For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Cell: 317-201-0729
Andersen Racing's Krohn and Baker
Take the Top Honors Again
In Sunday's F2000 Race at VIR
ALTON, Va., April 20 - Two Andersen Racing Van Diemens took the top honors
again on Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway, as rookies Anders Krohn of
Sandnes, Norway and Jonny Baker of Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England
duplicated their results on Saturday to finish first and second, respectively, in
the second F2000 Championship Series race of the year.
This time Krohn started on the pole with his No. 9 Van Diemen sponsored by
Trallfa Industries, Colosseum Dental and Kruse Smith. Baker started alongside
him in the Allied Interior Products No. 6 Van Diemen from the same Palmetto,
Fla.-based stable.
Krohn led every lap of the 14-lap race and had a whopping 2.150-seconds
advantage at the checkered. Although the gap between first and second was healthy
throughout the race when the top pair crossed the start-finish line, Krohn
said he had to work very hard to keep Baker behind him in other spots on the
3.270-mile road course. The 20-year-old has now been in two races in America and
won both of them.
Both Krohn and Baker also set new track records here at VIR for the series
this weekend. Krohn set a new mark for the fastest race lap on Sunday, while
Baker's pole-winning time on Saturday was also a new track record according to
the figures that were available.
Ricardo Vassmer of Caracas, Venezuela and Coral Springs, Fla., who drives the
Andersen Racing No. 2 Van Diemen, finished eighth on Sunday after a torrid
battle with Tim Minor, Jordan Taylor and Mirl Swan. He was seventh until
Matthew Inge passed him on lap 13 of the 14-lap race. Vassmer's car is sponsored by
PDVSA, Citgo, Zoom, Pilodist and Meridian.
Scott Willard of Weston, Conn., only completed one lap of Sunday's race in
the team's BroadReach Partners No. 14. Although that result was not what he
wanted, he said he still had fun.
Doug Prendeville of Whippany, N.J. was not able to start Sunday's race
because his Allied Interior Products/Restart Communications No. 5 received too much
damage in a crash in Turn 10 on the first lap of qualifying Sunday afternoon.
Luckily Prendeville was not hurt.
Krohn won the pole on Sunday with a lap of 1:56.171 and Baker was second with
a 1:56.691. Vassmer qualified seventh on Sunday with a 1:57.711 and Willard
was 24th with a 2:00.653.
Baker actually set a new track record on Saturday when he won the pole for
the first race with a 1:55.064. He held the fastest F2000 race lap for 24 hours
too with a 1:56.636 (100.929 mph) until Krohn broke it on Sunday with a
1:55.962 (101.516 mph).
Andersen Racing is Van Diemen's factory team in this series, which uses
Hoosier tires. The team is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. It is the
development team of Rahal Letterman Racing.
The team's Web sites are at andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.
More information on the series is available at eformulacarnews.com and
f2000championshipseries.com.
The next two F2000 races will be held at Road Atlanta on Friday, May 9 and
Saturday, May 10.
Some post-race quotes follow:
Anders Krohn: "I've never pushed so hard in a race before. I gave it
everything I possibly had.
"They told me over the radio how big of a lead I had, but at one point my
lead was decreasing. Jonny was closest in Turn 1 through Turn 4. The gap from
Oak Tree to the straightaway I think my car was stronger. But I was 100
percent the whole way.
"I got held up a little by lapped traffic, but mostly they were to my
advantage. This whole weekend worked out to be a storybook weekend for me.
"Today I was very satisfied with my car, especially in the race. I just
played with the front roll bar a bit. I just want to thank Andersen Racing; they
gave me a perfect car."
Jonny Baker: "I've got to be pleased with two seconds. It's nice to be
really fast. Unfortunately for me I have a fast teammate as well.
"In the middle stint I was flying. I was stiffening it as much as I can, but
on the last three or four laps I ran out of bar. But I really enjoyed that
middle stint.
"I think I was a little stronger going into Oak Tree. Anders was stronger
coming out of Oak Tree and in the last two corners. I was really good in the
middle sector though."
Doug Prendeville (about his crash in qualifying): "I got two wheels off in
Turn 10. I didn't hit a wall or anything. The floor got ripped off and there
was grass and mud everywhere. I don't know if I ran over a ditch or what; I
didn't even spin until the very end. At first I thought it might be pretty bad,
but I must have tucked my legs up or something because I didn't get hurt.
"Then when they were bringing me in, the tow truck driver ran into the front
of a parked Mini Cooper. At that point I just walked back to our garage.
"I feel bad for the guys, because they worked hard to get the engine changed
last night."
Dan Andersen (team co-owner): "I'm extremely proud of the results that these
two exceptional young drivers were able to give us this weekend: two wins, two
seconds, two poles, two fastest race laps and two new track records make a
team owner very happy. I'm very proud of the job our entire crew did and how
hard everyone worked.
"We're also very happy with our brand-new DP08 Van Diemen race cars. We just
got them in February, and we're very pleased with them.
"We're pleased with the new tire that Hoosier has provided as well."
Sunday's stats are as follows:
Qualifications for Race 2 (12:15 p.m. to 12:40 p.m.):
1. Anders Krohn, 1:56.171
2. Jonny Baker, 1:56.691
7. Ricardo Vassmer, 1:57.711
24. Scott Willard, 2:00.653
Doug Prendeville, no time.
Race 2 Results (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.; 14 laps or 30 minutes):
1. Anders Krohn
2. Jonny Baker
8. Ricardo Vassmer
DNF Scott Willard
DNS Doug Prendeville
About Allied Building Products Corp.:
Allied Building Products Corp., headquartered in East Rutherford, N.J., is
one of the largest roofing and siding distributors in the United States. Founded
in 1950 with five employees and two trucks, today it is a $1.8 billion
building material distribution company with over 3,500 employees, more than 200
branches in 30 states, well over one million square feet of office and warehouse
space, and an inventory of approximately 85,000 products, from residential
roofing and siding to doors, windows, waterproofing, manufactured stone, interior
products and commercial roofing systems. For more information see
alliedbuilding.com.
About Andersen Racing:
Andersen Racing strives to provide the best and most comprehensive training
possible for future open-wheel superstars while giving its marketing partners
media exposure and hospitality opportunities at some of the most prestigious
events in North America. It provides a unique, three-step program utilizing
multiple entries in three different series: the F2000 Championship (webcast), Star
Mazda (televised on SPEED) and Firestone Indy Lights (televised on ESPN2).
In 2008 it will field multiple entries in 42 races in 19 states and provinces
at some of the best facilities on the continent, including the famed
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Andersen Racing's principals, brother Dan and John Andersen, have extensive
experience in series administration as well as team management. They've worked
with many of today's top open-wheel stars, including several Indy 500 winners.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. It is the
official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing, which competes in the IndyCar
Series and the American Le Mans Series. In addition, its F2000 team is also
the official factory team of Van Diemen. The team is headquartered at Andersen
RacePark, an 18-acre facility in Palmetto, Fla. that includes a 1-mile test
track. For more information see andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.