Montreal, Quebec, Canada (August 23, 2003) – After the final qualifying session this morning, #84 NTN Bearings driver and a Canadian favorite, Jonathan Macri will start 8th on the grid for today’s race at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. Car problems in yesterday’s provisional qualifier kept Macri in the pit for much of the session, thus resulting in a 9th place finish. Fortunately in the second qualifier, Macri was able to improve his time from yesterday to push him into the 8th position.
"It has not been a good weekend with qualifying. We qualified 9th yesterday due to car problems and today we pushed up to 8th. It is good that we fixed the issues from yesterday, but we just aren't getting the speed that we would like out of the car”, Macri commented. “As we had so much to focus on in the provisional, today is the first time we can really make adjustments to get more speed and analyze how the car is handling. So as today is our first day in a way, we are starting behind everyone in the adjustment process.”
Turning a fast lap time of 1:34.236, Jonathan was disappointed in the weekend’s qualifiers, but in true Macri form has maintained his confidence and set his goals for today’s race. “My goal at this point is to just try and push ahead of the guys in front of me. Of course I want to get on podium, but starting from 8th position makes that tough. I just need to keep my eye on the car in front of me and work to get ahead”, stated a resolved Macri.
Round ten of the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship race is scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m. local time today. Speed Channel will televise the race from Montreal with a slight tape-delay beginning at 4 p.m. local time. Check local listings as times are subject to change.
To track Macri’s race results, log on to www.jonathanmacri.com. For further information on the Toyota Atlantic series, log on at www.toyotaaatlantic.com.
### |
 |