For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing's Krohn and Baker
Take Both Halves of F2000 Doubleheader
Saturday and Sunday at Mid-Ohio
LEXINGTON, Ohio, July 13 - Andersen Racing's Anders Krohn posted his fifth
victory of the season in Round 7 of the F2000 Championship presented by Hoosier
Racing Tire Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. On Sunday one of his
teammates, Jonny Baker, stepped into the limelight by winning Round 8, giving
him his first victory in America and his Palmetto, Fla.-based, factory Van
Diemen team another doubleheader sweep.
In addition to his victory on Saturday, Krohn earned two track records at
Mid-Ohio this weekend. He broke the old F2000 qualifying record in winning the
pole for Saturday's race, and then he broke the race lap record on Sunday while
coming from 29th position to fourth at the checkered. Baker won the pole for
Sunday's race, and both drivers led every lap enroute to their respective
victories.
Neither driver had ever even seen the track before this event.
Krohn, of Sandnes, Norway, got Saturday off to a great start by setting a new
track record of 1:24.909 while winning his fourth pole of the year.
His victory on Saturday with the Andersen Racing No. 9 Van Diemen sponsored
by Trallfa Industries, Colosseum Dental and Kruse Smith was not a pretty
affair, as many cautions marred that race. Still, Krohn held off all comers and he
had a 2.584-second lead over Chris Miller at the line. Remy Audette finished
third.
Baker persevered for sixth on Saturday with his car, which carries the colors
of team sponsor Allied Interior Products. The team's representative in the
Masters Class, Scott Willard of Weston, Conn., was 18th in the 34-car field on
Saturday with his BroadReach Partners No. 14. Another Andersen Racing driver,
Doug Prendeville of Whippany, N.J., who had won the last race, was one of the
drivers out early.
On Sunday morning both Krohn and Prendeville spun during the qualifying
session and were penalized for bringing out the yellow flag. Both lost their two
fastest laps, with Prendeville delegated to the 28th starting spot and Krohn
29th.
Baker, on the other hand, put down a good lap early, giving the driver from
Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England the pole for Sunday's race. He made
the most of it, leading every lap to beat Kyle Marcelli to the checkered flag by
0.485 of a second. Audette was third again on Sunday.
Krohn didn't get a podium position on Sunday but he certainly recorded a
dazzling performance in coming from 29th to fourth at the line. His new fastest
race lap record is a 1:25.542.
Prendeville also had a good race with the Allied Building Products/Restart
Communications car, as he came from the rear to tenth at the checkered. Willard
was 28th on Sunday.
The next F2000 doubleheader is Aug. 2-3 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
RLR/Andersen Racing's Andrew Prendeville and J.R. Hildebrand will be in
action at Mid-Ohio this coming Saturday and Sunday in a Firestone Indy Lights
doubleheader. The team is the development team of IndyCar's Rahal Letterman Racing.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. It is the
official Van Diemen factory team in F2000. The team's Web sites are at
andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com. More information on the F2000 series is
available at eformulacarnews.com and f2000championshipseries.com.
Post-race quotes taken Sunday follow:
Anders Krohn: "Saturday's race had too many yellows; it was not the kind of
race you want to win. However, we'll take the points.
"I think we had only 10 racing laps today, but in those laps I passed 25
cars, so I'm pretty happy with fourth.
"I want to apologize to the team for the mistake I made in qualifying today.
I was on my first lap and the car just turned on me. After that I just tried
to get my head right so I could perform well in the race. I broke the record
for the fastest race lap by almost a second.
"The highlight though was coming from 29th to fourth in only 13 laps. I was
just pushing every single inch of the race. I have to thank Andersen Racing
for putting me in a car that's capable of being that fast.
"It was close racing all the way, but I had no contact with anybody. They
drove well; they didn't try to put me off the track or anything. I could focus
on just trying to drive as fast as possible."
Jonny Baker: "I got the pole in the wet this morning. It was a very scrappy
session. I knew I had to put down a good lap early, and I did. I think my
experience racing in the rain in England helped me.
"It was dry for the race. In the race, I got into Turn 1 first. I didn't
want to do anything stupid.
"The safety car came out and Bryan Sellers talked to me on the radio and
helped me focus on what I had to do. I had a fantastic restart; the car was
spot-on. I was too scared to touch my bar because I didn't want to mess it up.
"I want to give a big thank you to my family; this is my second year of
racing in America, and they've supported me through it all. I also want to thank
the whole Andersen Racing team. They're my family here in America.
"On Saturday I got a bad start, which I was not happy about. I fell back a
couple positions. We only had two green-flag laps in that race, so it was
rather strange. Today's was a proper race, so I'm pleased about that and I'm
pleased with the win.
"This weekend is my first time at Mid-Ohio. It's different, but cool. I'm
really happy with my first win in America!"
Doug Prendeville: "On Saturday I only made it about 1,000 feet into the race
when I got hit from behind; there's nothing to talk about there. There were a
lot of yellows on Saturday.
"There was just one yellow today. We went from 28th to tenth; Anders went
from 29th to fourth; and Jonny won.
"I want to thank Andersen Racing, Allied, Restart, Tommy Byrne, and everyone
on the team."
The weekend's stats:
Test (Thursday; two and one-half hours):
1. Kyle Marcelli, 1:26.032
2. Jonny Baker, 1:26.648
3. Anders Krohn, 1:26.852
6. Doug Prendeville, 1:27.001
19. Scott Willard, 1:28.903
Practice 1 (Friday, 11:15 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.):
1. Anders Krohn, 1:25.018
3. Doug Prendeville, 1:26.038
6. Jonny Baker, 1:26.532
16. Scott Willard, 1:27.851
Practice 2 (Friday, 3 p.m. to 3:25 p.m.):
1. Anders Krohn, 1:25.019
5. Jonny Baker, 1:26.691
7. Doug Prendeville, 1:26.866
17. Scott Willard, 1:28.238
Qualifying for Race 7 (Saturday, 10:05 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; 34 drivers took
time):
1. Anders Krohn, 1:24.909, new track record*
5. Jonny Baker, 1:25.813
8. Doug Prendeville, 1:26.148
23. Scott Willard, 1:27.424
* Broke Matt McDonough's former mark of 1:25.739 set in 2006.
Race 7 (Saturday, 2:55 p.m., 11 laps):
1. Anders Krohn
6. Jonny Baker
18. Scott Willard
33. Doug Prendeville
Qualifying for Race 8 (Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:55 a.m.):
1. Jonny Baker, 1:52.335
19. Scott Willard, 2:18.954
28. Doug Prendeville, 2:58.025 **
29. Anders Krohn, 5:15.272 **
** Lost their two fastest lap times as penalties for spinning during
qualifying and bringing out caution flags.
Race 8 (Sunday, 2:55 p.m., 13 laps):
1. Jonny Baker
4. Anders Krohn ***
10. Doug Prendeville
28. Scott Willard
*** Broke fastest race lap track record of 1:26.065 set by Cole Morgan in
2007 with a lap in 1:25.542.
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. 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.