For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
RLR/Andersen Racing Finishes Fourth and Sixth
In Second Half of St. Petersburg Doubleheader
Sunday in Firestone Indy Lights Action
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 5 - Their starting positions were deeper in the
field on Sunday and there were 18 laps of caution versus only six on Saturday,
but RLR/Andersen Racing's rookies still brought home excellent finishes for
the Palmetto, Fla.-based team when Jonathan Summerton of Kissimmee, Fla.
finished fourth and Mario Romancini of Sao Paulo, Brazil placed sixth in the second
half of the Firestone Indy Lights doubleheader at the Grand Prix of St.
Petersburg.
Summerton was simply amazing. After a timing and scoring revision to the
line-up he started 16th on Sunday in the No. 9 sponsored by Andersen Racing,
Allied Interior Products and Lafarge North America. He blasted by seven cars on
the first lap and went on to finish fourth on Sunday after placing second on
Saturday.
Romancini was dazzling too, as he turned a 12th-place starting spot in the
field of 27 into a solid sixth-place finish on Sunday after getting ninth less
than 24 hours earlier in his first race in America. Romancini, who lives in
Miami when he's in the states, drives the No. 5 sponsored by Andersen Racing,
Revita Recycling, Win Brazil Marketing, Allied Interior Products and Lafarge
North America.
Making the most of every opportunity on the tight course while remaining
patient was the name of the game in Sunday's race. Only 15 of the 27 starters
were running when Junior Strous took the checkered over Sebastian Saavedra, James
Hinchcliffe, Summerton, Daniel Herrington and Romancini after 40 laps of
competition on the 1.81-mile, 14-turn street course.
Strous leads the driver point standings with his double victories here, but
Summerton is second and Romancini is sixth going into the third race of the
year, which will be held on the other side of the country at the Long Beach Grand
Prix in Long Beach, Calif. on April 19.
When many of his rivals took the inside groove into Turn 1 at the start of
the race, Summerton went to the outside. The quick thinking paid off
handsomely, as he vaulted from 16th to ninth on the first lap before Duncan Tappy
brought out the first full-course yellow on lap one when he rammed into a tire
barrier in Turn 4.
Summerton stayed in ninth for 22 laps, trapped behind Jay Howard. He moved
up two more spots on lap 23 when the fifth-place driver, James Davison, and the
sixth-place driver, Richard Philippe, encountered problems, with Davison
bringing out another full-course caution when he got stuck in a runoff area off
Turn 14.
The second-place car of J.R. Hildebrand and the fourth-place car of Ana
Beatriz tangled in Turn 1 on lap 26, Howard fell from sixth to eighth, and suddenly
Summerton was up to fourth on lap 27. He chased Strous, Saavedra and
Hinchcliffe the rest of the way, despite another yellow from laps 34 to 36 in the
40-lapper due to two Guthrie Meyer Racing cars crashing into each other in Turn 2.
Summerton was just 0.7453 of a second behind the final podium finisher when
the checkered waved.
Romancini passed Gustavo Yacaman on the first lap to move into 11th. He
broke into the top 10 on lap 16 when the driver who had been right in front of
him, Martin Plowman, ran into problems. That put the two RLR/Andersen Racing
cars in ninth and tenth, positions they retained until lap 23 when Summerton
moved up to seventh and Romancini advanced to ninth.
Romancini jumped to sixth when Hildebrand and Beatriz tangled in their
incident on lap 26, which also involved Stefan Wilson to a lesser extent, and that's
where he finished.
Despite all the yellows, the fastest lap of the race was 0.5174 of a second
faster on Sunday that the fastest lap recorded on Saturday. That trend held
true for Romancini too. Summerton's fastest laps were very close both days, but
his fastest lap on Saturday was 0.0368 of a second faster than the 1:08.0482
(95.227 mph) he posted on lap 39 Sunday. Romancini's fastest lap on Sunday was
his lap 18, when he was following Summerton and holding off Herrington. It was
done in 1:08.4216 (94.707 mph).
VERSUS taped both races for broadcast at 6 p.m. Eastern time Monday.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. and Lafarge
North America. It is the official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing.
Andersen Racing is based at Andersen RacePark in Palmetto, Fla., home of the
team's own 1-mile road course test track. In addition to Firestone Indy
Lights, the team competes in karting, Formula BMW Americas and Star Mazda in its
efforts to provide the best training young open-wheel drivers can obtain anywhere.
The team's Web site is at andersenracingteam.com, while the track's Web site
is at andersenracepark.com. The series' Web site is at indycar.com/pro.
Post-race quotes follow:
Jonathan Summerton: "It was awesome; tons of fun! We went from 16th to
fourth. I don't think you could have asked for much more. My goal was a top five,
and we did it. We had a car that I know could have won the race. It's just a
shame we couldn't get clear air to run the lap times, because I know we had the
fastest car out there for sure. The car was awesome. Allied Interior Products
and RLR/Andersen Racing have done a good job putting the car together. I really
thank them this weekend. We started off rough and ended on a high.
"At the start everyone went to the inside, so I went to the outside. A gap
opened up at the apex of Turn 1, and I just went flying in. I saw an opening and
I went for it.
"The yellows helped because the restarts gave me opportunities to pass. I
made a few passes during the race too, and ended up behind Jay Howard.
"The car was much better than it was yesterday. The track conditions were
much better today too.
"Starting 16th, my goal today was a top five, and I was fourth. I'm very
excited about how everything went."
Mario Romancini: "My car felt good. I preferred to make a safe start rather
than risk getting into an accident, but I still gained one position on the
first lap. Our car was well balanced. We had some problems with traction, but it
wasn't too big of an issue.
"I wanted to be as intelligent today as I was yesterday, bring the car home,
and score as many points as I could. I think we achieved our goals. The team
did a fantastic job.
"In some places the track was dirty because of cars bringing debris onto the
course when they went off, but there was more rubber on it than there was
yesterday.
"It was a tiring race because it was hot. But Jonathan did a good job too.
We should be pretty good in the team standings.
"Now we will be more relaxed when we go to Long Beach because the cars are
not damaged and we have two races together as a team. I feel confident with the
team and the car. I think we can do a good job at Long Beach too."
Dan Andersen (RLR/Andersen Racing co-owner): "In a caution-filled race with a
lot of questionable moves, our two drivers remained poised and brought their
cars home in one piece. I'm very pleased with how they didn't make high-risk
moves in the heat of the moment and were patient. We're thrilled the cars
were both in the top six today and back in one piece. Our next race is across
the country in just two weeks, and it's a very busy month.
"About 50 people were here from Allied Interior Products, and they really
loved it. They were down in Turn 1, cheering Jonathan and Mario on. They had a
lot of fun too!"
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 the Lafarge Group:
The Lafarge Group is the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking
positions in all of its businesses: cement, aggregates and concrete, and
gypsum. With 83,000 employees in 78 countries, the Group posted sales of 19.0
billion Euros in 2008.
Lafarge North America Inc. ("Lafarge North America" or "Lafarge"), a Lafarge
Group company, is the largest diversified supplier of construction materials
in the United States and Canada.
In 2009 and for the fifth year in a row, the Lafarge Group was listed in the
"Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World." With the world's
leading building materials research facility, the Lafarge Group places
innovation at the heart of its priorities, working for sustainable construction and
architectural creativity.
For more information about Lafarge North America, go to lafarge-na.com or
contact Louise Muth, director of external communications, at (703) 480-3707.
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, four-step program utilizing
multiple entries in four different platforms: karting, Formula BMW Americas, Star
Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights (televised on VERSUS). In 2008 it fielded
multiple entries in 42 races in 18 states and provinces at some of the best
facilities on the continent, including the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Andersen Racing won the team championship for 2008 for both the F2000
Championship Series presented by Hoosier Racing Tire and the Star Mazda Championship
presented by Goodyear. Two of its drivers finished first and second in the
F2000 driver point standings, while another was sixth. Three of its Star Mazda
drivers placed third, fifth and sixth in that series' driver standings.
RLR/Andersen Racing finished sixth in the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights team standings,
while one of its drivers placed fifth in that series' driver point standings.
Andersen Racing's principals, brothers 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. and Lafarge
North America. It is the official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing,
which competes in the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. The team
is headquartered at Andersen RacePark, an 18-acre facility in Palmetto, Fla.
that includes a 1-mile road course test track. For more information see
andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.