Mid-Ohio Indy Lights DoubleHeader Pits Antinucci, Matos, Beatriz
Mid-Season Triple-Treat Awaits on Buckeye State Road Course
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series season matures further with this weekend's crucial double-header for three drivers (Richard Antinucci, Raphael Matos and Ana Beatriz) who've raced their way to the top of the standings in pursuit of the Firestone Firehawk Cup.
Sam Schmidt Motorsports' Richard Antinucci will try to regain his balance on the same track that launched him onto an impressive 2007 run of firsts and seconds in this series one year ago, and was seminal in putting his name at the top of the list of preseason favorites for the current season.
Richard used a first-place finish here at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course outside Lexington, Ohio to shift his Indy Lights career into high gear as the 2007 season came to a close with champion Alex Lloyd already assured of the Cup. Driving with verve and confidence the Rome, Italy-born driver swept to the fastest laps in practice and, on the strength of pre-event testing at the 2.258 mile road course, moved past Lloyd on Lap 15 along the long backstretch and never looked back on his way to his first series victory.
Antinucci Seeks KnockOut Punch to Close Season
Antinucci will try to deliver a knock-out punch to AFS Andretti Green Racing's Raphael Matos, who stands only fifteen points to the rear in the championship chase.
Rafa, too, figures to benefit from the steady diet of roadcourse racing the next month will bring; however, the advantage definitely lies with Antinucci in familiarity and previous success over the circuits ahead. Matos has finished first in the opening event of each of the season's double-header contests to date, with wins at St. Petersburg and at Watkins Glen.
After a stop at Kentucky Speedway's oval on August 9th, the Brazilian will test Antinucci on another of the SSM driver's favorite courses: Sonoma, California's Infineon Raceway (August 23rd & 24th), where Richard took a first and a second place-finish in last year's contests. The season concludes at Chicagoland Speedway on September 9th, with the final oval race of the season.
Both Antinucci and Matos have struggled on the oval configuration, which is where Antinucci's teammate Ana Beatriz (third in points with a 39-point gap to the front) begins to loom large in the rear-view mirrors.
The 23-year old 'Bia' (she's still known internationally as Bia Figueiredo to many fans) has already proven she's equally fast as the top contenders on the street course at St. Petersburg and on the oval at Nashville where she recorded the series' first win by a female only one week ago.
She's bolstered her chances with unexpectedly strong performances on the four-cornered courses, including a podium finish at Iowa's little bullring; and shown the anticipated strength of her road-course driving ability at Watkins Glen with another podium.
Confidence growing, and the remaining four rounds equally split between roads and roundy-rounds, Bia could well drive to the front and take the championship trophy away from the boys in her Indy Lights rookie year.
A win on Saturday would also plump Bia's earning's for the year with a check from Firestone for $5000, an award originating with this 2008 season to the winner of consecutive races on the sixteen-event calendar.
- Indy Lights Series: Race: ESPN2 (tape-delay), 2:00 PM EDT, July 24th
- Talent: Bob Jenkins, Robbie Buhl (announcers); Mike King (pit reporter)
- Live streaming video coverage of Indy Lights Series Pole Qualifying (11:00 AM EDT July 19th) and the Indy Lights Series Mid-Ohio 100 (5:25 PM EDT July 19th and 10:35 AM EDT July 20th) is available at www.indycar.com
Friday, July 18th
- 7:00 AM Indy Lights Series garages open
- 9:40 AM-10:25 AM Indy Lights Series practice
- 2:25 PM-2:55 PM Indy Lights Series practice
Saturday, July 19th
- 7:00 AM Indy Lights Series garages open
- 11:00 AM-11:30 AM Indy Lights Series Qualifying
- 4:55 PM Indy Lights Series pre-race
- 5:25 AM Indy Lights Series Mid-Ohio 100 Race One (40 laps, 90.3 miles), ESPN 2 (2:00 PM, July 24th)
Sunday, July 20th
- 6:30 AM Indy Lights Series garages open
- 8:00-8:15 Indy Lights Series warm-up
- 10:10 AM Indy Lights Series pre-race
- 10:35 AM Indy Pro Series Mid-Ohio 100 Race Two 100 (40 laps, 90.3 miles), ESPN 2 (2:00 PM, July 24th)
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