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17.04.2008
Long Beach : Pre-Race notebook COOPER TIRES PRESENTS THE ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP POWERED BY MAZDA · 35 Years and Counting: The 35th Anniversary celebration for the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda kicks off with this weekend’s season-opening Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach. Over the years, the Atlantic series has seen more than its share of legendary drivers pass through the series on their way to greatness, from Formula 1 superstars such as Gilles Villeneuve, Keke Rosberg and Jacques Villeneuve to IndyCar racing heroes such as Bobby Rahal, Jimmy Vasser, Michael Andretti, Danny Sullivan, Sam Hornish Jr., Dan Wheldon and Buddy Rice. This year, Atlantic graduates will compete for race victories and championships in top-tier North American series such as the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Atlantic has earned the distinction of being North America’s longest-running driver development series, and also one of the best. · California Connections: The Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach will feature six drivers who hail from the Golden State, including three drivers who make their homes in the immediate vicinity of Long Beach. Frankie Muniz, driver of the No. 41 PCM/USRT machine for Pacific Coast Motorsports resides in Los Angeles. Alan Sciuto (No. 17 Dean Ultra Plug) of Genoa Racing is from Orange, while Brian Thienes (No. 77 Bare Elegance/Valley Ball Cabaret) hails from Huntington Beach and rookie Greg Minium (No. 45 Paladin Motorsports) is from Placentia. The two other Californians in the field are Monterey’s Jonathan Bomarito (No. 26 RLM Investments/Discount Tire Centers/Stone Brewing) and rookie Dane Cameron (No. 19 MAZDASPEED/Finlay Motorsports/Lynx Racing) from Sonoma. · International Flair: This weekend’s race will feature drivers representing 10 different countries. The United States is best represented with a total of eight drivers; followed by Canada with four; Finland, England and The Netherlands with two each; and one each from Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland, Venezuela and Germany. · Good Times at The Beach: This weekend’s field will include several drivers with fond memories of Atlantic racing at Long Beach. Chief among them is German racer Andreas Wirth (No. 88 Wirsol/Sueba USA) who started from the pole position and won the race in his last Long Beach Atlantic race in 2006. Wirth is the lone former Long Beach winner in this weekend’s Atlantic field. Bomarito finished second in Long Beach last year, while Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe (No. 3 Indeck/Tire Rack) also owns a Long Beach podium trophy with a third-place run in 1996. · Rookies Aplenty: This weekend’s field will include 11 rookies, including nine drivers who will be making their first career starts in the Atlantic Championship. Those drivers are Henri Karjalainen (No. 2 Jensen MotorSport), Greg Mansell (No. 5 Sunseeker), Markus Niemela (No. 8 Mr. Jones Bar & Kitchen), Douglas Soares (No. 11 Banco BMG), Leo Mansell (No. 15 Sunseeker), Cameron, Jonathan Summerton (No. 34 Nuclear Clean Air Energy), Minium and Daniel Morad (No. 70 Metro Directories of Georgia). · Past Winners: Chances are good that the driver who wins the Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach will be visiting Victory Circle for the first time in his or her Atlantic career. Only four drivers in the field have previously won Atlantic events: Hinchcliffe, Wirth, Bomarito and Canadian driver Kevin Lacroix (No. 25 Uni-Select/Deans Knight/Wasteco).
- Nate Siebens -
Author: maggy (admin2)
Last modified: Thursday, 17.04.2008 - 02:00 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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