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| July 5, 2002 – Jonathan Macri 6th in First Qualifier at Toronto The hot, muggy weather that has stubbornly overstayed its visit in Toronto by a full two weeks has finally moved on and upwards, clearing the way for sunny skies and cooler temperatures. If in doubt as to whether the gods love racing, therein lies yours answer, or maybe the gods are simply rewarding the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship for providing racing fans with such high calibre, open-wheel competition. Officials, fans, drivers, and sponsors are all thankful, no doubt, as Exhibition Place, the site of the Toronto Molson Indy, redlines with activity and excitement on opening day of its race weekend. Jonathan Macri, driving the blue # 31 P-1 Racing/NTN Bearings/Miller Genuine Draft Swift 014.a, is gearing up to provide some of his own drama for his hometown race fans. Macri understands full well the need to do well in tomorrow’s 7th leg of the twelve-leg Championship. He will be racing to get into Championship contention and to show well in front of fans, family, and sponsors. The pressure is high. Macri though is composed. At the first of two qualifying sessions today at the 1.755-mile temporary street track, Jonathan piloted his P-1 Racing/NTN Bearings/Miller Genuine Draft Swift 014.a to a 6th place finish, .978 seconds behind leader Jon Fogarty (Dorricott Racing), at a speed of 152.768 kph. Normally, 6th place would constitute a decent first qualifier for Macri, but not today, especially after Macri posted the 3rd fastest time in morning practice. “Our weekend started really well. We hit the mark in practice and finished in 3rd. We figured we would be in good shape for the first qualifier and it seemed that we were moving in that direction for about the first third of the qualifying session, as I was sitting in first and second. The car felt good. I came into the pits and we made a few changes to the car, but there was no improvement. In fact the car got worse, with more under steer and more exit over steer. I came in quickly for a second pit stop and we took back the last adjustments and made yet another adjustment. It ran better but not as good as the set-up we started with. I matched my fasted lap once the track went to green with 4 minutes remaining. We now know what doesn’t work, so there has been some progress, in a sense,” Jonathan said. “We’ll have to figure out what will bring our time down by almost a second.” Toronto will awake early tomorrow morning as Atlantic drivers descend onto its streets at 9 a.m. ET for official qualifying. Jonathan will attempt to better his time for the 35-lap race, which begins at 3:30 p.m. ET. However, according to Macri, “CASCAR qualifying takes place just prior to the final Atlantic qualifier, and will leave a lot of rubber on the track. So times are unlikely to improve.” Baring any improvement in his grid start position, Jonathan will be aiming to make his way through the sharp 3rd corner without incident. Patiently pressing the driver in front, Jonathan will hope to capitalize on competitors’ mistakes. As Jonathan says “It’s an easy track to block so chances will be few for passing. We’ll have to press for a pass and wait for a mistake before we can make a move.” The 12th Atlantic race in Toronto will be broadcast live Saturday July 6, at 330 p.m. ET, on Speed Channel. It will be rebroadcast on Monday, July 8, at 9:30 p.m. ET. Report by Fedele Fortino |
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