team enough again. Until we finish San Jose, I can't say anything (about the championship). Anything can happen in the championship still. We just need to make sure we do a good job in San Jose, be smart, and be quick in the qualifying sessions. That's going to obviously help us. We need to try and finish the race in San Jose. A top five, I think, should give us the championship, hopefully."
MATOS SCORES FIFTH WIN OF THE SEASON AND EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD I FIRST HALF OF DOUBLEHEADER AT REXALL GRAND PRIX OF EDMONTO Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) got sweet revenge in Saturday's first race of a Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda doubleheader at the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton and extended his lead in the championship standings with his fifth victory of the season. As an Atlantic rookie a year ago, Matos started from the pole position in Edmonton and appeared to be on his way to his first victory in the series when disaster struck and he crashed with eight laps remaining in the race. A year later, Matos returned with five career Atlantic victories in his pocket and added another one on Saturday after claiming the lead from his Sierra Sierra Enterprises teammate James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) with 20 laps remaining and leading the rest of the way to beat Frenchman Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsports/Continental Cartage Inc.) by 2.247 seconds. It was Matos' fifth victory of the season and he now leads Perera in the championship standings by 33 points, 259-226, with three races remaining on the schedule. Matos has now finished on the podium in four consecutive Atlantic races and in seven of nine races overall, and has finished inside the top-six positions in all nine starts this season. Perera wound up second, breaking his Canadian victory streak after back-to-back wins at Mont-Tremblant and Toronto, but it was his fifth consecutive podium result dating to a third-place run in the second race of a doubleheader at Portland in June. The Condor Motorsports rookie is also the only driver in the series to have finished inside the top five in every race this season, and he extended his lead in the Rookie of the Year standings to 25 points over Canadian Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK). Hinchcliffe started from the pole position and led the first 14 laps, but could not keep Matos and Perera at bay following the race's second of two restarts following full-course caution periods and wound up third. It was Hinchcliffe's fifth podium result of the season and his eighth top-eight result in nine starts this season. He remained third in the championship standings and now trails Matos by 55 points and Perera by 22. Wickens came home fourth for his seventh top-five performance in nine races this season, and remained fourth in the overall championship standings and second in the Rookie of the Year standings. The Red Bull Team Forsythe pilot is three points behind Hinchcliffe. Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Lotto/Global) finished fifth to remain fifth in the championship standings, and the top five in championship standings finished in order in Saturday's race. It was Ricci's fourth consecutive top-six result dating to a fourth-place run in Round 6 at Cleveland and was the Italian rookie's sixth top-eight result in nine starts this season. Sixteen-year-old American rookie John Edwards (#7 Red Bull/INDECK) followed his career-best second-place result two weeks ago in Toronto with a solid, sixth-place performance in Race #1 of the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton. Edwards has now finished inside the top six in three of nine races this season and has scored championship points in all but one event. Rookie Adrian Carrio (#17 Carrio Cabling Company) earned the best result of his Atlantic career with a seventh-place performance for Genoa Racing. The race result came on the heels of Saturday morning's qualifying session for Race #2, where he qualified a career-best fifth. The 2006 Star Mazda champion's previous best result was 12th in Round 2 at Long Beach. Mexican racer David Garza (#4 Axtel/Tecate/Madisa/USRT) picked up his fourth top-10 result in his last five races and matched his career-best Atlantic result with an eighth-place run. Garza also finished eighth in Round 6 at Cleveland. Englishman Ryan Lewis (#15 NCPI Solutions/Insport) finished ninth for Walker Racing and Mathiasen Motorsports driver Justin Sofio (#26 RLM Investments) filled out the top 10. NOTES: * For the third time this season, Canadian rookie Adrien Herberts (#45 Paladin Motorsports) earned the bonus point for improving the most positions from start to finish. Herberts finished 11th after starting 21st, and also earned bonus points at Mont-Tremblant and the first race of the Portland doubleheader. * Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) and Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) saw their chances of scoring top-five results go out the window when the two drivers got together on Lap 11. The contact forced Skerlong into the barrier and out of the race, while Bomarito was assessed a drive-through penalty for what race officials determined to be avoidable contact. Bomarito wound up 14th and Skerlong was 20th. * Dutch rookie Junior Strous (#16 Shell/Continental Cartage Inc./Best Box/HTP/Red, White & Bluezz USA) sat out of Saturday's race due to lingering effects of a wrist injury he sustained at Long Beach in April. He underwent surgery earlier this week. Quotes: JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "It feels good to be back on the podium, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit disappointed to not be on top. We had a good start, managed to get the holeshot, and I was just kind of controlling the pace of the race. This track is pretty tough on tires, because it's pretty quick, and I didn't want to use them up too much in the beginning stint of the race, just in case we had a yellow and all of a sudden your lead is all gone. That's exactly what happened. On restarts in Atlantic, you're kind of a sitting duck, just because you're not really allowed to defend your line. I managed to get a good jump on that first restart and I was actually pretty surprised to stay ahead of Rafa (Matos), because he's known for being pretty good on restart, and again built up a little bit of a lead. It's pretty tough to follow guys here, so when you're out in clean air, you're looking really good. I was just kind of hoping that we'd go green for the rest of the race, but unfortunately we got another yellow. That just led to Rafa getting a good jump on the restart and then Franck (Perera) the first lap after green. I'm a bit disappointed, but the car was really good. It was quick enough to win if we'd just stayed in that clean air. I've got to thank the crew, Sierra Sierra, again so much. I really enjoy driving here at Edmonton and I'm looking forward to going out again tomorrow." FRANCK PERERA (#11 CJ Motorsport/Continental Cartage Inc.) of Condor Motorsports: "It's nice to be on the podium again in Canada. I had great result here and for sure it's a nice place. I had a really bad start and I fell into fifth place. I was behind (Alan) Sciuto and (Giacomo) Ricci, so it was tough. On the first lap, I had a problem already like in Qualifying 1, I think, with a fuel pump. On all the fast corners the engine stopped. After the first safety car, I didn't have any more problems with that, but all the time I had an alarm on my dash. I was scared because I didn't know if I'd have a problem at the end of the race. Anyway, the car was really competitive, Condor Motorsports did a great job this weekend again, and I was able to overtake Giacomo Ricci and Sciuto. I was lucky that there was another safety car, so I could catch the Sierra guys. I tried to overtake James (Hinchcliffe) and then I tried to catch Rafa (Matos). It was hard, because we were really similar on time. He was fast somewhere and I was fast in another place. Again, it's a good result. I started from the second row and my start was bad. It's good for CJ Motorsport, who's here, and my sponsor, Everflux. I want to thank Condor, who is really doing a good job this year. RAPHAEL MATOS (#6 ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "There's a long way to go in the championship. After the race tomorrow, I think we'll have an idea of who's got a shot or not for the championship. Definitely, I felt that I had some unfinished business at this track, and we were able to pull this victory off. Sierra Sierra again did an amazing job. I'm very, very happy and it was a very emotional victory for me, especially because of last year. Since the qualifying this morning, I felt that I really had a car for the feature. It was just a matter of getting a clean start. I was fortunate enough to have a good start. I was not able to pass James, but I knew that I would have a shot on one of the restarts. I couldn't really get the job done on the first restart. James got a jump on me. I was able to nail the second one. I had a real good restart and passed him. I think he struggled a little bit to stay behind me, as I did in the beginning of the race. It's very difficult to be behind some other driver. Once I had clean air in front of me, I was able to pull a gap, maintain my gap, control the pace and bring the car to Victory Lane."
Perera stays perfect in Canada with second consecutive victory in Wet Toronto In a race that saw a 14:29 red flag and 13 cars retire due to contact, French rookie Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport) picked up his second consecutive Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda victory in the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto Shortly after the red lights went out and the field roared from its standing start into Turn 1, the skies opened up above Canadian National Exhibition Place. On the opening lap, Mike Forest (#32 Konica Minolta/Miracle Sealants/Dynacor/Earthwater) crashed on the back straightaway and was collected by Matt Lee (#44 Integrated Structures), Frankie Muniz (#13 Chandler Development) and Tom Sutherland (#2 Drive Energy Soda), bringing out the full-course caution. The rains intensified into a downpour as the field circulated behind the pace car. Just before the field pulled onto pit lane for the red flag to allow all teams to change to Cooper rain tires, race leader Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor)--who got a great jump from his third-place position at the start and charged past Perera and polesitter Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) to take the lead--made contact with the barrier at Turn 6. As a result, Dutch rookie Junior Strous (#16 Shell/Best Box/HTP/Red, White & Bluezz USA) found himself at the head of the field for the restart on Lap 6 of what would be a 28-lap race. Strous' lead would be short-lived, however, as Perera shot past his Condor Motorsports teammate and into the lead in Turn 8 on Lap 6. Perera would not be challenged the rest of the way and went on to score a 6.057-second victory over 16-year-old American rookie Johyn Edwards (#7 Red Bull/INDECK). Perera also claimed the bonus point for turning the fastest race lap with a 1:20.636 (78.352 mph). The victory and bonus point moved Perera into second place in the overall Atlantic championship standings, and he now trails points leader Matos by 30 points, 228-198, with eight of 12 races now complete. Perera has now finished inside the top five in all eight of his career Atlantic races. He became the first non-North American native to win in 17 years of Atlantic racing in Toronto, as the first 16 were won by either Canadian or American drivers. The Frenchman also extended his lead in the Rookie of the Year standings to 20 points, 198-178, over Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK). The second place result for Edwards did not come without a fight, as he and his Red Bull Team Forsythe teammate Wickens battled for the position throughout the closing stages of the race. Wickens finally spun while attempting a last-lap pass on Edwards, giving the youngster a career-best result in Atlantic competition. Edwards previous best run was fourth in Round 2 at Long Beach. Wickens' late spin gave the final podium position to Matos, who took a conservative approach to the race once the rains arrived in an effort to maximize his points haul. It was Matos' third consecutive podium result and his sixth podium in eight Atlantic races this season. It was also the ninth consecutive time that at least one Sierra Sierra Enterprises car finished on the Atlantic podium dating to a second-place run in the 2006 season finale at Road America. Italian rookie Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Lotto/Global) matched his career-best Atlantic result by finishing fourth. Ricci has now finished inside the top-six positions in his last three starts and owns five top-eight results in eight races this season. The performance also moved the Conquest Racing driver into fifth place in the championship standings. Englishman Ryan Lewis (#15 NCPI Solutions/Insport) rounded out the top five. It was the Walker Racing driver's best result since a fifth-place run in the second race of the Portland doubleheader in June and was Lewis' third top-five result of the season, as he also finished third in the first race at Portland. Lewis finished third in last year's Atlantic race at Toronto. NOTES: The top-five finishers all represented different nationalities. Race-winner Perera hails from France, while second-place Edwards is American, followed by Brazilian Matos in third, Italy's Ricci in fourth and English driver Lewis in fifth. American Alan Sciuto (#20 The Room Store of Phoenix) broke the pattern with a sixth-place run. The last-lap spin by Wickens cost the Toronto native four positions and he wound up seventh in the final race results. Wickens was the highest-finishing Canadian in the field. Justin Sofio (#26 RLM Investments) took his best result of the season with an eighth-place result. The Mathiasen Motorsports driver's previous best result was ninth in the 2007 Atlantic season-opener at Las Vegas. American rookie Muniz rebounded from the opening-lap chaos to collect his first top-10 result in Atlantic competition with a 10th-place result. Muniz claimed the bonus point for improving the most starting positions after starting 23rd. His previous best result was 19th at Long Beach. Oakville, Ontario's James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) lost two spots in the championship standings with an 11th-place result. Hinchcliffe retired due to contact after completing 10 laps, snapping a streak of seven consecutive top-seven finishes. He is now fourth in the championship with 178 points. Quotes from the top-three finishers in the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto follow below: RAPHAEL MATOS (#6 ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "Since I lost all those positions on the start, I completely changed my mindset on the race. Franck (Perera) got a better start and I was not able to hold my position. I believe he broke a little too early for Turn 1 and (Jonathan) Bomarito passed both of us on the outside. I was in fifth position and it started raining hard, and people were crashing everywhere under the yellow flag. I was just trying to push as hard as I could, but not taking too many risks. That's basically what I was doing. I'm so glad that we finished this race. I nearly crashed several times and it was really, really tricky conditions out there. It was very, very difficult. I'm very happy that I brought the Sierra Sierra car back to the podium." John Edwards (#7 Red Bull/INDECK) of Red Bull Team Forsythe: "The battle with Robert (Wickens) was pretty intense. There were plenty of times that I thought both of us were going to be taken out of the race. We raced hard, but we raced pretty clean up until the last move. Unfortunately, I didn't see him when I turned in; otherwise I would have given him a little more room, thinking I could probably hold my position going into Turn 6. Unfortunately, the first time I saw him was when I felt the contact. I looked in my mirror and saw him spinning behind me. It was a tough battle, but he nearly took both of us out in the hairpin on one of the earlier laps and I wasn't going to give it up to him easy. It's great to be on the podium. I'm the youngest runner and a lot of people have said that's a bad thing, but hopefully I proved today that it's not." FRANCK PERERA (#11 CJ Motorsport) of Condor Motorsports: "It was a tough race, because we didn't drive in the rain (before) and the track was really slippery. For me, my strategy was to do a really great start anyway if it was raining or dry, and to try to be in front of Rafa (Matos) because for sure, my target is fighting for the championship, so it was important to be in front of him because I knew he was quick. The car was great. I could have a really big gap. It was a perfect race. I want to thank my team, Condor, who did a great job again here. Both cars were better. My teammate (Junior Strous) was also fast for this weekend. I also want to thank my sponsor, Everflux, and again, CJ Motorsport who gave me this chance to win this championship."
Perera becomes third different first-time winner at Mont-Tremblant MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec, Canada July 1, 2007 French rookie Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport) kept his streak of top-five finishes in the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda alive in a big way by taking his first career victory in the Champ Car Mont-Tremblant After starting from the pole position, Perera made it look easy in leading every lap on his way to a 20.486-second victory over points leader Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks). Perera became the third driver in the past four Atlantic events to earn his first career victory in the series. The performance enabled the Condor Motorsports driver to move into third place in the overall championship standings and also take over the lead in the Rookie of the Year standings. With seven of 12 races completed in the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship, Perera remains the only driver in the series to have finished inside the top five in every race. With a second-place run, Matos picked up his fifth top-two result of the season and managed to extend his lead in the championship standings. The race was not without its drama for Matos, however, as the Brazilian noticed his motor beginning to sputter with two laps remaining and ran out of fuel coming off the final turn on the last lap. Nevertheless, he was able to coast across the stripe just ahead of his Sierra Sierra Enterprises teammate, James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks). Matos now leads Hinchcliffe by 33 points, 201-168, with Perera just two points behind Hinchcliffe in third. Hinchcliffe picked up his fourth podium result in the past five Atlantic races with his third-place performance. From fifth on the starting grid, Hinchcliffe moved past Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) and into fourth place on the standing start and chased Italian rookie Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Lotto/Global) for most of the race before Ricci seemingly ran out of fuel on the final lap. Hinchcliffe has now finished inside the top seven in every race this season and was the highest-finishing Canadian at Mont-Tremblant on Canada Day. American Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) made it four different nationalities in the top-four finishing positions with a fourth-place run. Bomarito got a terrific start from eighth on the grid to settle in behind Hinchcliffe. It was the PR1 Motorsports driver's best result since a fourth-place performance in Round 3 at Houston and was his fourth top-four result of the season. Wickens completed the top five with a fifth-place showing for Red Bull Team Forsythe. It was Wickens' sixth top-five performance in seven races this season and he has finished inside the top 10 in every race this year. However, Wickens lost one position in the overall championship standings and also slipped to second in the Rookie of the Year point standings. Wickens is now fourth in the overall championship and now trails new rookie leader Perera by five points, 166-161. In a heartbreaking finish, Ricci wound up sixth after starting a career-best third. Nevertheless, it was the Italian's second consecutive top-six result and was his third top-six performance of the season. The result enabled him to gain one position in the overall championship standings and he now stands sixth with 102 points, 14 behind fifth-place Bomarito. Despite cold and gray conditions, the race was slowed by full-course caution only once, for two laps, when Tom Sutherland (#2 Drive Energy Soda) slid off-course and into the Turn 14 gravel trap. NOTES: Simona De Silvestro (#5 Miauton) had far and away her best result thus far in her rookie Champ Car Atlantic Championship season. One day after posting a career-best sixth-place qualifying result, De Silvestro came home with a seventh-place result in the race for Walker Racing. Her previous best performance was an 11th-place run last weekend in Cleveland. Quebec fan favourite Kevin Lacroix (#10 Uni-Select) finished eighth in his home race. The Saint-Eustache, Quebec native now owns two top-eight results in his four career Atlantic starts and picked up his first Atlantic victory two races ago in the second race of the Portland doubleheader for Brooks Associates Racing. Rookie Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) claimed the bonus point for the race's fastest lap, which he achieved on Lap 13 at 1:27.157 (108.260 mph). The US RaceTronics driver finished 19th in the race. One week after rolling over following contact in the GP of Cleveland, Canadian rookie Adrien Herberts (#45 Paladin Motorsports) picked up the bonus point for improving the most positions in the race. Herberts started 23rd and finished 17th, an improvement of seven spots. It was the second time this season that Herberts earned the most improved positions bonus point, the other coming in the second race of the Portland doubleheader. Quotes from the top-three finishers in the race follow below: FRANCK PERERA (#11 CJ Motorsports) of Condor Motorsports: "It was a great race. I'm really happy, because for me the start was the most important thing. I knew that my car was really competitive for the long run. Obviously, yesterday I was on the pole and was quickest in the warm-up this morning. My start was great. I had such a big gap already after the first corner. We had a safety car, but then I had a great car again. The car was great. The Condor team did a really good job this weekend. They are really getting so much better. I managed my gap. I could, for sure, push more in the end, but my gap was huge. It was incredible. I could drive, really, anywhere. It's great for everything. It's a lot of emotion for me. It's a long time that I needed that, and after my season last year. I want to thank CJ for giving me a chance to race in America and to continue my dream of racing, and Everflux. I also want to thank my family. For the first time in a long time, they're here." RAPHAEL MATOS (#6 ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "I was a little bit disappointed during the race. We just didn't have quite the pace to keep up with Franck. I started running out of fuel with two laps to go, and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. On the last lap, I was basically half-throttle the whole track. I thought that I was not going to make it. When I crossed the line and I finished the race, I was so happy. That was one of the best races of the season just to finish this race. Again, Sierra Sierra gave me one of the best cars on the grid. I'm very happy that I extended my points lead in the championship. I'm just looking forward to the next few races. I believe that we're going to be very strong in Toronto and also in Edmonton. It was a quite difficult weekend for us, especially in qualifying. We just didn't have the pace to get the pole. Hopefully, we'll make some progress from now to the end." JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises: "The race for me was exciting at the beginning, exciting at the end and kind of lonely in the middle. I got a pretty good start and managed to get ahead of Robbie (Wickens), and I was just running fourth for most of the race. I was trying to keep up with Giacomo (Ricci) and manage the gap back to Jonathan (Bomarito). I guess it was on the second-to-last lap, I noticed that we kind of caught Giacomo by a big gap. I wasn't sure why, if he had made a mistake or if he was developing a problem. On the last lap, I could see that he definitely had an issue. I'm assuming he was running out of fuel. We got a run on him coming down the back straight and he was kind of running in the middle of the track, so, rightly or wrongly, I opted for the outside line. I just managed to make it stick and got ahead of him. I guess Rafa (Matos) was having a bit of problems on the last lap, as well, with fuel. If the start/finish line would have been about 10 feet further back, I think we would have had second. We didn't have the quickest car today, but we had one that made it to the finish. Once again, Sierra Sierra has given us such a good car and more importantly gave me enough fuel to make it to the end. That was the difference between being on the podium and not today."
LACROIX TAKES FIRST ATLANTIC VICTORY IN SECOND ATLANTIC RAXCE AT PORTLAND Canada was on heavy rotation on the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda podium this weekend at Portland International Raceway, as series newcomer Kevin Lacroix (#10 Uni-Select) became the second Canadian driver to earn his first Atlantic win in as many days at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland presented by Joe's Sports and Outdoor doubleheader. Just one day after making his Atlantic debut in the first half of the doubleheader, Lacroix got the jump on his Canadian countryman James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) on a Lap 6 restart in the 35-lap race to take the lead. Hinchcliffe kept the pressure on Lacroix over the remaining laps but never got close enough to make a pass, and Lacroix went on to win by 1.472 seconds. It was the first victory in Atlantic competition for the 18-year-old Lacroix--who previously competed in the Star Mazda and Formula BMW USA series--and comes on his first weekend of racing in eight months. It was also the first Atlantic victory for Brooks Associates Racing since Andreas Wirth won for the team at Denver in 2005, and was the team's second victory overall. Hinchcliffe, who started from the pole position as he did for Saturday's first race of the weekend, picked up his second runner-up result in as many days after leading the first five laps. It was Hinchcliffe's third consecutive podium result dating to a third-place run in Round 3 at Houston, and the 20-year-old from Toronto has now finished inside the top-seven spots in all five races this season. Hinchcliffe has moved into second in the Atlantic championship standings and gained ground on points leader and Sierra Sierra Enterprises teammate Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks), who finished sixth in the race. On the strength of his two poles, two second-place results and the fastest lap in Sunday's race from the Portland weekend, Hinchcliffe is now 17 points behind Matos, 140-123, with five of 12 races now completed. Picking up an Atlantic career-best third-place result was French rookie Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport) for Condor Motorsports Perera was third for the standing start and actually got past Lacroix at the start to take second before surrendering the spot on Lap 2. Perera previously finished fifth in the first four races of the season and is now the only driver in the series to finish inside the top five in all five races this season. He is fourth in the Atlantic driver standings. Rookie Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK), who picked up his first career Atlantic victory on Saturday at Portland, capped a successful weekend with a fourth-place run on Sunday. It was Wickens' fourth top-four result of the season and he has finished inside the top 10 in all five of his starts in the series. As a result, he is now third in the overall Atlantic championship standings, just four points in arrears of Hinchcliffe. He also leads the Rookie of the Year point standings by 10 points, 119-109, over Perera. Ryan Lewis (#15 NCPI/Deans Knight/Wasteco) capped his best Atlantic weekend to date with a fifth-place run. The Englishman finished a season-best third on Saturday and has now finished inside the top five in all three of his Atlantic starts at Portland International Raceway. Lewis made his Atlantic debut at PIR last year and finished second. WICKENS SCORES FIRST CAREER ATLANTIC WIN In wet conditions at Portland International Raceway, 18-year-old Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) picked up his first career Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda race victory in Saturday's first race of a doubleheader weekend as part of the Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland presented by Joe's Sports and Outdoor. Wickens carefully and methodically worked his way forward after taking the standing start from fifth on the grid and under a steady rain throughout the race. He moved into second place by Lap 9 of the 30-lap race and took up the chase of polesitter and race-leader James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks), who had pulled away to a healthy advantage. Wickens chipped away through the middle stages of the race and by Lap 20; he was well within sight of Hinchcliffe. Approaching lapped traffic on Lap 24, Wickens played the situation perfectly and dove to the inside of Hinchcliffe entering Turn 1 and outbroke his Canadian countryman to take the lead. From there, Wickens was never challenged and pulled away to win by 10.957 seconds over Hinchcliffe. Wickens' first career Atlantic victory came in just his fourth start in the series, and vaulted him into second place in the 2007 Atlantic point standings after four of 12 races. Wickens has finished inside the top 10 in all four of his starts in the series, and earned his third podium result of the season with the victory. Hinchcliffe, meanwhile, led the first 23 laps of the race en route to his best result of the season, topping a previous best result of third in Round 3 at Houston in April. It was the second top-two performance in Atlantic competition at Portland International Raceway for the second-year driver, as he earned his first and only Atlantic victory to date in last year's event. Hinchcliffe remains third in the Atlantic driver standings, and will start Sunday's second half of the doubleheader from the pole position. Ryan Lewis (#15 NCPI/Deans Knight/Wasteco) earned his best result of the season by taking the final podium position with a third-place performance, substantially topping his previous best result of 25th in Round 2 at Long Beach. It was also Lewis' second straight Atlantic podium at Portland, as the Englishman finished second last year in his debut race in the series. Points leader Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) saw his three-race win streak come to an end with a fourth-place run in an eventful day. On the opening lap, the wet conditions contributed to Matos spinning in Turn 5 and dropping him back to 11th in the running order. However, the Brazilian put together a fantastic charge to salvage fourth place and, as a result, he retains the series points lead. Matos now holds a 25-point advantage, 121-96, over Wickens. Hinchcliffe is third with 94 points. Picking up his fourth consecutive fifth-place result was Frenchman Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport). With the result, the Condor Motorsports rookie moved into fourth in the overall championship standings with 84 points. He is now 12 points in arrears of Wickens in the Rookie of the Year standings.
Raphael Matos scores third straight Atlantic Victory, winning the fast trac 100 Second-year Atlantic racer Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) is a much better race car driver than a baseball player but he completed a remarkable triple play Sunday, winning his third consecutive race to open the 2007 Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. After scoring wins at Las Vegas and Long Beach to start the season, Matos made it three victories in three weeks as he led all 43 laps at JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park Sunday afternoon. The 25-year-old Brazilian rising star also claimed a piece of Atlantic history as he became the first driver in 17 years to capture the first three events of a series season. Mark Dismore won five straight races to open the 1990 campaign as he went on to score the Atlantic Pacific Division title in the last year that Atlantics featured split divisions. Matos didn't have an easy drive to the landmark victory. Starting from the pole, the native of Belo Horizonte, Brazil had a decent launch to the standing start on the 10-turn, 1.683-mile street circuit as he held the lead through the treacherous Turn 1. American Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) of the US RaceTronics team produced a fantastic start, however, making a daring move to outside in the first turn to jet from fourth into second place. After the lone caution flag of the race - caused by an opening-lap accident involving Ryan Lewis (#15 NCPI/Deans Knight/Wasteco) of Walker Racing and Genoa Racing's Richard Heistand (#37 Eola Capital Investments) in Turn 3 - Matos enjoyed a good re-start at the green flag, keeping Skerlong in his rear-view mirror. Skerlong, the 18-year-old native of Mukilteo, Washington, had no intention of bowing to the series leader, however. Skerlong menaced Matos for the race lead throughout the first half of the 50-minute event. The rookie racer continued to push but he found his limit after touching the wall several times while giving chase and eventually Matos began to re-focus at the front of the 27-car Atlantic field. Turning the fastest lap of the race with a mark of 1:05.072 (93.109 mph) on the 39th orbit of the circuit, Skerlong remained a force in second place, but Matos used his experience and skill to keep the fast freshman behind him. At the checkered flag, Matos captured a .946-of-a-second victory over Skerlong, who scored his top result one day after producing his best qualifying effort of fourth place. The win enabled Matos to open up a 23-point lead in the championship standings and the race for the $2 million champion's bonus towards a Champ Car ride in 2008. After starting third and running some impressive laps early in the race, James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) scored his first podium finish of the season for Sierra Sierra Enterprises. The talented Canadian has finished among the top 10 in all three events in '07 and he improves to third in the season standings with today's result. With his third top-six finish to begin the season, American Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) takes control of second in the series standings. The PR1 Motorsports pilot started sixth but came home fourth to continue his hot start to his third series season. For the third consecutive race, Condor Motorsports rookie Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport) earned a fifth-place finish. The speedy Frenchman has had a productive beginning to his Atlantic career and currently sits fifth on the series leaderboard. A pair of promising young American racers occupied the sixth- and seventh-place positions in Sunday's finishing order. Alan Sciuto (#20 The RoomStore of Phoenix) crossed the stripe in sixth place while J.R. Hildebrand (#36 Newman Wachs Racing) was seventh overall. Conquest Racing's Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Lotto/Global) posted his second top-10 result of his rookie season in eighth place while Ronnie Bremer (#12 The RoomStore of Phoenix/Sealy/PRG) of Polestar Racing Group and Red Bull Team Forsythe freshman Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) rounded out the top-10 finishers. The Atlantic Championship will take a break after competing on back-to-back-to-back weekends to begin '07. The series swings back into action June 9-10 with a doubleheader weekend at Portland International Raceway at the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Joe's.
Matos wins at Long Beach Raphael Matos in the #6 ProWorks car took a confortable win in the second round of the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. The 25-year-old Brazilian racer fought off a strong early challenge in the Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and kept the opposition at bay to take his second win of the 2007 season. The lights-to-flag victory was third Atlantic win and gives him a 65-point total in the title chase, with his nearest rival 11 points adrift. The 50-minute race on the 1.968-mile classic Long Beach circuit didn't start as smoothly as it finished. J.R. Hildebrand in the Newman Wachs Racing car ran into trouble on the warm-up lap as the first attempt at a 30-car standing start was aborted. After Hildebrand's car was cleared off the track the race finally got underway. As the cars approached Turn 1, Condor Motorsports' Franck Perera in the #11 CJ Motorsport made a move to take the lead, Perera, starting second tried to sneak by Matos as both drivers drifted toward the wall. Perera edged his nose past Matos before the Brazilian recovered to slip back in front to shut the door. t As a result Perera slipped back to fifth place at the end of the first lap. The early action also opened the door for Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) who moved into. The biggest mover at the start was Robert Wickens in the #3 Red Bull/INDECK car of Red Bull Team Forsythe. Spotting an opening at the standing start, the Canadian moved from seventh to third in the first few corners as he made the most of the opportunity. After last week’s messy opener in Las Vegas which saw only 5 of 22 laps run under a green-flag Sunday’s race was a cleaner affair and only included three yellow-flag caution periods covering 10 laps Matos was able to hold off the challenge from Bomarito on all three green-flag re-starts to win by 1.517-seconds, setting fastest lap in the process with a time of 1:16.554 (92.546 mph). This earned him the additional point taking his total for the weekend to 34. Bomarito held second place scoring his second straight podium to start the season. Wickens had a tough battle with his Red Bull Team Forsythe stablemate, John Edwards (#7 Red Bull/INDECK), and Perera for third place. But he held on to claim second once again, a good start to his Atlantic career. Edwards finished fourth with Perera equaled fifth. Conquest Racing rookie Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Lotto/Global) of Italy posted his best Atlantic result in sixth. James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) was seventh for the Sierra Sierra team, while Ronnie Bremer (#12 The RoomStore of Phoenix/Sealy/PRG) of Polestar Racing Group finished eighth for the second consecutive race. Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) of US RaceTronics rallied from a 13th-place starting position to grab ninth place while Arleta, California native Justin Sofio (#26 Bare Elegance/Valley Ball/RLM Investments) celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday with a season-best 10th place result for Mathiasen Motorsports. The Atlantics complete their third straight race to start the season next week as they travel to Houston, Texas to compete in the Fast Trac 100 at the Grand Prix of Houston. To learn more about North America's top open-wheel development series and to follow all of the action from Houston, log on to www.champcaratlantioc.com.
Information and Quotes
Matos has
now six podium finishes in his 14 career Atlantic starts Quotes from the top three drivers in today's race follow: Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) of Sierra Sierra Enterprises "It was definitely a perfect weekend for us. I got a little bit too much wheel spin on the start and Perera was able to go side by side and he just pushed me to the wall. I was able to maintain the first position when I passed him back in Turn 1. Once I passed him, I was able to pull a gap and it was just a matter of getting clear restarts. I think myself and Jonathan (Bomarito) had very similar speeds. I believe that I was a little bit stronger in the end, I had a bigger gap. I was trying to time myself. Everything worked great for us, it was a perfect weekend and what else can I say. I just want to thank everyone on the team. We will try to keep working hard, develop the car, making it better and try to get more wins and more points. As I said before we are definitely using a different approach than the start of last year. We're just trying to score points. Like in Vegas the race came to us, the win came to us and we were able to score the first win of the season. I knew since the first session here that we had a strong car. We kept improving the car through the weekend. The race was the same, I was just trying to pace myself, not make any mistakes and finish the race." Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) of PR1 Motorsports "Before we got in the car today, I told the guys that Long Beach owed us one from last year. It's great to be back up here. We just need a little bit more. Me and Rafa were just pacing each other back and forth. He just kept gapping me by about half a tenth. We needed just a little bit of that extra something today. I'm incredibly happy with the guys today. The car performed really well. We had a bunch of Miracle Sealants fans down in Turn 9. It was great to get back up on the podium. (About catching Matos on the restart) The first restart he kind of caught me off guard, the second restart definitely timed it really well. That famous Long Beach hairpin is that great equalizer. It's really hard to get a good punch off the hairpin to stay close enough. I had a bit of a draft once we got closer on the straightaway, but just wasn't close enough. That was really my only shot to be able to pass Rafa as we were very close during the race. (About a good start to the season) I think we're really strong. The team is dong a good job. I'm very happy with the car. We're able to make an advance on the engineering side of things and with these cars and tracks we go to, that is going to be key for us. We still have 10 races to go and Rafa is getting out there a little bit but it's going to be a long year." Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) of Red Bull Team Forsythe "I knew that I needed to be aggressive starting seventh. I figured this track is very hard to pass at so why not take advantage when everyone is bunched up. I was able to come out of the second corner in third spot and I was able to just defend my position. It was pretty consistent. If I made a little bit of a mistake, John (Edwards) would catch me and I basically had the same pace the whole time. It was very good knowing I had a teammate behind me, so I knew he wouldn't try anything crazy and I could just focus and try to catch the leaders. (About being second in the Championship) It was where I was hoping to be. It's a dream come true. Just to be leading in Vegas in my first race and to reach the podium and to come back starting seventh making my way up to third here it's just unbelievable. I hope that we can keep the momentum going. I already have a second and third so there's just one more to place to get to on the podium."
Results:
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Raphael Matos, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift/Cooper, 31.
Raphael Matos wins Atlantic race in Las Vegas It might not have been pretty but the champagne in Victory Circle tasted just as sweet Sunday for second-year Atlantic racer Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks). Taking advantage of a strong late-race re-start, Matos claimed his second career series victory as he captured the chequered flag in the inaugural Vegas Grand Prix Atlantic race the first of 12 rounds in the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. Run on the fast and wide 2.44-mile street circuit of downtown Las Vegas, Sunday’s season opener was marred by four cautions. In between some spectacular racing, there were numerous incidents across the track as 15 cars in the field of 27 were eliminated due to accidentst. After the start a battle for the lead developed between polewinner and series rookie Robert Wickens (#3 Red Bull/INDECK) and his friend and fellow Toronto resident James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks), who started second. It didn’t take long for the first yellow flag to fly, however, as Adrian Carrio (#17 Carrio Cabling Company) of Genoa Racing crashed in Turn 4. On the re-start, Hinchcliffe got a great jump and zoomed past Wickens for the lead in the first turn. After a second caution period moments later, caused by an accident involving Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) of the US RaceTronics team, Wickens returned the favour. The Red Bull Team Forsythe freshman made a nifty move in Turn 1 to get by Hinchcliffe and reclaim the lead. Following the afternoon’s third yellow flag, Wickens was able to hold the point on a Lap 14 re-start, but meanwhile Matos, who started fourth, was beginning to make his move. The 25-year-old Brazilian took third place early and then passed his Sierra Sierra Enterprises teammate Hinchcliffe, for second on lap 14. The next time around a spectacular seven-car crash in Turn 3 forced the next six laps to be run under caution as the busy Champ Car safety team cleared up the mess. Fortunately, no drivers were injured in any incidents but the flow of the race was certainly disrupted. With the cleanup complete, Matos made the most of his opportunity as he fought by Wickens and into the race lead in the first turn on lap 19. On the same lap, American Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Daltile/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) overtook Hinchcliffe for third place as the action became furious in the late stages of the event. On the 22nd and final lap of the race, another multi-car crash took place after Swiss rookie Simona De Silvestro (#5 Deans Knight/Wasteco) of Walker Racing spun in Turn 8. Wickens closed on Matos at the front of the field as the Brazilian slowed to obey waved yellows. Matos was able to hold on, however, taking the chequered flag by 0.160 of a second. The victory felt particularly good for Matos as he gave his Sierra Sierra team, located in Minden, Nevada, a win in its “home” race. It also made for a strong start to the season for the series sophomore, who finished fourth in the race for the 2006 Atlantic title, despite leading the second-most laps of any competitor last season. Wickens brought home a podium result in his first Atlantic race and the 18-year-old racer now trails Matos in the series standings by just two points (31-29) after the first round of action. Bomarito of PR1 Motorsports came home third for his fifth podium finish in 20 career Atlantic starts. Hinchcliffe made it two Sierra Sierra drivers in the top four as he finished one spot off the podium and French rookie Franck Perera (#11 CJ Motorsport) of Condor Motorsports completed the top-five finishers. Dutchman Junior Strous (#16 Shell/Best Box/HTP/Red, White & Bluezz USA), also of Condor Motorsports, scored a sixth-place result in his series debut while Atlantic veterans Alan Sciuto (#20 The RoomStore of Phoenix) and Ronnie Bremer (#12 The RoomStore of Phoenix/Sealy/PRG) finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Mathiasen Motorsports driver Justin Sofio (#26 RLM Investments) posted a top-10 result in ninth place and rookie Matt Lee (#44 Integrated Structure) of Conquest Racing rounded out the top 10. The Atlantic Championship swings right back into action next week, April 13-15, on the streets of Long Beach with the Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge at the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Make sure to follow all of the action through the Live Timing link at www.champcaratlantic.com. ATLANTIC RACE NOTES Wickens earned a bonus championship point for posting the fastest race lap on the final lap of the race. He established an Atlantic record at the venue with his time of 1:31.554 (95.943 mph). American Brian Thienes (#19 Thienes Engineering) of Condor Motorsports also earned a bonus point by improving the most positions in the race. Thienes started 23rd in the event and finished 12th. Raphael Matos “We tried to change our approach a little bit from last year which was going for the win and focus more on getting points this season. Fortunately we were able to get good re-starts and I passed James, Jonathan and Robert and it worked out great for us. On the last re-start when I passed Wickens, I pushed as hard as I could but then the yellow came out and I was a little too conservative. He caught up to me but I was able to retain my position. I knew the race would have a lot of re-starts, a lot of yellow flags, but I did not expect that many. I tried to do my best on the re-starts but you never know what’s going to happen. You have to give credit to the guys, we never touched wheels or did anything stupid. I am just trying to score points and look at the big picture, which is the championship.” Robert Wickens “There’s only so many tricks you can pull on a re-start. Luckily I got one re-start where I didn’t get passed but then three corners later the yellow came out. The whole race was kind of a tease. I led in my first race then the yellow would come out and we would have to re-start again. It was hard. I also lost my left mirror on the car so heading into corner one I couldn’t see who was there and that’s when Raphael (Matos) passed me and hats off to him. He ran a strong race and was really fast. Once he had got by me I was hoping it would stay green. I put my head down but there was a local yellow flag so I slowed down and so did Raphael who was a little more cautious than I was so I gained on him a little bit but I just ran out of time. The Red Bull Forsythe team did an incredible job.” 1. (4) Raphael Matos, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift/Cooper, 22.
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