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Long Beach, CA (April 20, 2008) – It was a case of mixed fortunes for the HVM and Minardi drivers at the conclusion of the second qualifying round for this Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Nelson Philippe, who missed Friday's session, turned a lap quick enough to secure seventh position on the grid, but team-mate EJ Viso was caught up with traffic and will start the last-ever Champ Car race from 14th. Roberto Moreno had a mechanical issue and starts 17th, based on his fastest time from Friday.
This event holds a different significance for each of the team's drivers. The Long Beach Grand Prix marked the first race in America for Roberto, when in 1982, he finished second in the Formula Atlantic round there. Long Beach also provided the venue for Nelson’s Champ Car debut, in 2004, and signalled the beginning of a successful racing career that continues today. Both drivers will freely admit that the Long Beach Grand Prix helped to jump-start their careers and it is therefore entirely fitting that they are present to help give the event and the Champ Car World Series a memorable send-off.
For EJ, this event has a different meaning, as he has not raced at Long Beach before and it is also his first Champ Car race. The historical significance is not lost on the young Venezuelan, however, and although he is in the midst of the IndyCar Series Championship battle (currently 8th in points), he, too, will pay homage to the Champ Car World Series on Sunday, when the turbocharged Cosworth V8 engines fire into life for a final time.
Nelson Philippe
Lap time: 1 min 07.415 secs
Speed: 105.092mph/169.129km/h
“I’m very happy for the team and very happy that Keith Wiggins gave me the chance to be here and prove that I can do alright for a guy who’s been on leave for six months. I’m quite happy. If you look at the guys in front of us, they are only a few tenths quicker and all of them have either been driving in the IRL or at least took part in the Sebring test (in the DP01). For me to be able to jump in here and be pretty quick, especially after missing all of qualifying yesterday, it proves that this is a Championship-caliber team . . . and the driver isn’t too bad either! Like always, HVM in the past gave me a great car for the race and I’m sure tomorrow will be no different. Seeing how close we were with the times today, I’m confident we can finish in the top five if we keep our nose clean. I want to bring it home in one piece and at the front for my last Champ Car race.”
EJ Viso
Lap time: 1 min.07.927 secs
Speed: 104.300mph/167.854km/h
“It was a good session and the car was great on the Bridgestone black tires, but on the reds, we needed some more fine-tuning. I was on a great lap when Graham Rahal blocked me twice against the wall. I think his team needs to buy him a new set of mirrors.”
Roberto Moreno
Lap time: 1 min 14.348 secs
Speed: 95.292mph/153.357km/h
“I’m extremely happy with what we did yesterday, and we made some improvements for today. Unfortunately, I woke up this morning with a stomach bug, along with several other members of the team, so I’ve been feeling a little weak. For qualifying, I was feeling better and thought we would be quick, but we had a transmission problem somewhere. We just lost drive when I was starting my fast lap. It was unfortunate, but I’m going to have to go with my time from yesterday, and we’ll do the best we can, saving fuel and implementing a good strategy to be there at the end. I know I have a good car and it’s better to break now than a couple of laps into the race.”
Keith Wiggins, Team Owner:
“It was a good performance from Nelson, considering his time out of the car and the fact he was fresh back after a long break. On the one hand, he does have experience, but it’s still been a long break for both him and the team. I could actually see he was very close to being further up the grid than he eventually ended up. We were expecting more with EJ, but it seemed on the red tires it just didn’t come together as well as on the blacks. Poor Roberto, it looked like he could do something really good, but then he had a mechanical problem, so it’s been a mixed result for us today.”
HVM is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. In its 7 years of competition in the Champ Car World Series, the team has earned 6 wins, 2 pole positions, and an additional 16 podiums since 2001 when Keith Wiggins took over Bettenhausen Motorsports. They finished 4th and 3rd, respectively, in Championship standings in 2006 and 2007 and drivers Mario Dominguez and Robert Doornbos were named Rookie of the Year in 2002 and 2007, respectively.
Further information about Minardi Team USA is available at www.minarditeamusa.com; the Champ Car World Series, at www.champcarworldseries.com
Media contact
Aislinn Miller
Tel: +1 317 241 3955 Cell: +1 405 822 9012
email: amiller@minarditeamusa.com
Graham Jones
Tel: +44 20 8657 3942 Cell: +44 7767 301303
e-mail: Graham.Jones@MinardiTeamUSA.com
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