August 01, 2001 - Jonathan Macri – News Release
Trois Rivieres, Quebec is gearing up to host the 8th race of a 12-race-event CART Toyota Atlantic schedule, part of the Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres. Scheduled just one week after the Target Grand Prix at Chicago Motor Speedway, Chicago, Ill., Atlantic teams wasted little time after Sunday’s race to prepare for the trek to the Quebec road course, the third of four races to be held in Canada.
19-year-old Jonathan Macri, piloting the NTN Bearings Swift, is looking forward to Trois Rivieres, a track familiar to him; one he raced on in his two-year quest to becoming the 2000 Formula Ford 1600 Champion. "Trois Rivieres brings back good memories from my Formula 1600 days," Jonathan said. "It will definitely be a special race for me and I am confident that we will be in good shape come race-day."
Jonathan left for Trois Rivieres early this week with little time to rest after a somewhat frustrating weekend racing at Chicago Motor Speedway, where, after having registered a sterling performance, and having held third position for all of 53 laps, electrical problems caused his car to misfire, finally short-circuiting Jonathan’s pursuit of his first podium finish, and relegating him to a sixth place finish.
Jonathan’s mature, aggressive racing style was evident at Chicago, though, just as it has been throughout the season. Without doubt, in his rookie season, he has brought much drama to the Atlantic series, and although he has witnessed more than his share of hard luck, Jonathan’s record to date attests to his talent. Jonathan stands in 3rd place in the total number of laps completed this year at 319, only 1 lap less than Martin Basso. He currently sits tied with Grant Ryley in 7th place in the Championship Standings and is a mere 5 points shy of leading the Rookie-of-the-Year Championship.
Jonathan is hoping that his spade of hard luck is behind him now, or at the least that it steers clear of Trois Rivieres this weekend. Fans have been riveted to their seats watching Jonathan create his special brand of racing drama, always demonstrating a consistent, competitive style. It would be fitting and well warranted that at Trois Rivieres, Jonathan’s performance be reflected in the final race results.
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