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Zamboni25
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Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: skating on thin ice at Lake Placid
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 Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 11:09 am Post subject: CCAC - Portland ?! |
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| SPEEDtv wrote: |
Pagenaud Leads Portland Open Test
Pagenaud will be looking for his maiden Atlantic win in Portland this weekend. (LAT Photo)
Although more than half of the 26-car Champ Car Atlantic Championship field that tested Wednesday at Portland International Raceway had previous experience competing on the fast road circuit, a driver making his first-ever trip to Portland set the mark for the others to top.
Continuing to prove that he's a quick learner and, well, just quick - Simon Pagenaud of Team Australia led all testers at the PIR circuit by recording a fast lap of 1:05.154 (108.518 mph). As Pagenaud and the rest of the Atlantic drivers prepared for this weekend's Trinity Carpet 100k event by turning in a full day of testing Wednesday, it became clear that a certain Frenchman likes what he sees in his maiden visit to Portland.
Pagenaud was fourth-fastest in the morning test session at the 1.964-mile PIR course but, as he's done throughout the first three rounds of Atlantic competition this season, he adapted quickly to a course that's new to him establishing a blistering time in the afternoon. The 22-year-old racer's fast lap wound up being more than two-tenths-of-a-second quicker than the next-fastest time recorded on the day.
"This track looks a lot like some of the European tracks that I'm used to," said Pagenaud, a native of Montmorillon, France who was the series runner-up in the 2004 Formula Renault European Championship. "We weren't so good at the beginning of the day but we found quite a good balance in the car in the afternoon. When the car is good like that you feel like you can do whatever you want. This was good for everyone's confidence on the team heading into this weekend."
That confidence could mean trouble for the rest of the Atlantic competitors at Portland. Already leading the rookie standings while sitting second in the overall championship rundown heading into Portland and coming off back-to-back second-place finishes in his last two races, Pagenaud is shooting for his first Atlantic victory in Sunday's 40-lap race.
He'll certainly need to earn that win against some of the world's top young racing talents, however.
Brazilian Raphael Matos, for example, is hoping that he can walk away from Portland with his first series victory. Looking for a strong finish at PIR after tough results in Rounds 2 and 3, Matos owned the second-fastest laps in both the morning and afternoon sessions. The Sierra Sierra Enterprises pilot checked in with a top time on the day of 1:05.394 (108.120 mph).
"The day was very good for us," said Matos. "We experimented with a lot of different things. We worked on race set up, we managed the tires well and I think we definitely have a good setup for qualifying."
Forsythe Championship Racing's Leonardo Maia topped the testing sheets in the morning and he wound up with the third-fastest combined time of 1:05.435 (108.052 mph). "We still have a lot of work to do, though," cautioned Maia, currently ranked 10th in the series standings. "The FCR team is the best in the business and I know they're going to give me a good car this weekend and it's up to me to drive it and get the most out of it."
With a fast lap of 1:05.585 (107.805 mph) established in the morning session, 17-year-old rookie Graham Rahal clocked the fourth-fastest testing time. Coming off his first Atlantic win last round at Monterrey, Mexico, Rahal is hoping to improve on his third-place standing in the championship at PIR, where he captured the checkered flag in Star Mazda competition last season.
James Hinchcliffe of Forsythe Racing completed a power-packed top five from testing as he carded a quick lap of 1:05.713 (107.595 mph) in the afternoon session. His teammate and Atlantic Championship leader Andreas Wirth owned a top lap of 1:05.984 (107.153 mph) good enough for sixth in the day's overall rundown.
Round 4 of the Champ Car Atlantic Championship officially gets underway on Friday at Portland with practice and the opening round of qualifying for the Trinity Carpet 100k Atlantic race.
Portland Atlantic testing times - Wednesday:
Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia 1:05.154/108.518 mph
Raphael Matos, Sierra Sierra Enterprises 1:05.394/108.120 mph
Leonardo Maia, Forsythe Championship Racing 1:05.435/108.052 mph
Graham Rahal, Mi-Jack Conquest Racing 1:05.585/107.805 mph
James Hinchcliffe, Forsythe Championship Racing 1:05.713/107.595 mph
Andreas Wirth, Forsythe Championship Racing 1:05.984/107.153 mph
Carlos Mastretta, Brooks Associates Racing 1:06.148/106.888 mph
Ryan Lewis, Mi-Jack Conquest Racing 1:06.154/106.878 mph
Jonathan Bomarito, PR1 Motorsports 1:06.186/106.826 mph
Danilo Dirani, Condor Motorsports 1:06.350/106.562 mph
Robbie Pecorari, Gelles Racing 1:06.425/106.442 mph
Steve Ott, MSR Houston Team Jensen 1:06.551/106.240 mph
Alex Barron, Polestar Racing Group 1:06.581/106.192 mph
Barton Mawer, Transnet Racing 1:06.588/106.181 mph
Alex Sperafico, Brooks Associates Racing 1:06.605/106.154 mph
Richard Philippe, Forsythe Championship Racing 1:06.633/106.110 mph
James Davison, Team Australia 1:06.640/106.098 mph
Joe D'Agostino, Newman Wachs Racing 1:06.716/105.978 mph
Tim Bridgman, Epson Team Jensen 1:06.795/105.852 mph
Alan Sciuto, Polestar Racing Group 1:06.856/105.756 mph
Antoine Bessette, Gelles Racing 1:07.007/105.517 mph
Justin Sofio, Mathiasen Motorsports 1:07.254/105.130 mph
Daniel Gaunt, Newman Wachs Racing 1:07.387/104.922 mph
Alex Garcia, Transnet Racing 1:07.436/104.846 mph
Kyle Kelley, US RaceTronics 1:07.899/104.131 mph
Duncan Ende, Bite Racing 1:08.077/103.859 mph |
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Zamboni25
champcarguru
Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: skating on thin ice at Lake Placid
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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| SPEEDtv wrote: |
Rahal Earns Second Straight Pole at Portland
Rahal outpaced Pagenaud by 0.2s to score his second '06 pole. (LAT Photo)
Conquest Racing's Graham Rahal clinched his second consecutive Champ Car Atlantic championship pole position this Saturday at Portland International Raceway, where he won in the Star Mazda series last season. Last month in Monterrey, the 17-year old son of Bobby Rahal took his first series win after starting from P1 at Fundidora Park.
"Portland has always been good," Rahal admitted. "I don't what it is about Portland, but it treats me perfectly and I hope it continues tomorrow. I know that I started up front last year, next to Raphael Matos, and it's very important to get through those first turns. I have to finish to gain points. It would be nice to finish up front, but I definitely need to finish."
Fastest Friday qualifier Simon Pagenaud ended up second for Team Australia. His best lap of 1:04.848 fell just under two tenths of a second short of equaling Rahal's time.
"I didn't do what I wanted, but second is a good place," the Frenchman said. "Front row again, third in a row is pretty good. The car was hard to drive and I was on the edge the whole session. Graham and I both want to win the championship, so we'll see tomorrow."
Sierra Sierra's Raphael Matos completed the top-three and earned his his top starting position since he captured the pole at Houston in Round 2.
"I definitely felt the pressure this weekend; after two bad weekends, in Houston and in Monterrey, we had to get good results here," he revealed. "I think third is not a bad place to start here at Portland. I can't afford to have DNFs anymore, but I have to attack all the time or I won't have a chance to win the championship."
Trinity Carpet 100k - Qualifying 2 results:
1) Graham Rahal, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, *1:04.628, 109.401 mph.
2) Simon Pagenaud, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:04.848, 109.030 mph.
3) Raphael Matos, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:04.939, 108.878 mph.
4) Ryan Lewis, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.083, 108.637 mph. (14)
5) Leonardo Maia, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.356, 108.183 mph.
6) Alan Sciuto, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.367, 108.165 mph.
7) Jonathan Bomarito, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.404, 108.103 mph.
8 ) James Hinchcliffe, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.411, 108.092 mph.
9) Richard Phillipe, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.423, 108.072 mph.
10) Joe D'Agostino, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.488, 107.965 mph.
11) Robbie Pecorari, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.614, 107.757 mph.
12) Andreas Wirth, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.687, 107.638 mph.
13) Danilo Dirani, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.783, 107.481 mph.
14) Carlos Mastretta, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.791, 107.468 mph.
15) Barton Mawer, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.830, 107.404 mph.
16) Alex Barron, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.858, 107.358 mph.
17) Daniel Gaunt, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.866, 107.345 mph.
18 ) James Davison, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.927, 107.246 mph.
19) Steve Ott, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:05.971, 107.174 mph.
20) David Martinez, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:06.077, 107.002 mph.
21) Alex Sperafico, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:06.094, 106.975 mph.
22) Tim Bridgman, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:06.124, 106.926 mph.
23) Antoine Bessette, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:06.133, 106.912 mph.
24) Justin Sofio, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:06.279, 106.676 mph.
25) Alex Garcia, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:06.512, 106.303 mph
26) Kyle Kelley, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:07.127, 105.329 mph.
27) Duncan Ende, Mazda-Cosworth/Swift, 1:07.429, 104.857 mph. |
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Zamboni25
champcarguru
Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: skating on thin ice at Lake Placid
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| Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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| SPEEDtv wrote: |
Hinchcliffe Gets First Win in Portland
Hinchcliffe earned his maiden win with a last-lap pass on Ryan Lewis. (LAT Photo)
As the oil built up on the visor of rookie James Hinchcliffe, the Forsythe Championship Racing driver strained to focus on the injured car of the race leader in front of him. The 19-year-old Canadian was about to make a dramatic last-lap move around Ryan Lewis to key his first victory in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship.
But before making the pivotal pass, Hinchcliffe paused to wipe away both the oil that was obstructing his vision and the bad memories of the last time he competed at Portland International Raceway.
After starting eighth in Sunday's Round 4 of the Atlantic Championship, Hinchcliffe capitalized on the mechanical issues experienced by the drivers in front of him and was in the right spot to pounce when the opportunity to claim his first series win presented itself.
Steadily working his way to the front of the 27-car Atlantic field, Hinchcliffe got around the car of Lewis, which was suffering from gearbox problems, on the 40th and final lap to capture the checkered flag at the Trinity Carpet 100k at the Grand Prix of Portland (tape-delayed on SPEED at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 24).
While the driver known as "Hinch" may have enjoyed some good fortune en route to his maiden Atlantic win, it seemed to make up for his last experience at the 1.964-mile PIR road circuit. The personable Canadian dominated the 2005 Star Mazda series race at the venue before current Atlantic racer Graham Rahal passed him on a late restart to beat Hinchcliffe to checkered flag by .317 of a second.
"I think I got a little payback today for last year, and it feels pretty good," said Hinchcliffe.
Before he was able to claim his redemption, however, Hinchcliffe had to have the pieces fall just right in front of him. The eventful 13th Atlantic event run in Portland got off to a wild start as the top two starters made contact in the first turn, essentially taking each other out of contention. Rahal, the 17-year-old son of former Champ Car champion Bobby Rahal, claimed his second Atlantic pole on Saturday and was hoping to earn his second series win to present to his dad on Father's Day. It wasn't meant to be, however, as Rahal was hit from behind by second-place starter Simon Pagenaud heading into PIR's famed Festival Curves (Turns 1-3). Rahal's day ended prematurely as a result of the incident, while Pagenaud also retired early with mechanical issues.
Making his series debut this weekend as Rahal's Mi-Jack Conquest Racing teammate, Lewis enjoyed a dream debut at least until the final lap of the race. After starting fourth, Lewis seized the lead in the first turn after the incident involving Rahal and Pagenaud. Lewis paced the first 15 laps before Brazilian Raphael Matos got by him on a restart following an accident involving Australian rookie James Davison. Undaunted, Lewis reclaimed the top spot from Matos with an impressive pass on Lap 23.
It appeared that Lewis was headed for a storybook finish to his first race as he built a comfortable lead while Matos struggled with mechanical problems. Joe D'Agostino looked to pose the most serious threat to Lewis as he moved into second place on Lap 25 and then posted the fastest lap of the race three laps later. But the racing gremlins also found D'Agostino late as the rising American star was forced to pull off track with a problem just seven laps from the finish.
Lewis maintained a sizeable cushion at the front of the field but his luck started to turn as the checkered flag loomed. He began to lose gears on the penultimate lap and then began leaking fluid out of the back of his car as he struggled to hold on. Hinchcliffe closed fast on the British rookie and fought through the oil spray to claim the lead on the final lap.
As Hinchcliffe crossed the finish line 4.120 seconds ahead of Lewis, the MJCR pilot was able to battle his way to the finish line for a second-place result that completed a rollercoaster first weekend of racing in North America's top open-wheel development series.
Almost as impressive as Hinchcliffe's improbable victory was the third-place finish of his Forsythe Racing teammate Andreas Wirth. After starting a career-worst 12th, the 21-year-old German racer got stronger as the race wore on and claimed his 10th podium among 14 career Atlantic starts. He also built his championship lead back to 24 points after the tough results suffered by both Pagenaud and Rahal the drivers that entered the weekend second and third in the standings respectively.
Alan Sciuto, the 18-year-old Polestar Racing Group rookie, recorded his best finish of the season in fourth place while Brazil's Danilo Dirani scored his second top-five of the year in fifth position. Matos fought through his difficulties to seize sixth and David Martinez scored a point for improving the most positions in the race, moving from 20th on the starting grid to seventh overall.
With an eighth-place result, New Zealander Daniel Gaunt enjoyed his best series finish and Leonardo Maia made it four top-10s to start the season as he came home ninth. Tim Bridgman of the UK also ran a strong race, coming from a 22nd-place starting spot to claim 10th. |
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE => a new Canadian star in the works ???  
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