For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
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E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Romancini Qualifies Tenth,
Donoso to Start 14th and Jackson 21st
For RLR/Andersen Racing
In Saturday's Firestone Indy Lights Race
At Watkins Glen
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., July 3 - Although he only had 18 laps of practice at
this track before qualifications, RLR/Andersen Racing's Mario Romancini
qualified tenth Friday afternoon for Saturday's Corning 100 Firestone Indy Lights
race at Watkins Glen International.
Romancini's tenth of 15 laps recorded in the 45-minute qualifying session
was done in 1:38.4725, which resulted in a 123.202 miles per hour average
speed for his No. 5 sponsored by Andersen Racing, Revita Recycling, Win Brazil
Marketing, Allied Interior Products and Lafarge North America.
That was just 1.2945 seconds off the time James Davison ran to win the
pole. It was also just 0.2788 of a second slower than the time recorded by the
one-lap record-holder here, Wade Cunningham, who will start just two
positions ahead of Romancini on Saturday. Romancini, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, had
never driven at Watkins Glen before today, while Cunningham, the series' 2005
champion, has podium finishes in each of his four starts here.
Romancini is second in the point standings heading into tomorrow's race.
One of Romancini's RLR/Andersen Racing teammates, Pablo Donoso of Santiago,
Chile, will be in the 14th position when the green flag drops at 1 p.m.
tomorrow for 30 laps/102 miles of competition on the 3.37-mile, 11-turn road
course. His qualifying time in the Andersen Racing/Allied Interior
Products/Donoso LTDA No. 9 was 1:39.5420 for an average speed of 121.878 mph.
A third RLR/Andersen Racing driver, Ali Jackson of Belfast, Northern
Ireland, will start in scratch, 21st, tomorrow in the Moyvalley Golf & Hotel
Resort/Allied Interior Products No. 6. He missed Friday's action entirely due to
travel problems.
His plane from Dublin was late, which caused him to miss his connection in
London. He subsequently caught another flight that landed at New York's JFK
Airport Friday afternoon. After a lengthy process in customs he's currently
enroute by car to his hotel in the Watkins Glen area, where he is expected
to arrive sometime Friday night. Hopefully he won't have much jet lag,
because he'll have just a half-hour of practice Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
before Saturday afternoon's 30-lap race at 1 p.m.
Romancini and Jackson will be making their first starts at the historic New
York road course tomorrow. Donoso competed in this race last year with
another team.
The race is slated to be broadcast live on indycar.com and on a
tape-delayed basis at 11 p.m. Monday on VERSUS, which is a change from the customary 4
p.m. Monday airing of the other races so far this year. All times are
Eastern.
After the qualifying session, 17 students from four different universities'
Formula SAE programs visited the RLR/Andersen Racing paddock in a program
organized by Firestone Indy Lights and the track. The students were from
Columbia University, Cornell University, Penn State University and Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute.
Jonny Baker, Andersen Racing's driver procurement specialist and a key
person involved with the team's corporate karting program at Andersen RacePark,
pointed out several interesting things to the students using Jackson's car
as an example. Ryder Drumm, one of the team's mechanics, also shared some
insights with the students, as did the team co-owners, Dan and John Andersen.
"It was neat that we could talk to some of the workers," said one of the
students, Daniel Considine of Dallas, Pa., who will be a senior in Penn
State's mechanical engineering program when classes resume in the fall. "We asked
different questions on set-up, and looked at their tubs and components of
their suspensions.
"The whole set-up, like the tools they have and everything, is neat," added
Considine, who wants to be involved in racing as a career after graduation.
"So are the number of cars they're working on at once."
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.
Post-qualifying quotes follow:
Mario Romancini: "It's difficult to learn a track in just a few laps and
then go qualify. I thought we had a good balance with the car in the first
practice session and I was optimistic when we were sixth in that session. Now
I'm disappointed that we're tenth in qualifying. The practice session
tomorrow morning will be very important. Unfortunately we're starting in the
back again, but we will do our best.
"I like the track. It's challenging and very nice. I'm just disappointed
that we didn't qualify better. But tomorrow will be another day."
Pablo Donoso: "We improved the car a lot from where we were this morning.
It was much better. But we still have some work to do. We will try to make
more improvements for the practice session tomorrow and go from there."
The weekend stats so far:
First practice (Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.):
1. James Davison, 1:37.7887, 124.063 mph, lap 18 of 18
6. Mario Romancini, 1:38.5836, 123.063 mph, lap 17 of 18
18. Pablo Donoso, 1:42.1293, 118.791 mph, lap 8 of 10
Ali Jackson, no time
Qualifying (Friday, 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.):
1. James Davison, 1:37.1780, 124.843 mph, lap 13 of 14
10. Mario Romancini, 1:38.4725, 123.202 mph, lap 10 of 15
14. Pablo Donoso, 1:39.5420, 121.878 mph, lap 13 of 15
21. Ali Jackson, no time
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.