Several Components of 2009 Atlantic Championship Finalized in Atlanta Owners Meeting 03.02.2009: During a productive and well-attended owners meeting at Media Brokers International headquarters in Atlanta, several key components of the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda were discussed and finalized.

During a productive and well-attended owners meeting at Media Brokers International headquarters in Atlanta, several key components of the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda were discussed and finalized.

The meeting was attended in person by Thomas Knapp of Genoa Racing; Eddie Wachs, Brian Halahan and Roger Soeldner of Newman Wachs Racing; US RaceTronics owner Shane Seneviratne, Jensen MotorSport owner Eric Jensen, Condor Motorsports owner Carlos Bobeda, Walker Racing owner Derrick Walker, Alain Clarinval of Mathiasen Motorsports and Paladin Motorsports owner Reza Honarvar. Also in attendance were John Doonan from Mazda; David Bowes, Élan Technologies CEO representing Élan and IMSA, and Atlantic Championship President Ben Johnston, Executive Vice President Vicki O’Connor and Vice President of Operations John Brunner.

Joining the meeting via teleconference were Brooks Associates Racing owner John Brooks, Mathiasen Motorsports owners Ray and Leslie Mathiasen, Gelles Racing owner Bob Gelles, Michael Maroney on behalf of both Mathiasen Motorsports and Genoa Racing, and Chris Pantani of Cooper Tire.

“I’ve been to many team owner’s meetings, and by far, this was the most productive and constructive meeting that I’ve participated in,” said Seneviratne. “It was a very important meeting with the racing situation being what it is, that we all pull our strengths together and make one of the world’s premier series stronger and come up with a solid plan for 2009 and beyond. I think we definitely accomplished that at this meeting, and I’m looking forward to a lot of good things coming down the road.”

“It went very well,” Knapp added. “It was a super productive meeting. Ben was very receptive to our ideas. Everybody genuinely appreciated finally being able to sit in the same room and talk. These are people that are genuinely passionate about Atlantic racing and don’t want to see it fail.”

Details on the items that were finalized follow below:

2009 ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE FINALIZED

While the 2009 Atlantic Championship schedule was announced last fall, both the Hutchinson Island road circuit in Savannah, Ga. and Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill. were subject to circuit homologation. While the Atlantic Championship has approved Autobahn Country Club for use, the homologation process revealed that the safety systems currently in place in Savannah are not adequate for Atlantic competition. As a result, the race in Savannah has been postponed until 2010.

With the postponement of Savannah, it was decided during the meeting that doubleheader races would be contested at New Jersey Motorsports Park and Autobahn Country Club in order to arrive at the desired 12 races for 2009. The full 2009 Atlantic schedule is as follows:

March 20        Sebring International Raceway – Sebring, Fla.
May 17            Miller Motorsports Park – Tooele, Utah
June 13            New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, N.J.
June 14            New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, N.J.
July 18            Lime Rock Park – Lakeville, Conn.
July 25            Autobahn Country Club – Joliet, Ill.
July 26            Autobahn Country Club – Joliet, Ill.
August 8        Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, Ohio
August 16        Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres – Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada
August 30        Mosport International Raceway – Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
September 25        Road Atlanta – Braselton, Ga.
October 11        Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, Calif.

Seven of the 10 weekends will be run alongside the American Le Mans Series, including Sebring, Miller Motorsports Park, Lime Rock Park, Mid-Ohio, Mosport, Road Atlanta and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Atlantic Championship will be the “headline” attraction at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Autobahn Country Club and Trois-Rivieres.

“Our finalized 2009 Atlantic Championship schedule is among the finest in North America,” said Atlantic Championship Executive Vice President Vicki O’Connor. “The venues we will visit are many of the most challenging and beautiful road racing circuits on the continent. We will visit markets that are important to our partners, teams and drivers on weekends that have been deemed ‘must attend’ events for road racing fans everywhere.”



- Nate Siebens -