Toyota Atlantic
adopts new points system
March 10, 2004
In keeping with the recently-announced Champ Car
World Series points system, officials from the Toyota Atlantic Championship
Presented by Yokohama today announced that the series has adopted a similar
system for the 2004 season.
Under the new system, a race winner will earn 31 points, followed by 27 points
for second place. Positions three through 10 will be separated by two points per
position, with third place being worth 25 points, fourth paying 23 points, fifth
getting 21, and so on down to 11 points for a 10th place finish. Positions 11
through 20 will be separated by one point per position, with 10 points going to
the 11th place finisher, nine points for 12th, down to one point for the 20th
place finisher.
Bonus points will also be awarded in the same fashion as the Champ Car World
Series, with one point awarded to the fastest qualifier in each road or street
course qualifying session and one point going to the fastest qualifier at The
Milwaukee Mile oval event.
Each driver who leads a lap will also earn a bonus point, and the driver who has
the greatest improvement from their grid position to finishing position will
also earn one point. A bonus point will also be awarded to the driver who posts
the fastest lap in the race. The driver who leads the most laps in a race no
longer receives a bonus point.
The recently-reinstated C2 category will use the same point system, with the
exception of the bonus points for the greatest improvement from grid position to
finishing position and fastest race lap. C2 drivers will not earn points toward
the overall Toyota Atlantic title, but will compete for a separate C2
championship.
"As the Toyota Atlantic Championship is designed to prepare drivers and teams
for Champ Car competition, it just makes sense to adopt the same points
structure," said Vicki O'Connor, Toyota Atlantic managing director. "I believe
this new system will bring additional excitement to our races by encouraging
drivers to fight for every position on every lap. The fastest lap bonus point
should also ensure that our drivers will run at a qualifying pace throughout
each race. I'm excited to see how this new system impacts the 2004
championship."
Toyota Atlantic is North America's premier open-wheel development series. The
series is noted for its long history of graduating its stars into Champ Car
competition. Among the drivers who have stepped up to Champ Car competition from
Atlantic are 2003 Toyota Atlantic champion A.J. Allmendinger, as well as 2003
Champ Car competitors Jimmy Vasser, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Tagliani, Roberto
Moreno, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rodolfo Lavin. Past Champ Car champions Bobby
Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti, Jacques Villeneuve, and
Paul Tracy also have past Atlantic experience. New Toyota Atlantic Points System
1st - 31 points 8th - 15 points
15th - 6 points
2nd - 27 points 9th - 13 points
16th - 5 points
3rd - 25 points 10th - 11 points
17th - 4 points
4th - 23 points 11th - 10 points
18th - 3 points
5th - 21 points 12th - 9 points
19th - 2 points
6th - 19 points 13th - 8 points
20th - 1 point
7th - 17 points 14th - 7 points
Fastest Qualifier (Road/Street Courses) - 1 point (each session)
Fastest Qualifier (Oval) - 1 point
Lap Leader - 1 point (per driver) Most Positions Gained -
1 point* Fastest Race Lap - 1 point*
* - Bonus points not awarded to C2 category.
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