AFS Andretti Green's Raphael Matos Wins Mid-Ohio 100 Race One

Pre-Season Favorite Claims Lead in Chase for the Firehawk Cup

by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com

Raphael Matos takes the lead in the Indy Lights championship race. Photo: AndySallee

AFS Andretti Green Racing’s Raphael Matos left the field of twenty-two seeing crimson as the talented Brazilian drove off into the distance in the No. 27 red and yellow Dallara for a wire-to-wire victory in the first of two Firestone Indy Lights Series Mid-Ohio 100 races here at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Matos took the lead from pole and held off a brief challenge from second-place Franck Perera of Guthrie Racing and Sam Schmidt Motorsports’ Richard Antinucci on his way to an impressive win on the undulating north-central Ohio road course.

“I pushed hard, especially in the beginning,” Rafa said afterwards, “to build the gap to win. We’ll make some changes for tomorrow and try to do it again. We achieved our main goal: to move into the lead of the championship with this race.”

“I couldn’t stay close to him with no yellow today,” said Perera of the race run without a single full-course caution. “He was very strong on the race. Anyway, it’s good to be second and we’ll see what happens on Sunday.”

Rafa earned fifty points for winning the race, another two points for leading the most laps, and with one point for sitting on pole maxed out the calculator as he edged into the lead for the 2008 Firestone Firehawk Cup ahead of Antinucci.

“Matos deserved the win,” said Antinucci. “We lost the lead in the championship, but only by a hair. It’s still close and we’ll keep on trying.”

Integra Motorsports’ Jonny Reid took fourth place, just ahead of RLR Andersen Racing’s J R Hildebrand in fifth.

Race Recap

Daniel Herrington and Wade Cunningham went off-course on the opening lap, while Antinucci slipped past Jonny Reid for third as the cars passed the flag-stand for the first time.

Robbie Pecorari also went off, to retirement, on Lap 4 as his car experienced mechanical failure and required a lift back to the garages.

The trio of Matos, Perera and Antinucci soon separated from Bobby Wilson, Reid and Arie Luyendyk Jr; by Lap 7 the gap from third to fourth stood four seconds-plus as the leaders set a 1:16 pace around the circuit.

By Lap 14 Matos and Perera were lapping the back of the field with Antinucci fading back to a four-second gap on third.

Rafa picked up two points for ‘most-laps-led’ on Lap 21, giving him the maximum 3-pointer bonus allowed in tandem with the single point awarded the pole-sitter, and the lead in the Indy Lights championship on the track.

By Lap 30 the running order was Matos, Perera, Antinucci, Wilson and Reid; followed by RLR Andersen’s J R Hildebrand, SSM’s James Davison, Luyendyk Jr, Team Moore’s Jeff Simmons and Andrew Prendeville.

With eight laps to go the gap from first to next stood 3.5 seconds; then eleven more seconds to third when Mark Olson and Wilson collided in Turn 2, damaging the left front of the No. 7 Team E machine and sending Olson skyward for a brief, awkward flight.

The incident advanced Hildebrand to fourth, then he quickly gave up the spot to Reid.

Davison made contact with a lapped car, damaging his left front wing; but he continued until Simmons moved around him for sixth on Lap 38.

Luyendyk tried but couldn’t overtake Davison and came home eighth.

Prendeville and Simmons’ teammate Pablo Donoso took the ninth and tenth finishing positions at the checkered flag.

The winning margin was measured at 3.8841 seconds.

The field will invert the first four positions for Sunday’s Mid-Ohio Race Two.

Matos Moves Into First Place Toward the Firehawk Cup

Matos earned 53 points for his performance on Saturday, enough for him to overcome the fifteen point deficit behind Antinucci (whose 35 points earned for third allowed him to retain second place in the championship race). Ana Beatriz finished fourteenth but retained third place in the season-long competition, now 61 points off the pace.

Sunday’s race will put Reid on the point alongside Antinucci, with Perera and Matos on the second row as the field flip-flops the first four finishers. The race is scheduled for a 10:35 AM EDT start.

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Firestone Indy Lights Mid-Ohio 100 Race One Results

Firestone Firehawk Cup 2008 Cumulative Results

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Raphael Matos Mid-Ohio 100 Race One Winner Interview (Click to download MP3 audio)