For media information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing's Jorda
Is Making Steady Progress at St. Pete
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 27 - The streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. are a
long way from Carmen Jorda's hometown of Alcoy, Spain, but Andersen Racing's
21-year-old Firestone Indy Lights rookie is getting more comfortable with
her surroundings all the time.
Jorda, who is based in Miami for her initial year of racing in the United
States, is having to adapt to a long list of things this weekend at the Honda
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but both she and her team co-owner are seeing
her confidence grow every session.
On Saturday afternoon she cut nearly 2 seconds (1.9266 to be exact) off her
best time in practice to qualify 15th for her first Firestone Indy Lights
race, which will get the green flag Sunday at 12:45 p.m. Her qualifying
time was 1:08.8789 for an average speed of 94.077 miles per hour for the
1.8-mile, 14-turn street course beside Tampa Bay.
Her fastest lap in the first practice session Friday was a 1:15.5393
(85.783 mph), and her fastest lap in the second practice session Saturday morning
was a 1:10.8055 (91.518 mph).
"Everything is quite different from what I'm used to," Jorda said after the
qualifying session.
"These cars are quite heavier than what I'm used to," she added. "On
Friday I had to work on getting to know the track, which was quite difficult
because I didn't know any of the braking points. Then we had a problem with
downshifting, but we solved that. Now we are going to continue to improve.
This is the first time I'm racing in America, this is the first time I'm racing
in this series, this is the first time I'm racing on this track, this is my
first race with this team and this is my first race in this car. There is a
lot to learn.
"Right now I don't care about where I place," she added. "What is important
is learning everything I can and being able to work well with the team.
Andersen Racing is doing a great job. I am happy to be here."
"The whole crew and I are extremely pleased with the progress Carmen is
making," said team co-owner John Andersen. "She's getting more confident as he
gets more familiar with us, the car and the circuit."
Jorda competed in the European Formula 3 Open and the European Formula 3
Open Copa de España series last year. She had two podium finishes in the
latter series, including a second at Magny-Cours, France.
James Hinchcliffe of Team Moore Racing got the pole for Sunday's 45-lap
race with a time of 1:06.3497 (97.664 mph).
Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp.,
competes in karting, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights. A sister company,
Andersen Promotions, administers the newly revived USF2000 National
Championship, which is presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda. USF2000, Star
Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights are all in action at the Honda Grand Prix of
St. Petersburg this weekend.
For more information see the team's Web site at andersenracingteam.com.
Jorda's Web site is at Carmenjorda.com. Information on the series can be found
at indycar.com/indylights.
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 program utilizing multiple
entries in three different platforms: karting, Star Mazda and Firestone
Indy Lights.
A sister company, Andersen Promotions, administers the USF2000 National
Championship presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda. It is part of
both the Indy Racing League's Road to Indy program and the MAZDASPEED
Motorsports driver development system.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. 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, andersenkarting.com, andersenracepark.com and usf2000.com.