|
MONTERREY, Mexico (March 8, 2002) – Dorricott Racing continued
it’s success in preparations for Saturday’s Round 1 CART
Toyota Atlantic Championship race at Fundidora Park in
Monterrey, Mexico. Luis Diaz, (Dorricott Racing/Telmex Swift
014.a) driving in front of the home country fans and teammate,
Alex Gurney (Dorricott Racing/Behr Castrol Swift 014.a) led
Dorricott’s charge in the teams first ever Atlantic race
weekend.
The large Friday crowd, already charged with Adrian
Fernandez’s provisional pole in the CART FedEx Championship
Series, got a double dose of National pride when Diaz put his
car up top with a time of 1:28.568 seconds (85.521). Since
this was the first ever Atlantic qualifying event at the
2.1-mile Fundidora Park circuit, the time also established a
new track record. In addition to the provisional pole, Diaz
earned one Championship point along with guaranteeing himself
a front row starting spot in Saturday afternoon’s 32-lap race.
Gurney’s lap of 1:28.771 seconds (85.325 mph) put him second
overall heading into tomorrow morning’s second round
qualifying session. Gurney will try to knock Diaz off of the
pole tomorrow and win his second career Atlantic pole after
winning his first at the 2000 Cleveland event.
“I’m dedicating this first pole position to Bob Dorricott,”
said a happy Diaz. “He’s not here this weekend but without him
I wouldn’t be here either. Dorricott Racing is the edge I’ve
been seeking in my career. Dorricott Racing has allowed me to
race a competitive car and become teammates with other great
drivers like Alex Gurney. It is my first pole since running in
the Indy Lights Pan-American series at Mexico City three years
ago. I also won that race.” Diaz continued about what he
expected for the remainder of the weekend. “I expect
conditions tomorrow will make the track faster for qualifying
but slower for the race. We have a few more changes to make
but they will hopefully make the car a little faster."
“We’re still looking for the best combination of set-up and
strategy,” said second place Gurney. “I think it will be more
slippery tomorrow morning with more rubber on the track, but
the cooler temperatures will likely lead to quicker times. I
won’t guess how much quicker. I like this circuit. It’s a
driver’s track, a ‘Luis’ (Diaz) track. There’re a lot of
different types of corners that make it interesting. It’s the
type of track that tempts you to try hard, then push harder,
and it takes a lot of skill. My father has many fond memories
of Mexico and the fans. The fans are great. They are
passionate about racing. It’s good to be here. I can really
feel the fan’s passion."
Derek Higgins, (P-1 Racing/Value Swift 008.a) who won the CART
Dayton Indy Lights race here last season, turned in the third
fastest lap of the session with a time of 1:28.808 seconds
(85.290 mph). Higgins, who was a last minute entry this
weekend, was behind the wheel of the Swift 008.a that Tony Ave
drove last year.
“We’re using the old car,” said Higgins. “P-1 Racing is a very
good team. They wanted to rekindle the old memories of last
year’s race champion in Indy Lights. Maybe the old man and the
old car will do even better tomorrow.”
Six of the top ten drivers in this afternoon’s session were
rookies. After Diaz and Higgins, the next best rookie was Ryan
Hunter-Reay (Hylton Motorsports/U.S. Print Swift Medlock Ames
Winery Swift 014.a) who turned in the fifth fastest lap of the
session with a time of 1:28.822 seconds (85.276 mph). Michael
Valiante, (Lynx Racing Swift 014.a) who has only five Atlantic
starts under his belt, qualified fourth with a time of
1:28.809 seconds (85.289 mph). The time missed Higgins third
place spot by 1/1000’s of a second.
Like the morning practice session, this afternoon’s track time
was run under all green flag conditions making a total of 70
minutes of caution free time on Friday. Although there was no
red flag, Grant Ryley (Lynx Racing/Northwest Speedwerx
Cupertino Electric Swift 014.a) slid off course in turn 3 and
the car got temporarily airborne as the right side wheels dug
into the grass. Ryley was able to continue on to the pits, but
retired from the session from the suspension damaged suffered
in the incident. Ryley finished 16th in the session, but will
try and rebound tomorrow. The third Dorricott entry, Jon
Fogarty, (Dorricott Racing/Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards
Swift 014.a) suffered a mechanical problem during the session
and was only able to managed a seventh place spot on the
provisional grid.
Feedback can be sent to
feedback@autoracing1.com
Go to our
forums
to discuss this article
|
Martin Basso
News and Commentary
