For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
RLR/Andersen's Rookies Gain Experience
In Mid-Ohio Firestone Indy Lights Race
LEXINGTON, Ohio, Aug. 9 - The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course did not provide
any beginners' luck for RLR/Andersen Racing Firestone Indy Lights rookies Ali
Jackson or Mario Romancini, as both were involved in incidents in the
Mid-Ohio 100 Sunday morning and placed 16th and 17th, respectively.
The good news is that they both ran consistent laps and gained a great deal
of experience that will be invaluable when they return. Romancini posted
the team's best qualifying result of the year on a road or street course, and
ran in fourth place for a good portion of the race. Jackson said his car's
handling was very good throughout the event. Neither car was badly damaged
in their separate incidents, either, which is great since there are two more
races coming up this month.
Romancini, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, qualified fourth and remained in that
position for 15 of the event's 40 laps around the challenging, 13-turn,
2.258-mile road course. At that point Felipe Guimaraes got around him to push him
to fifth place. On the next lap Martin Plowman passed him to relegate
Romancini's No. 5, which is sponsored by Andersen Racing, Revita Recycling, Win
Brazil Marketing, Allied Interior Products and Lafarge North America, to sixth
place.
On the following circuit Romancini and the seventh-place driver, Wade
Cunningham, made contact in Turn 4 with 18 laps down, and Romancini's car spun
off into a gravel trap. He regrouped, but finished three laps down in 17th
position.
Jackson, of Moyvalley, Country Kildare, Ireland, started 15th in the No. 9
sponsored by the Moyvalley Golf and Hotel Resort and Allied Interior
Products. He stayed in that position for the first four laps until Richard
Philippe passed him. Stefan Wilson also got by on lap eight, but Jackson regained
16th on lap 10 when Charlie Kimball dropped back.
Jackson was back where he started in 15th by lap 13 after Sebastian
Saavedra went off course while running in fifth place behind Romancini. Jackson
then vaulted to 13th position when Romancini and Cunningham tangled with 18
laps down.
Wilson passed Ana Beatriz for 11th with 24 laps down, putting Jackson right
behind Beatriz again, still in 13th place. He followed her for nine laps,
patiently waiting to make a pass. Unfortunately they touched in Turn 12 with
33 laps down, resulting in Jackson spinning. He regrouped but fell to 16th
place, which is where he finished.
Jackson's fastest lap was lap 11, which he did in 1:15.4576 for an average
speed of 107.727 miles per hour. For a long time Romancini's fastest lap
was lap 11 too, but he surpassed that on lap 29 when he was timed in 1:15.4627
for an average speed of 107.719 mph.
With three races remaining, Romancini is sixth in the point standings.
Jackson, who did not compete in all the events, is 16th.
Polesitter James Davison led every lap to win easily over James Hinchcliffe
and J.R. Hildebrand. VERSUS's telecast is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern time
Monday.
The action now moves to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. on Aug. 23 and
Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., on Aug. 29. More information on the
series can be found at indycar.com/pro.
For more information on Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied
Interior Products and Lafarge North America and offers programs in karting 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-race quotes:
Ali Jackson: "My car was really good. It was a shame we had to start so
far back due to the penalty in qualifying, because qualifying well is crucial
here, as it is everywhere. I think if we could have started further up we
would have had a top-eight finish, no doubt. We needed to trim it out a
little more but the balance was good. It's just very hard to pass here. I was
also at a disadvantage being a rookie and not knowing the track.
"I was following Ana for many laps before I had contact with her. It was
my fault. I tried to pass her and we touched. Sometimes you just have to
try it, but this time it didn't work out. That's it."
Mario Romancini: "I was able to stay in front of the pack of cars behind me
until my car developed a lot of understeer, and the other guys were able to
get close to me in the Keyhole. There was nothing I could do with the bar;
it was already full soft.
"From that point on I was just trying to finish, but I got in an accident.
I was side by side with Wade. I don't know what happened exactly, but we
touched and I went into the gravel trap. Wade continued but lost positions.
We both think it was just a racing thing.
"It was very sad and very bad for me. It was just one of those days where
things don't go as we want. This was my worst race of the year. We'll just
have to hope for a better result at the rest of the races."
Sunday's stats:
Warm-up (8 a.m. to 8:20 a.m.):
1. James Hinchcliffe, 1:14.7119, 108.802 mph, lap 8 of 8
6. Mario Romancini, 1:15.1498, 108.168 mph, lap 11 of 11
15. Ali Jackson, 1:16.2089, 106.665 mph, lap 13 of 13
Race (10:15 a.m.):
1. James Davison
16. Ali Jackson
17. Mario Romancini
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 program utilizing multiple
entries in three different platforms: karting, 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.