Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship At The Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach
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Indianapolis, Ind.
Apr 11, 2007
Nearly one third of this weekends Atlantic field hails from California as a total of eight drivers make their homes in the state. Residents include: Hollywood actor-turned-racer Frankie Muniz, who lives in Los Angeles; Justin Sofio, from Arleta; Alan Sciuto from nearby Orange; J. R. Hildebrand from Sausalito; Jonathan Bomarito from Monterey; Brian Thienes from Huntington Beach, Bret MacDonald from Dublin and Tom Sutherland from Los Gatos.
Matos on the Move:
The opening round of 2007 was won last weekend by Raphael Matos of Sierra Sierra Enterprises in Las Vegas. Rafa captured his second career Atlantic win after passing Robert Wickens for the lead on a late re-start. The Brazilian, who now calls Miami home, leads the series standings by two points over Wickens 31-29. Its the first time in Matos Atlantic career that hes led the championship standings. Matos could add to his total this weekend. He had a great debut weekend in 06 at Long Beach finishing second while also setting the record for the fastest race lap at the venue.
Whos Hot:
Not surprisingly, Matos is on the best roll of any driver entering Long Beach. Factoring in last weeks win, while also looking back to the end of last season, the Brazilian has earned two victories and four podium finishes in his last five Atlantic races. Jonathan Bomarito is also rolling with podiums in each of his last two series starts, dating back to last season, while James Hinchcliffe has a pole and a pair of top-four finishes in his last three Atlantic races. Current top series rookie Robert Wickens has also started the season red hot scoring a pole and a podium result in his first series race.
We Are the Champions:
Champions from some of the top developmental series from around the world will compete in Atlantics this season. Nearly all of the open-wheel training grounds in North America will feature last seasons champions competing in Atlantics in 07 including the Star Mazda Series (Adrian Carrio), Formula BMW USA (Robert Wickens), FF2000 (J. R. Hildebrand) and Formula TR 2000 (Carl Skerlong). In addition, rookie Giacomo Ricci claimed the F3000 Italian and Euro titles in 2006. Atlantics will also include race winners and standout competitors from not only these formulas but also from the Skip Barber National Championship and top international series including A1GP, GP2 and European Formula Renault.
Youth is Served:
Its safe to say that the 07 Atlantic field is the youngest in series history. Among the 29 drivers expected to compete this weekend in Vegas, the median age is just 22.8 years. If you remove from the equation veteran drivers Brian Thienes and Bret MacDonald both of whom are above 40 years old the average age for the rest of the field is just 21.1 years. This includes 11 series racers who will line up for Sundays race as teenagers. The youngest of them all is John Edwards of Red Bull Team Forsythe, who just turned 16 and is the youngest driver in Atlantic history.
Rookies Aplenty:
The evergrowing youth in the series translates into a very deep rookie class for 2007. Out of the 29 expected entries this weekend 20 of those drivers are considered rookies for this season. The battle for series Rookie of the Year honors is expected to be almost as heated as the fight for the overall series crown.
Going Global:
The international appeal of Atlantic racing has also never been more evident than in 2007. Drivers representing 11 different countries are expected to be in action this weekend including competitors from the United States, Canada, Mexico, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, Brazil and China.
American Pride:
Despite such a diverse cultural background among the series drivers, the future of American open-wheel racing is just as bright as ever as evidenced by the U. S. talent in Atlantics. Nearly half of this weekends field or 13 drivers in all calls the United States home.
Sign of the Times:
All Atlantic drivers will sign autographs for fans this weekend at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. There will be an all-driver autograph session held on Saturday, April 14 from 3:45-4:15 p. m. PT at the new Cooper Tire mobile marketing unit near the Atlantic paddock.
