The Cart Toyota Atlantic series moves to Vancouver to run its last race in Canada, and the third-to-last race of the 2001 season. Canada’s young 2001 Atlantic rookie entrant Jonathan Macri waits with high anticipation for the opportunity to attack the streets of Vancouver. Registering a pristine performance at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, USA, capturing second place, and his first podium finish of the season for NTN Bearings/P1-Racing, Jonathan has finally received his just desserts for having continuously demonstrated a mature, consistent racing style, a persistent, determined attitude, and a daring, savvy approach throughout the season. However, the podium was his only after Macri manoeuvred his NTN car past two formidable drivers in David Rutledge and rookie-of-the-year challenger Joey Hand. In fact, even first place wasn’t too far in the distance, not after Jonathan turned on his racing jets and narrowed the gap between himself and race leader Hoover Orsi to only 1.320 seconds by the end of the race; and interestingly enough, drove a iron-clad wedge between himself and 3rd place Joey Hand of 11.816 seconds. It came as no surprise, in fact, that Jonathan broke the race track record in his unbridled charge for first, breaking Buddy Rice’s 1999 mark of 2:03.614 seconds (117.890mph), with a lap time of 2:02.688 seconds (118.779mph). Macri was rewarded with the $1000 Worldcom "Fast Pace" award for his record-setting lap.
A watershed race for Jonathan? Definitely. Winning a podium, for Macri, meant the immediate loosening of the psychological pressure valve.
"As a driver," Jonathan said, you must put 100% effort into every race. Any lapse in concentration, or any careless move can end your day. I’ve tried to keep focus throughout the season, but the results haven’t been there – no podium finishes, although I was close in Montreal , Chicago and Trois Rivieres. It can get frustrating because you are always looking for the podium and when you don’t find it, you have to sometimes fight to keep your spirits high and deal with the pressure of trying to get there. At Road America, finally winning a podium helped release the pressure for a podium, and now I feel I can really race."
Of course, Jonathan was not the lone reason for the podium finish, a driver alone rarely is.
"P1-Racing did a fantastic job," Jonathan said. I want to thank them for their excellent work on the car. I also want to thank my sponsor NTN Bearings for their support. The podium finish would not have been possible without either."
Currently, Jonathan stands tied in 5th position, with 69 points, only one point away from rookie-of-the-year leader Joey Hand (70 points).
At Road America, the podium finish testified to Jonathan’s talent, unlike earlier races where his skill, though acknowledged and duly applauded by race fans, went unrecognized by the podium. Jonathan’s racing acumen and grit, finally rewarded, the Macri camp looks to Vancouver for more recognition.
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