For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Romancini Finishes Eighth
For RLR/Andersen Racing
In Firestone Indy Lights Action at Edmonton
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada, July 25 - Andersen Racing's Mario Romancini
started seventh and finished eighth in the inaugural Firestone Indy Lights race
at the Edmonton City Centre Airport Saturday.
His teammate, Ali Jackson, qualified 11th and was ninth in the morning
warm-up. He finished 15th in the race, however, after his Moyvalley Golf and
Hotel Resort/Allied Interior Products No. 9 retired due to a faulty fuel pump
relay sensor with 44 laps completed in the 50-lap/98.65-mile race on the
1.973-mile, 14-turn temporary circuit.
Romancini, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, dropped to tenth place early in the race,
but held that position from laps four through 12 with his No. 5, which is
sponsored by Andersen Racing, Revita Recycling, Win Brazil Marketing, Allied
Interior Products and Lafarge North America. At that point Wade Cunningham
got around him, but Romancini was able to remain in 11th place until lap 28,
when Martin Plowman edged pass him.
Romancini regained 11th on lap 30 when Gustavo Yacaman stopped in Turn 13,
and he moved back into the top 10 on lap 33 by passing Plowman back.
He got ninth on lap 46 when the sixth-place driver, Ana Beatriz, pitted to
replace a flat right-front tire. He moved into eighth on the white-flag lap
due to James Davison's misfortunes. Romancini was about 4.4268 seconds
behind the seventh-place finisher, Andrew Prendeville, when the checkered waved.
Jackson, of Belfast, Northern Ireland, ran in 12th position in the early
stages of the race, with only Cunningham between him and Romancini. He had
some issues with his tires, however, and then began to drift backwards in the
standings.
Plowman passed him on lap 13 to push him to 13th. He dropped to 14th when
Daniel Herrington got by him five laps before the halfway point. Pippa Mann
edged ahead of him on lap 22 to push him to 15th. He regained 14th with 30
laps down due to Yacaman's problems. He got 13th position back on lap 41 by
edging ahead of Plowman, but retired with 44 laps complete due to the
problem with his car's fuel pump relay sensor and placed 15th in the final
rundown.
Romancini's fastest race lap was lap 22, which he did in 1:08.578 for an
average speed of 103.572 miles per hour. Jackson's was lap seven, when he was
timed in 1:09.0692 for an average speed of 102.212 mph.
VERSUS's TV coverage is slated for 4 p.m. Eastern time on Monday. J.R.
Hildebrand dominated the entire event, which ran non-stop, and had a
14.0154-seconds lead over Richard Philippe at the line. Sebastian Saavedra placed third.
Both of the RLR/Andersen Racing cars sported the logo of Best Friends
Animal Society here as a salute to that not-for-profit animal welfare group,
which celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. The donated signage draws
attention to Best Friends' quarter century of service to the welfare of abused,
abandoned animals at its 3,700-acre sanctuary in southwestern Utah, and for
its on-going work across the United States. Best Friends' No More Homeless
Pets program includes national campaigns in key American cities to address
the problems of saving pit bull dogs, speaking out against puppy mills,
addressing the problem of cat overpopulation and striving that one day there will
be no more homeless pets. More information on the organization can be
obtained at bestfriends.org.
For more information on Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied
Interior Products and Lafarge North America and offers programs in karting,
Formula BMW and Star Mazda in addition to Firestone Indy Lights, see its Web site
at andersenracingteam.com. For more information on its 1-mile road course
test track in Palmetto, Fla., see andersenracepark.com.
Firestone Indy Lights has four races in August: Kentucky Speedway Aug. 1;
the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Aug. 9; Infineon Raceway Aug. 23 and
Chicagoland Speedway Aug. 29. After that only the season finale on Oct. 9 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway remains for 2009.
Romancini is still third in the point standings going into the Kentucky
race. Jackson, who hasn't competed in all the events, is 18th.
Post-race quotes follow:
Mario Romancini: "We tried a set-up that we thought would be better, but it
wasn't. The car was oversteering and loose and we had troubles basically
everywhere. There are a lot of fast corners here and you need good grip to
get around.
"We just weren't quick enough. When we realized that we weren't going to
be able to fight for positions, we just tried to finish the race without
risking anything. I think that was the right decision. We wanted to do better,
but we were still eighth and we still earned points, and we're still third
in the championship. It's important to stay out of trouble.
"Now we'll go back to the ovals. I'm confident that we'll be able to fight
for the win in Kentucky."
Ali Jackson: "We were ninth-fastest in the warm-up this morning, but we
struggled in the race. We had some issues with our tires that cost us several
seconds and dropped us off the pace. Then at the end we dropped out when
the fuel pump's relay sensor failed. We'll try again in Kentucky."
Saturday's stats:
Warm-up (8 a.m.):
1. Richard Philippe, 1:06.1971, 107.298 mph, lap 16 of 21
9. Ali Jackson, 1:07.4763, 105.264 mph, lap 18 of 19
11. Mario Romancini, 1:07.6418, 105.006 mph, lap 11 of 15
Race (2 p.m.; 50-lap/98.65-mile race):
1. J.R. Hildebrand
8. Mario Romancini
15. Ali Jackson
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. 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.