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| July 06, 2002 – Macri’s Mission Complete at Toronto Throngs of race fans made their way through the gates of Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, today. The 7th leg of the Toyota Championship, the opening race of the Toronto Molson Indy weekend drew a crowd of 51,243. Greeted by warm temperatures and sunshine, race fans rubbed their hands in anticipation of the 35-lap CART Toyota Atlantic spectacle, with three Canadians in the running. For hometown favourite Jonathan Macri, much was at stake. He would need to walk away from the Molson Indy street course with a good sum of points to keep him in the fight for Championship contention. The 20-year-old Gormley, Ontario native would also need to find redemption at Toronto for an uneventful finish last year in his rookie season. Last, he wished to show gratitude to family, friends, fans, team and sponsors for their unflinching support by delivering a podium-performance. A high stakes race for Macri, and so too was the pressure. At 3:30 p.m. engines raised to a roar on Honorary Starter Don Brown’s command. Macri, piloting the blue # 31 P-1 Racing/NTN Bearings/Miller Genuine Draft/Battlefield Equipment Rentals 014.a, was slotted in 5th position on the start grid as the result of a 3rd place second qualifier Saturday morning that pushed him up from a provisional 6th-place start position at the previous day’s qualifier. The start would see Macri maintain 5th. However, not a lap passed before the race went to a full course yellow after Yasukawa spun his car and made contact into Turn Two. At the re-start, Jonathan once again protected his position until contact between #88 Waldemar Coronas (Scuadra Fortia) and #5 Sepp Koster (Michael Shank Racing) brought out the second full course yellow. A third full course yellow ensued on lap 5 after #32 Jon Fogarty launched his car over Dorricott Racing team-mate # 33 Luis Diaz at Turn 3. Macri, nestled in 3rd, would now be tested by #34 Alex Gurney on lap 9 who attempted a pass on Macri at Turn 3. The 4th yellow was waved on lap 10 after #6 Frank Dancs spun out at Turn 3. Macri’s defensive wears would once again be tested on Lap 12 as #1 Hunter-Reay attempted to squeeze by him into Turn 7. Jonathan increased his lead over Hunter-Reay, and raced without challenge until the final third of the race which saw him bring heavy pressure to bear on #4 Rocky Moran Jr. (Sigma Autosport) for 2nd spot. At times right underneath Moran’s gearbox, Macri continued to apply pressure until the penultimate lap of the race, when he passed Moran at Turn 10. With little time remaining to catch Michael Valiante (Lynx Racing), in 1st, Macri would have to settle for 2nd, crossing the finish line a mere .909 seconds behind. Jonathan also nearly clinched the $1000.00 WorldCom Fast Pace Award, missing it by a miniscule 1/1000ths of a second. The award went to Valiante who put down a race lap record of 106.549 seconds. “It’s been a fantastic weekend,” Macri said. “P-1 Racing did a great job on the car. It was quick in qualifying this morning so we knew we would be in good shape for the race. The car ran really well, not quite as quick at the start, but it got quicker nearing the last third of the race so I was able to apply pressure on Rocky and push for 2nd spot. It was definitely a clean battle with Rocky. It all depended on the traffic. He would pull ahead and then I would catch back up. He was real good on the brakes. I was trying to force a mistake out of him. Near the end of the race, I got back up close and was able to sneak by and hold off to the end. I want to thank all my P-1 Racing team members, all my sponsors: NTN Bearings/Miller Genuine Draft/Battlefield Equipment Rentals, my family, friends and all the fans for their support. It’s been great being able to show well for all of them. I guess that’s what today’s race was all about for me.” Today, Macri left nothing to the imagination, nor to wild abandon. With racing focus sharp and talent laid firmly to bear on Toronto’s 1.755-mile temporary street course, Jonathan sought redemption for last year’s less than desired Toronto outing. In so doing, he delivered the goods to team P-1 Racing and sponsors. To adoring fans, whose cheers convinced Toronto race announcers that Macri should be awarded title of Mayor of Gormley, Ontario, based solely on their support; and to the family and friends, some of whom stood pit-side nervously switching their sights from the long straightaway to the large screen to ride with Jonathan on his journey to a marvellously won second place. Macri’s mission was now complete. The 2nd place podium finish, the third podium for Macri this year pushes him up to 7th spot in the Championship Standings with 63 points, 31 points behind leader Michael Valiante (Lynx Racing) and just 12 points behind second place drive Jon Fogarty (Dorricott Racing). Rocky Moran, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alex Gurney rounded off the top five spots. The CART Toyota Atlantic Championship moves to Cleveland, Ohio, this Friday as teams prepare for the running of the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland on Sunday, July 14th. Race Report by Fedele Fortino |
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