Lowe’s Fernandez Racing and drivers Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz will close the books on their first season of American Le Mans Series (ALMS) competition this weekend with the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Eleven turns and dramatic elevation changes, including the infamous Corkscrew, make the 2.238-mile road course a demanding test for both drivers and engineers. Laguna Seca is a circuit where past experience is a definite benefit, and Fernandez and Diaz combine for a total of 19 career starts on the hillside road course.
Saturday’s four-hour race is the 12th and final round of the 2007 championship. Fernandez and Diaz have piloted the #15 Lowe’s Acura Lola to five top-five finishes to date this season including two podiums at Sebring (second) and Mid-Ohio (third).
SPEED Channel will feature live coverage of the Monterey Sports Car Championships beginning at 5:30 pm EST.
Race Notes:
Circuit – 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course
Saturday’s race will be four hours
Driver changes: each driver must complete at least 10 laps. A driver may not drive more than three hours total in the race.
Of Note:
Fernandez will be making his 14th career start at Laguna Seca (Indy Lights in 1992, 11 Champ Car starts from 1993 - 2003, one Grand-Am race in 2006)
Fernandez has finished half of his career starts at Laguna Seca in the top 10, claiming his best result of fifth in 1992 and 1999
Diaz will be making his seventh career start at Laguna Seca (Indy Lights in 2000 - 2001, Atlantics in 2002 - 2003, and two Grand-Am races in 2005 and 2006)
Diaz has two podiums to his credit at Laguna Seca – a win in the 2005 Grand-Am race and a third-place finish in 2001 Indy Lights competition
Fernandez and Diaz recorded their best ALMS finish to date of second at Sebring’s 12-hour endurance race
Fernandez and Diaz enter the weekend sixth in the championship standings
To date, Lowe’s Fernandez Racing has captured two podiums and five top-five finishes in its first year of ALMS competition
Fernandez entered sports car competition in 2006 after a successful career at the top levels of open-wheel racing
Diaz, voted “Driver of the Year” in Mexico in 2006, brings the most sports car racing experience to the team with eight wins in three years of Grand-Am competition
FERNANDEZ ON THE SEASON FINALE: “It’s hard to believe our first season in the ALMS is coming to a close this weekend, but I can’t think of a better track to go to and end the year. This is another of my favorite circuits. It is definitely a track that everyone looks forward to from the track itself with its challenges and uniqueness in all the elevation changes, to the beautiful cities like Monterey and Carmel, and the fans that have been with us for many years. It is a place that I thoroughly enjoy driving and have so many memories from over the years. It definitely helps to come here with experience because Laguna requires your full attention all the way around. There are no opportunities to rest, and setting up the car can be a real test. We would love to end our first season with a win and hopefully we can make that happen this weekend.”
DIAZ ON LAGUNA SECA: “Laguna is a special track for me. My first race in the States was at Laguna Seca, and my win in Grand-Am with Scott Pruett [in 2005] is obviously a great memory. It is very much an enjoyable track to drive. It requires a lot of rhythm, and you can gain or lose a lot of time in the Corkscrew. I am very much looking forward to ending the season with a strong result, especially after all the bad luck in the Petit Le Mans race two weeks ago. [Diaz was the victim of an on-track incident two hours into the 10-hour/1000-mile race which eventually resulted in the retirement of the #15 Lowe’s Acura Lola.] We definitely had a very good car at Petit and great pit stops and strategy. If we pick up where we left off in Petit at Laguna, I know we will be challenging for the podium and hopefully our first win in the ALMS.”
About the Drivers:
Adrián Fernández… is a veteran of a 12-year career at the top levels of open-wheel competition, winning in both Champ Car (CART) and IndyCar Series competition with a career record that includes 194 starts, 11 wins and 25 podiums… debuted in sports car competition in 2006, winning the Mid-Ohio Rolex Sports Car Series race and claiming four additional top-five finishes… began competing in select NASCAR Busch Series events in 2005, driving for Team Lowe’s Racing and Hendrick Motorsports and most recently finished ninth in the Busch race at Mexico City on March 4… finished fifth in the IndyCar Series championship in his inaugural season in 2004 with three wins and six top-five finishes… missed the 2000 Champ Car championship crown by only 10 points, finishing second in the series… has garnered numerous awards over the years including “Athlete of the Year in Mexico”… named one of Mexico’s 300 most influential people by a national magazine in 2006… 44 years old from Mexico City…resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., with wife Catalina and daughter Valentina.
Luis Díaz… debuted in sports car competition in 2004 and has claimed eight wins over the past three years as well as Rolex Sports Car Series Team Championship honors in 2006 and a second-place result in the driver championship co-driving with Scott Pruett… was named “Driver of the Year” in Mexico in 2006… won the Mexico Formula 3 championship in 1998… earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Mexican Indy Lights Pan-American Championship, Mexico Formula 3 Championship and Formula Reynard Series Mexico… U.S. open-wheel success includes a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Atlantic championship… began racing go-karts at the age of 12, winning several national championships… 29 years old from Mexico City… resides in Toluca, Mexico, with wife Carolina… nickname is “Chapulín” (Cha-poo-leen) which means grasshopper.
About the #15 Lowe’s Acura Lola:
Powered by the new 3.4-liter Acura LM V-8 engine designed and developed by HPD [Honda Performance Development], Honda’s wholly-owned racing subsidiary based in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Chassis is the Lola B05/40 LMP2 sportscar
Tires are Michelin
Lowe’s Fernández Racing Key Personnel:
Tom Anderson, co-owner/managing director (founded Fernández Racing with Fernández in 2000)
Steve Miller, general manager (seventh year with the team; reunited with Diaz who he worked with in 2000 in Indy Lights)
Mike Sales, team manager (as a chief mechanic, has had a decade long relationship with Adrián Fernández which includes victories in Champ Car, IndyCar Series and Grand-Am competition)
John Ward, race engineer (is in is eighth year as a race engineer for Adrián Fernández; designer of many Eagle chassis for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers including the Eagle Mk III IMSA GTP car which won the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 1992 and 1993)
Tony Leith, chief mechanic (was a lead and chief mechanic in ALMS in the late ‘90s with Panoz Motorsports – team won the Petit Le Mans)
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