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SEASON 2008NEWS FROM THE CHAMPCAR ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP
The Champcar Atlantic Championship Series visits Toronto in July along with the Champcar World Series for the Grand Prix of Toronto.
This multinational series in 2007 had drivers form 12 nations, including 5 from Canada.
The cars are made-in-the-USA Atlantic Swift 016 with a chassis powered by a 2.3-liter Mazda-Cosworth engine capable of producing 300-horsepower. Cooper Tire is the exclusive tire supplier to the Champcar Atlantic Championship Series.
Many drivers from this series have moved up into the top championships. They include Jacques Villeneuve, Keke Rosberg, Sam Hornish Jr., Buddy Rice,
Greg Ray, Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon.
The Champcar Atlantic Championship Series always delivers good racing.
THE 2008 COOPER TIRES PRESENTS THE ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP
POWERED BY MAZDA SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
______________________________________
DATE VENUE WITH
April 20 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Champ Car
May 18 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Grand-Am Rolex
June 29 Circuit Mont-Tremblant Sommet des Legends
July 25 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada IRL IndyCar Series
July 26 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada IRL IndyCar Series
August 9 Road America ALMS
August 10 Road America ALMS
August 17 Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada Featured Event
September 14 New Jersey Motorsports Park MAZDASPEED
Development Ladder
September 21 Miller Motorsport Park Grand-Am Rolex
October 3 Road Atlanta ALMS
THE 2008 COOPER TIRES PRESENTS THE ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP POWERED BY MAZDA
FINAL END OF SEASON POINT STANDINGS (after ROAD ATLANTA October 3, 2008)
______________________________________
POS DRIVER COUNTRY POINTS
1 Markus Niemela (R) Finland 245
2 Jonathan Bomarito USA 228
3 Jonathan Summerton (R) USA 224
4 James Hinchcliffe Canada 196
5 Junior Strous Netherlands 196
6 Carl Skerlong USA 189
7 Dane Cameron (R) USA 169
8 Simona De Silvestro Switzerland 167
9 Kevin Lacroix Canada 161
10 Greg Mansell (R) Great Britain 105
11 Frankie Muniz USA 102
12 Daniel Morad (R) Canada 95
13 David Garza Mexico 94
14 Dominick Muermans (R) Netherlands 80
15 Tom Sutherland USA 78
16 David Martinez Mexico 74
17 Henri Karjalainen (R) Finland 70
18 Douglas Soares (R) Brazil 70
19 Leo Mansell (R) Great Britain 68
20 Luis Schiavo (R) Venezuela 60
21 Tonis Kasemets Estonia 51
22 Andreas Wirth Germany 45
23 Alan Sciuto USA 27
24 Christopher Zoechling (R) Austria 18
25 Eric Jensen Canada 9
26 J.R. Hildebrand USA 7
27 Rich Zober (R) USA 4
28 Brian Thienes USA 1
29 Mike Forest Canada 0
30 Greg Minium (R) USA 0
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINTS
1 Markus Niemela Finland 245
2 Jonathan Summerton USA 224
3 Dane Cameron USA 169
4 Greg Mansell Great Britain 105
5 Daniel Morad Canada 95
6 Dominick Muermans Netherlands 80
7 Henri Karjalainen Finland 70
8 Douglas Soares Brazil 70
9 Leo Mansell Great Britain 68
10 Luis Schiavo Venezuela 60
11 Christopher Zoechling Austria 18
12 Rich Zober USA 4
13 Greg Minium USA 0
THE SEASON-ENDING AWARDS BANQUET WAS HELD AFTER THE FINAL RACE AT THE CHATEAU ELAN IN BRASELTON, GA
After wrapping up the title earlier in the day with his second victory of the season, Finnish rookie Markus Niemela and his Brooks Associates Racing teammates were the evening's biggest winners. Niemela claimed the $250,000 champion's prize and an additional $2,500 award from Coast Fabrication, as well as a special painting commissioned by Mazda from renowned motorsports artist Jim Swintal. Niemela earned a total of $364,000 in prize money during the 2008 season.
 Left to right: Chris Pantani of Cooper Tire,
2008 champion Markus Niemela,
Anne Roy of the Atlantic Championship
and Jim Jordan of Mazda.
Image © Champcar Atlantic
Earlier in the evening, Niemela claimed series Rookie of the Year honors and a $1,000 prize, while the Brooks Associates Racing team was presented with its choice of a full year of brake pads or four car sets of discs/peg drive assemblies for fielding the Rookie of the Year courtesy of Performance Friction Corporation. Nick Harvey, who claimed the 2008 Engineer of the Year Award, and championship-winning Chief Mechanic Duarte Fidalgo, who earned the Top Wrench Award, also represented the Brooks team on stage.
After finishing second in the championship standings, American driver Jonathan Bomarito was honored with a $150,000 prize and trophy, with his 2008 winnings totaling $261,500. Bomarito's Mathiasen Motorsports owners Ray and Leslie Mathiasen were also honored with the prestigious Team Owner of the Year Award.
Rookie Jonathan Summerton finished third in the championship and was presented with a $100,000 prize as part of $204,000 in total earnings from the season. Summerton also won the Michael Rosen Award, which was instituted by long-time Atlantic fan and patron, Arlene Rosen in honor of her late son, Michael, a former Atlantic competitor. The award recognized Summerton as a driver with both dedication and perseverance, as well as the desire to succeed against all odds. Summerton's Newman Wachs Racing teammate, Brian Halahan, was also honored as the Lincoln Welders Mechanic of the Year, earning a Lincoln Welders Precision TIG 225 Welding Package.
The drivers who finished in positions four through 10 were also honored, and all drivers in attendance were presented with specially designed class rings courtesy of Cooper Tires and Mazda. Taking home fourth place was James Hinchcliffe of Forsythe/Pettit Racing, with fifth place going to Junior Strous of Condor Motorsports/Team Holland. Strous also earned the Gilles Villeneuve Award, which was instituted in 1989 by Atlantic champion Steve Shelton to recognize the driver who possesses extraordinary ability and special star quality, and who has distinguished himself through sportsmanship, dedication and perseverance in the face of disappointment.
Taking sixth in the championship was Pacific Coast Motorsports driver Carl Skerlong, who also earned the BBS Rising Star Award, honoring the driver who has performance in a most competitive fashion and is a star of the future. The award included a $4,500 check and a specially designed coffee table incorporating a BBS wheel and Cooper Tire etched with Skerlong's name and award.
Rookie Dane Cameron took seventh in the championship with Genoa Racing, followed by Newman Wachs Racing driver Simona De Silvestro in eighth and Kevin Lacroix of Walker Racing in ninth. Lacroix's Walker Racing teammate, rookie Greg Mansell completed the top 10.
Second-year Atlantic competitor Frankie Muniz was also honored at the banquet with the coveted Jovy Marcelo Sportsmanship Award. The award was named after the 1991 Atlantic champion who was a true sportsman, family man and great racer and friend to his fellow drivers.
The 2008 Atlantic Championship Awards Banquet featured a brand new award with the presentation of the first-ever Team Manager of the Year Award. John Brunner of Forsythe/Pettit Racing earned the inaugural prize for his many years of working with not only his own team to ensure its success, but with all of the teams to ensure the series' overall success.
See you all in 2009.
ROAD ATLANTA
Braselton, Georgia, Oct. 3, 2008
Here are some quotes from the top 3 finishers of the race:
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 3 Forsythe/Pettit Racing): "The race was very interesting and very exciting from our point of view. I started a little bit further back than I should have. I made a mistake in qualifying yesterday, and we knew we had a car that could potentially be in contention for a podium. Road Atlanta is just a great race track and it really provides great racing, as you saw today. We had a really quick car at the beginning and managed to pick up a couple spots. Then, when the field got brought together with that caution for J.R. (Hildebrand), we knew it was going to be an interesting restart. It was a bit messy, like a traffic jam at 140 miles an hour, and we managed to just avoid all the incidents and come away with a podium. With the struggling that we've been doing the last four race weekends, it's really great for the whole Forsythe/Pettit team to end it on a podium. Taking fourth place in the championship, it's great to move back up there, but obviously that's not what we wanted when we started the season. You can talk a lot about the what ifs of a championship. What if we hadn't quite lost the car there? What if I hadn't had a couple of incidents in Three Rivers and New Jersey? But the flip side is, what if I didn't have a team when I started the season that was capable of running me up front? What if I didn't have the support of great family and friends in my 13-some-odd-year career in racing? It's bittersweet, but at the end of the day, we're still pretty lucky. Thanks to the whole crew for a great job all year long."
KEVIN LACROIX (No. 25 Walker Racing): "The weekend started pretty rough. We had two pretty big accidents and I felt sorry for my team because they worked overtime for two days. I wanted to end the weekend very good, and I think that's what I did today. We had a very good car. We got lucky on the restart, when everybody crashed in front of me. We got lucky to get second place, but the car was good. Thank you to my team, Walker Racing, they did a great job all weekend long. We had some bad luck all year long, but we had good luck today, so I'm very happy."
MARKUS NIEMELA (No. 8 Brooks Associates Racing): "I've been racing for 19 years, and I'm 24-years-old now, and I've been kind of looking for one race where I don't have to explain anything. I can just go after the race and say, 'I won the race and I won the championship.' I don't have to make any excuses or explain anything I did. This is just sweet and simple, really. I think the car was good, I was good, and everything just fell in the right place. I knew during the race what I had to do. I saw (Jonathan) Summerton behind me all the time and I knew we were going to have to have somebody in between us for me to be him in the championship points. My team was telling me all the time that J.R. Hildebrand was coming and that he was fast, and he might be the guy to go between us. Dane Cameron was a little bit further up in the front at that point. The, the safety car came, which was lucky for me. At that point, I asked on the radio, 'Where is Bomarito?' The team told me that he's not there anymore, he's out. They said, 'You have to pass Cameron, because Hildebrand is out.' He was the fastest car to challenge, so I just went for it in the first corner after the restart. It was a really good restart. I was past Dane already before the corner, actually, and I don't know what happened. I think I won. It's all right."
_________________________________
RACE RESULTS
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 3 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 35
2 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 35
3 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe/Pettit Racing 35
4 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 35
5 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 35
6 7 David Garza Forsythe/Pettit Racing 35
7 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 35
8 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 35
9 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 35
10 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 35
11 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 35
12 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 35
13 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 33
14 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 32
15 17 J.R. Hildebrand TKM 29
16 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 26
17 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 12
MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Tooele, Utah, Sept. 21, 2008
NIEMELA GETS FIRST ATLANTIC WIN AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Finnish driver Markus Niemela became the seventh different winner in the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda and remained one of three drivers still in mathematical contention for the championship in the SunRichGourmet.com 1000 at Miller Motorsports Park.
Niemela started from the pole position for the first time in his Atlantic career in the No. 8 Mr. Jones Bar & Kitchen/Rauma Town/Turku Karting machine for Brooks Associates Racing and led every lap to win by 0.446 seconds over American rookie Jonathan Summerton. It was Niemela's fourth top-two result of the season and his ninth result of seventh or better in 10 races this season. It was also the third Atlantic victory for the Brooks Associates Racing team and the team's first win since Kevin Lacroix won for the team at Portland last year.
"It's my first win this year," Niemela said. "I'm so happy. I know everybody says this every time, but the team did a fantastic job and, seriously, this victory goes as much to them as to me. Also, for my teammate Tom Sutherland, he really has brought so much into this team when he came a couple of races ago. It helps a lot with the setup. I was able to learn some corners from him during the week and he was able to learn from me, obviously, but it's really good to have him here. We're getting good results from this. I'm just so happy and it's a so important victory. It is extremely important for me and my career. During the race, actually, two times it came into my head that 'I just cannot lose this.' I don't know how would feel after finishing second and, fortunately, I don't have to have that feeling now. I just can't be happier."
Niemela's victory and Summerton's second-place finish coupled with a sixth-place performance by points leader Jonathan Bomarito pushes the championship battle to the season finale at Road Atlanta in two weeks. Just 10 points separate the top-three drivers, with Bomarito holding an eight-point advantage over Summerton, 224-216, and Niemela another two points back with 214. Bomarito, Summerton and Niemela are the only three drivers still in contention for the championship.
The runner-up result for Summerton was his fourth consecutive podium result in the No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing machine and his fifth podium in his past six starts. He actually led the field through Turn 1 on the opening lap, but race officials determined that he crept slightly forward before the lights went out for the standing start and he was ordered to surrender the position to Niemela, which he did before the completion of the first lap. He pressured Niemela on a few occasions throughout the 50-minute race, but was never able to take the lead. He leads Niemela by two points in the Rookie of the Year standings.
"I was happy to be second," Summerton said. "Being on the podium is always a good thing. The start was a little bit disappointing, but I'm real happy with a second place. We're coming out with the rookie lead and hopefully we can win the championship in Atlanta. I think we're eight points behind, so hopefully we can win that."
Dane Cameron made it a rookie podium sweep with a third-place performance in the No. 19 MAZDASPEED/Finlay Motorsports/Lynx Racing machine for Genoa Racing. It was Cameron's second podium result of the season and his sixth top-five result in 10 races.
"We've been coming on pretty strong the last half of the year so it's good to get our second podium," said Cameron. "We're still looking for the first win, but it means a lot to us to get on the podium. It gives us another head start on momentum. Road Atlanta is a track I have quite a bit of experience at, as I did here at Miller, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage. I'd really like to qualify on pole, win that race and end the year on a real high note. We'll see what we can do, but I'm really pleased with another podium this weekend."
Last week's winner Carl Skerlong finished fourth in the No. 14 King Taco machine for Pacific Coast Motorsports and also earned a bonus point for running the race's fastest lap at 2:29.564 (107.978 mph) on Lap 18 of the 20-lap race. It was his seventh top-five performance of the season, but he has been mathematically eliminated from the championship as he now trails Bomarito by 35 points with a maximum of 34 points available.
Simona De Silvestro came home fifth in the No. 34 Nuclear Clean Air Energy/NEI/Entergy machine for Newman Wachs Racing. It was her third top-five result of the season and her seventh top-10 performance in 10 races. The run also enabled her to move up one position in the championship standings to eighth.
_________________________________
RACE RESULTS
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 20
2 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 20
3 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 20
4 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 20
5 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 20
6 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 20
7 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 20
8 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 20
9 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 20
10 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe/Pettit Racing 20
11 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 20
12 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen MotorSport 20
13 7 David Martinez Forsythe/Pettit Racing 20
14 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 20
15 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 20
16 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 20
17 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 20
NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK
Thunderbolt Raceway, New Jersey, Sept. 14, 2008
RACE RESULTS
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 42
2 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 42
3 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 42
4 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 42
5 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 42
6 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 42
7 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 42
8 7 David Martinez Forsythe/Pettit Racing 42
9 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 42
10 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 42
11 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 42
12 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 41
13 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 41
14 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 41
15 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen MotorSport 41
16 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe/Pettit Racing 40
17 66 Rich Zober Polestar Motor Racing 40
18 22 Eric Jensen Jensen MotorSport 29
19 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 15
GRAND PRIX DE TROIS RIVIERES
Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, August 17, 2008
The Champ Car Atlantic's are the featured event at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.
RACE RESULTS
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 44
2 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 44
3 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 44
4 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 44
5 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 44
6 70 Daniel Morad Eurointernational 44
7 7 David Martinez Forsythe/Pettit Racing 44
8 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 44
9 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 44
10 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen MotorSport 44
11 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 44
12 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 44
13 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 44
14 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 44
15 22 Eric Jensen Jensen MotorSport 44
16 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 37
17 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 30
18 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 21
19 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 6
20 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe/Pettit Racing 6
ROAD AMERICA GRAND PRIX
ELKHART LAKE USA, August 9 & 10, 2008
The Champ Car Atlantic's are at Road America for another 2 race weekend. This time in support of the ALMS.
ROAD AMERICA RESULTS, RACE 1, August 9, 2008
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 18
2 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 18
3 17 Tonis Kasemets Genoa Racing 18
4 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 18
5 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe/Pettit Racing 18
6 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 18
7 7 David Martinez Forsythe/Pettit Racing 18
8 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 18
9 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 18
10 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 18
11 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 18
12 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 18
13 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 18
14 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 18
15 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 18
16 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 18
17 70 Daniel Morad Eurointernational 8
18 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen MotorSport 2
19 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 0
20 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 0
ROAD AMERICA RESULTS, RACE 2, August 10, 2008
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 20
2 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 20
3 17 Tonis Kasemets Genoa Racing 20
4 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 20
5 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 20
6 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 20
7 7 David Martinez Forsythe/Pettit Racing 20
8 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe/Pettit Racing 20
9 70 Daniel Morad Eurointernational 20
10 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 20
11 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 20
12 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 20
13 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 20
14 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen MotorSport 20
15 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 20
16 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 20
17 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 19
18 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 19
19 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 14
20 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 3
GRAND PRIX OF EDMONTON
THE REXALL EDMONTON INDY
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, JULY 25 & 26, 2008
The Champ Car Atlantic's are in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for two races at the City Centre Airport 1.973-mile temporary street course in support of the IndyCar Series.
_____________________________
BOMARITO WINS 1ST RACE OF EDMONTON DOUBLEHEADER
Jonathan Bomarito won race 1 on Friday night in the No.26 Del Taco/Stone Brewing/Rockview Builders/RLM Investments machine for Mathiasen Motorsports. A full course caution resulted in a one lap shootout. Bomarito held off Markus Niemela to take the victory by a margin of 0.691 seconds. James Hinchcliffe came in 3rd.
This is Bomarito's 1st win of the season, and his 3rd career Atlantic race victory. Bomarito is now 4th in standings in the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda.
"The race was very difficult, but smooth in the same sense," Bomarito said. "I had a decent start and from there, I was just kind of hanging onto the coattails of James, letting him tow me around the track a bit and let things pan out. I was able to develop a little bit of a gap to third.
James had a little bit of a problem down into Turn 1. He just got a little bit wide into (Turn) 1, out in the marbles. This track seems to just have rubbered-up big time. If you get off line, you're done. You lose a couple seconds just like that. I was able to get by and hold my position on the restart. That was a nail-biter right there at the end to see that full-course caution come out. I think I had a two-second lead with five minutes to go or something like that and it was gone just like that. Big thanks to the Mathiasen Motorsports team and (owners) Ray and Leslie (Mathiasen). I'm excited for everybody."
_____________________________
HINCHCLIFFE TAKES SERIES LEAD AFTER LAST RACE IN EDMONTON
Canada's James Hinchcliffe reclaimed the points lead of the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda courtesy of a second consecutive third place podium finish, and third top-three of the season, as Round 5 on Saturday concluded the double-header race meeting at the Rexall Edmonton Indy in Alberta.
"It feels good to have the points lead again but make no mistake it's incredibly tight at the top," said Hinchcliffe. "I made a good start and was in the hunt initially but once again I had my mirrors full of Jonathan Bomarito's car behind in fourth. We held on to take the podium and as a Canadian competing in Canada it was great to be back there for a second day in a row. I'm looking forward to our next double-header and hopefully maintaining the series lead now that I've got it back!"
SUMMERTON WINS RACE 2 OF THE DOUBLEHEADER
"It feels awesome to win a race the fifth race in," Summerton said. "I'm real happy. We had a couple of races before where we should have been up there, but it didn't come our way. Now, we've put it together. The team did a great job. (Team owner) Eddie Wachs supports me very well. I'd like to just thank the team for doing such a great job all weekend, consistently running the car and keeping the car out there, and putting the car together all the time."
ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX OF EDMONTON, RACE 1, July 25, 2008
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 38
2 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 38
3 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe Racing Inc. 38
4 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 38
5 7 David Garza Forsythe Racing Inc. 38
6 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 38
7 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 38
8 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 38
9 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 38
10 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 38
11 70 Daniel Morad Eurointernational 38
12 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 38
13 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 38
14 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen Motorsport, Inc. 38
15 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 38
16 45 Christopher Zoechling Paladin Motorsports LLC 37
17 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 37
18 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 37
19 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 35
20 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 31
ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX OF EDMONTON, RACE 2, July 26, 2008
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 36
2 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 36
3 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe Racing Inc. 36
4 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 36
5 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 36
6 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 36
7 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 36
8 70 Daniel Morad Eurointernational 36
9 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 36
10 7 David Garza Forsythe Racing Inc. 36
11 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen Motorsport, Inc. 36
12 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 36
13 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 36
14 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 36
15 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 35
16 45 Christopher Zoechling Paladin Motorsports LLC 34
17 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 26
18 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 17
19 88 Tom Sutherland Brooks Associates Racing 6
20 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 0
CIRCUIT MONT TREMBLANT, June 29, 2008
The Champ Car Atlantic's are going to Quebec, Canada to the famed 2.65-mile permanent road course of Circuit Mont Tremblant.
JUNIOR STROUS TAKES WIN AT MONT TREMBLANT
Driving the No. 6 Shell/HTP/Muermans Group/Red, White & Bluezz entry for Condor Motorsports/Team Holland, Strous led throughout the 30-lap event and his victory was secure when the day's third and final full-course caution period came out on the final lap of the race. In addition to scoring a bonus point for the pole position and 31 for the victory, Strous earned one more bonus point for turning the race's fastest lap. Photo-courtesy of champcaratlantic.com
ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP CIRCUIT MONT TREMBLANT, RACE 3, June 29, 2008
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 30
2 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 30
3 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 30
4 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 30
5 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe Racing Inc. 30
6 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 30
7 88 Andreas Wirth Brooks Associates Racing 30
8 7 David Garza Forsythe Racing Inc. 30
9 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 30
10 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 30
11 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 30
12 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 30
13 70 Daniel Morad Eurointernational 28
14 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 30
15 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 25
16 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 28
17 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen Motorsport, Inc. 19
18 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 0
19 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 0
MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA, May 18, 2008
DANIEL MORAD
Canadian Daniel Morad is back this weekend to try and better his 6th place finish at Long Beach. Daniel said "The big thing about Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway is that there is more runoff room. The walls are further away from the track, but Laguna Seca is still not an easy track to pass on. It's a very high speed circuit and the cars have a lot of down force which makes overtaking very difficult." He added, "Track position is important so we hope for a good qualifying run to get out front. Traffic will also come into play and the trick will be making clean passes." As always Rolf's Racing is rooting for him.
_____________________________
HINCHCLIFFE WINS AT MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA
James Hinchcliffe got his first win since 2006 in his No. 3 Indeck/TireRack.com machine.
"For me, it was great to come back to Forsythe/Pettit," Hinchcliffe said. "It was kind of like a home away from home. They're a big group of guys, but basically a big family. We knew that we were going to be competitive right out of the box. For some reason the last couple of preseason tests didn't go so well for us, and then Long Beach was flat out a disaster. We kind of banged our heads together and went back to the chalkboard. To bounce back from the weekend we had at Long Beach with kind of a perfect weekend is just awesome."
ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP LONG BEACH RACE RESULTS (Race 2, May 18, 2008)
POS CAR DRIVER TEAM LAPS
1 3 James Hinchcliffe Forsythe Racing Inc. 34
2 14 Carl Skerlong Pacific Coast Motorsports 34
3 6 Junior Strous Condor Motorsports 34
4 8 Markus Niemela Brooks Associates Racing 34
5 9 Dominick Muermans Condor Motorsports 34
6 36 Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 34
7 7 David Garza Forsythe Racing Inc. 34
8 88 Andreas Wirth Brooks Associates Racing 34
9 70 Daniel Morad Eurointernational 34
10 34 Simona De Silvestro Newman Wachs Racing 34
11 15 Leo Mansell Walker Racing 34
12 45 Christopher Zoechling Paladin Motorsports LLC 34
13 41 Frankie Muniz Pacific Coast Motorsports 34
14 11 Douglas Soares Condor Motorsports 34
15 25 Kevin Lacroix Walker Racing 33
16 2 Henri Karjalainen Jensen Motorsport, Inc. 33
17 19 Dane Cameron Genoa Racing 32
18 46 Luis Schiavo Eurointernational 10
19 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 9
20 5 Greg Mansell Walker Racing 3
TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH, Apr 20 2008
DE SILVESTRO BECOMES SECOND WOMAN TO WIN IN ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP
Less than 24 hours after Atlantic Championship graduate Danica Patrick earned her first career Indy Racing League IndyCar Series victory in Japan, second-year Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro became the second woman in the 34-year history of the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda to win a race with her victory in the Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach.Congratulations.
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ATLANTIC CCHAMPIONSHIP LONG BEACH RACE RESULTS (Race 1, Apr 20, 2008)
Pos Car Driver Home Team Laps Status
1 34 Simona De Silvestro Thun,Swit Newman Wachs Racing 38 Active
2 17 Alan Sciuto Orange,Calif Genoa Racing 38 Active
3 25 Kevin Lacroix St-Eustache,Que Walker Racing 38 Active
4 36 Jonathan Summerton Kissimmee,Fla Newman Wachs Racing 38 Active
5 26 Jonathan Bomarito Monterey,Calif Mathiasen Motorsports 38 Active
6 70 Daniel Morad Markham,Ont Eurointernational 38 Active
7 8 Markus Niemela Rauma,Finland Brooks Associates Racing 38 Active
8 6 Junior Strous Wassenaar,Neth Condor Motorsports 38 Active
9 88 Andreas Wirth Heidelberg,Ger Brooks Associates Racing 38 Active
10 3 James Hinchcliffe Oakville,Ont Forsythe Racing Inc 38 Active
11 19 Dane Cameron Sonoma,Calif Genoa Racing 38 Active
12 7 David Garza Monterrey,Mex Forsythe Racing Inc 38 Active
13 5 Greg Mansell Isle of Man,Eng Walker Racing 38 Active
14 2 Henri Karjalainen Finland Jensen Motorsport, Inc 38 Active
15 41 Frankie Muniz Los Angeles,Ca Pacific Coast Motorsports 38 Active
16 11 Douglas Soares Brazil Condor Motorsports 38 Active
17 9 Dominick Muermans Roermond, Neth Condor Motorsports 38 Active
18 46 Luis Schiavo Caracas,Venez Eurointernational 38 Active
19 15 Leo Mansell Isle of Man,Eng Walker Racing 38 Active
20 77 Brian Thienes Huntington Beach Condor Motorsports 38 Active
21 32 Mike Forest Edmonton, Can PR1 Motorsports 38 Active
22 45 Greg Minium Placentia,Calif Paladin Motorsports LLC 38 Active
23 14 Carl Skerlong Mukilteo,Was Pacific Coast Motorsports 37 Active
#3 Canadian James Hinchcliffe, will compete with team mate David Garza for Forsythe Championship Racing for the full 2008 season.
FINAL 2007 CHAMPCAR ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
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POS NAME NATION POINTS
1 Raphael Matos Brazil 341
2 Franck Perera (R) France 310
3 Robert Wickens (R) Canada 255
4 James Hinchcliffe Canada 224
5 Jonathan Bomarito USA 207
6 Giacomo Ricci (R) Italy 188
7 J.R. Hildebrand (R) USA 140
8 Alan Sciuto USA 140
9 John Edwards (R) USA 125
10 Carl Skerlong (R) USA 114
11 Justin Sofio USA 112
12 Ryan Lewis England 107
13 Kevin Lacroix (R) Canada 105
14 Junior Strous (R) Netherlands 92
15 Ronnie Bremer Denmark 92
16 Matt Lee (R) USA 79
17 David Garza (R) Mexico 78
18 Adrian Carrio (R) USA 77
19 Simona De Silvestro (R) Switzerland 69
20 Adrien Herberts (R) Canada 51
21 Tom Sutherland (R) USA 43
22 Frankie Muniz (R) USA 41
23 Mike Forest Canada 41
24 Brian Thienes (R) USA 38
25 Richard Heistand (R) USA 29
26 Luis Mussi (R) Brazil 6
27 Joe D'Agostino USA 6
28 Dominick Muermans (R) Netherlands 5
29 Tonis Kasemets Estonia 4
30 Dan Selznick USA 2
31 Bret MacDonald (R) USA 2
32 Tengyi Jiang (R) China 0
33 Steve Ott (R) USA 0
34 Natacha Gachnang (R) Switzerland 0
Watch this video promoting the Champcar Atlantic Series 2007.
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