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| Cart Toyota Atlantic series lands in Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport this July 1st long weekend to take part in the Marconi Grand Prix. Speed will move from the skies overlooking the airport to the airport flats which have been reconfigured to test the power of man in his open-wheel machine. The airport will close to make way for what organizers believe will be a weekend-thrill-feast of open-wheel racing. Sitting seventh in the Championship hunt and a point shy of the Rookie lead, Gormley, Ontario’s Jonathan Macri seeks to avenge his misfortune in Montreal where he was denied a podium finish as a result of a mishap in the final lap. “Montreal is behind me,” Jonathan said. “Sure, it would have been nice to finish on the podium. That was what we were aiming for and we really worked hard to achieve it. But it didn’t happen. Anyway, it wasn’t all bad news in Montreal. We showed we could compete on par with the top Atlantic teams, and so we’re looking forward to Cleveland to push to the front and hopefully accomplish our first podium finish.” No doubt, Montreal spectators had the pleasure of watching Jonathan move from seventh to third place, engaging in battles with Martin Basso and teammate Tony Ave. Exciting open-wheel racing courtesy of Jonathan Macri. Cleveland also promises to be a challenging track. When asked what he thought of Cleveland, Jonathan replied positively: “Cleveland is a bumpy, slick track. That in itself makes it difficult for a driver. It’s my first race at Cleveland, so I’m going to have to get used to the track’s characteristics. My real concern, though, is the car’s set-up. There is nothing worse than having the wrong set-up and as much as you would like to go faster, you can’t if the car isn’t there. Actually, even small set-up problems become more pronounced and magnified, especially at this track.” In fact, a persistent understeer problem that has plagued Jonathan’s NTN Bearings Swift since the start of the 2001 race season will need to be sorted out if Jonathan hopes to be competitive, “There’s no doubt,” said Jonathan. “Set-up is crucial for this race, and so we’re going to have to work on solving the understeer problem.” Testing in Mid-Ohio this week should prove fruitful in putting to rest the car’s handling problem. Baring any improvement to the car’s performance, however, the team has a cushion of two practice sessions and two qualifying sessions before the big race Sunday. In Montreal, a podium finish was oh so close for Macri. However, hard luck hit, and he now looks to Cleveland for redemption. Another track, another race weekend. It is Jonathan’s turn to capture Cleveland. The podium awaits. |
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