The return of Jonathan Bomarito to the cockpit of a Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda car could not have been more triumphant, as the Californian closed out his first test in the No. 26 machine for Mathiasen Motorsports atop the time charts at the end of two days of activity at MSR Houston.
Bomarito posted a best lap at 1:19.007 (109.357 mph) in Wednesday’s morning session and the time held up through a windy afternoon session. Bomarito also posted the fastest time among 19 cars in testing on Tuesday. It was the first test session for the Atlantic veteran since an open test at Sebring International Raceway in early February, when Bomarito drove for Sierra Sierra Enterprises, which has since decided not to compete in Atlantic. Ironically, Bomarito’s would-be Sierra Sierra teammate, rookie Dane Cameron, was also quickest in his first test with Genoa Racing in Spring Training at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca earlier this month.
“It was overall very productive,” Bomarito said. “Today, the car ran flawlessly and we were able to go through a bunch of changes and get a feel for the team and the engineering. We were really quick, and everything was just good as far as getting to know the team. Everybody got along well; it’s a good bunch of guys. I just have to thank the Mathiasen team for giving me the chance and I’m hoping we can put something together here in the next few days to make sure we’re in Long Beach.”
Second-quickest in the two-day team test was Carl Skerlong in the No. 29 PCM/USRT machine with a lap at 1:19.577 (108.574 mph). Skerlong—who is set to embark on his second year of Atlantic competition—also posted the second-quickest time of Spring Training. He is joined by Frankie Muniz on the two-car team, and is working with championship-winning engineer Burke Harrison and driver coach Lee Bentham, who won the 1998 Atlantic title.
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