It’s race week in Monterey and the last race of the 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship Series. There is little time for Atlantic teams to ponder this past weekend’s race in Houston. All attention is now focused on racing the famed Laguna Seca Raceway.
For Gormley, Ontario’s racing ace, Jonathan Macri, Laguna Seca represents the culmination of an exciting and successful rookie year.
“It has all come together for us,” Jonathan said. “We’ve demonstrated our competitiveness throughout the season from the first race in Long Beach right up to the last race in Houston. This season has been an incredible experience for me. I expected to be in tough racing in the Atlantic series, and I was, but I believe that I have come a long way since the first race and I am sure that the experience has been invaluable for my racing career. I owe a lot to my team, P-1 Racing; my major sponsor, NTN Bearings; and my minor sponsors. I can confidently say that we have a wining car and that I’m definitely going to be racing hard at Laguna for a podium finish, if not a win.”
Jonathan’s confidence, both in his keen racing acumen and in his team is, without doubt, well-founded. Houston race fans saw Macri mount an aggressive challenge for first place. He has finished every race of the 2001 season, except for the Molson Indy Vancouver, where he was sidelined by mechanical problems. Jonathan has thrilled race fans the continent over with his mature, controlled, yet aggressive brand of racing. With one podium finish, 2 fourth place finishes, 2 sixth place finishes, and four top 8 finishes, Jonathan has met the Atlantic challenge successfully, and has cemented his imprint on the Atlantic Series as a driver to be taken seriously. No doubt, a win at Laguna will go far to cap an excellent rookie performance in 2001. Next year, however, challenging for the Atlantic Championship will, no less, be Jonathan Macri’s contention.
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