“I was happy with our qualifying run. The car was a lot better than it was in Sebring where we were scratching our heads. We had an excellent result with a second place and one-two for Acura, but the car was not fast enough. With this car on a bumpy circuit, we seemed to be missing something. We came here with a good baseline and the car straight away was quick. We have a good balance and the Acura engine is very strong. We just have a good car. I was fighting with the Porsches in practice and I think we had something for them. At the end, they went three-tenths quicker and that means we have to keep working hard. They have a year advantage [in the series] on us, but what Acura and Michelin and everyone are doing here is helping us to get up to speed quickly. Fourth place is a fantastic start for us. Most important for me and Luis is that we finally feel we have a race car back with us. It just feels racy; it feels good. I was pushing hard trying to get that last little bit. ”
He brushed the wall on his last flying lap, scuffing the top of the bolts on both sides of the rear wing: “I did a 63.7 and John [Ward, race engineer] told me the fastest time was a 63.0. I knew the only way I could get it was to just get closer to the limit. I was braking later and tried to use most of the track and to put the power down as early as I could. I knew I was close but didn t know how close and that was the lap. I was pretty happy with that. ”
Adrian Fernandez Fast Facts… 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… 43 years old from Mexico City…resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., with wife Catalina.
Luis Diaz – #15 Lowe s Acura Lola:
“Today was a lot better than I expected. I am very happy with the car the way it is right now. The team worked very hard to give us a competitive car for here with Acura, Lola and Michelin. For tomorrow, we have a good chance to race with the Penskes, Andretti Green and Highcroft. We are in good shape with a good starting position. We know it is going to be a very tough race tomorrow. It is a very tough circuit especially with so much traffic. If we can keep the car on the track, I know we can finish very well. ”
Luis Diaz Fast Facts… 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.
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