Graham Rahal has fond memories of Burke Lakefront airport in Cleveland, after winning both Atlantics races at the temporary street circuit last season.
The Cleveland race weekend is the home event for Rahal who lives in New Albany, Ohio and he enjoys strong support from family and friends, who will be watching the Newman/Haas/Lanigan racer contesting this fifth round of the Champ Car World Series in the Medi I Zone entry.
Following the last round in Portland, Oregon in which he finished eighth, Rahal headed to Indianapolis to catch up with all the latest action in Formula One, with the race series visiting the Speedway for its annual US Grand Prix. He was then back behind the wheel of his Panoz DP01 Champ Car this week at Road America, taking part in the two day test at the Elkhart Lake road course.
Rahal said after the test, “It’s been a busy couple of weeks since Portland, but it was great to be out in the car at Road America. It’s a very tough track and takes some getting used to. It’s very different driving the Champ Car at this circuit than it is the Atlantics car, but it went well for us and I’m pleased to have finished second quickest, just behind Seb. The work we’ve done over the last couple of days should prove useful when we return to the track in August. ”
Turning to the race weekend ahead in Cleveland he says, “We’ve developed a pretty good car now and I think we should be competitive and very quick. We should be able to win and that’s always the aim. Our car is good and should only get better and better. We have the pace to be upfront and that’s where I want to be.
“It’s my home race, but that doesn’t add any extra pressure, I’m always focused on the racing and bringing the team success. I’m definitely feeling more confident coming into this race having won here last year. It’s a positive that’s always in my mind when I’m thinking about the weekend ahead, but it’s going to be very different in the Champ Car than the Atlantic car. ”
The Cleveland round of the Champ Car World Series is the first of three back-to-back races in an intensive summer of racing. Racing this weekend starts on Friday 22 June, with the two hour race taking the green flag at 1pm local time on Sunday 24 June.
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