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Lee Garners Two Seconds In Formula BMW Doubleheader At Canadian Grand Prix To Move Into Tie for Points Lead
MONTREAL, June 26 - Twin tooth Racing's Matt Lee finished second in both halves of the Formula BMW doubleheader Saturday and Sunday at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit here. Both events supported the Canadian Grand Prix, and showcased the talents of the 16-year-old driver from Syosset, N.Y. on racing's world stage.The terrific showing also vaulted him into a tie for first place in the Formula BMW USA point standings with Robert Wickens heading into another doubleheader this coming weekend. That is another highlight of the 14-race season, since it's held at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in support of the United States Grand Prix. Stefano Coletti, a ringer from the Formula BMW Germany series, won both races over the weekend in Canada. Starting from the pole both days, he led Saturday's race from start to finish and led all but one lap on Sunday. Lee led that lap, but Coletti passed him back and went on to post the victory with Lee just 0.673 of a second behind him. On Saturday the top five were Coletti, Lee, Wickens, Simona de Silvestro and Reed Stevens. On Sunday the top five were Coletti, Lee, de Silvestro, Doug Boyer and Ryan Phinny. Lee's teammate on Team Autotecnica, Robert Thorne of Sherman, Conn., encountered bad racing luck in Montreal. He hit the wall the first day of practice, and although luckily he escaped injury, there wasn't enough time to repair the significant damage to the car before the qualifying session so he had to start at the rear in both races. An incident during Saturday's race damaged the car's rear floorboard and caused the car not to pass the post-race inspection, so he didn't get a finishing position for that event. Things went better for him on Sunday, however, as he ended up 18th and was the fourth-highest-finishing rookie in that race. Lee qualified third for Saturday morning's race. He lost two spots to David Garza and de Silvestro by turn one on the first lap due to a very hairy start when there was a problem with the course's starting lights. He quickly passed de Silvestro back and he moved back into third when Garza spun on lap two. Wickens started second and Lee had to pass him twice, but before long Lee was in the runner-up spot. He was able to remain there until the finish of the 14-lap, 29-car race with his Team Autotecnica No. 44, but by that time Coletti was too far ahead. "The race went pretty well for me," Lee was quoted as saying afterwards on Saturday. "After a bad start I managed to come up through the field and finish second. I am happy with that. My team worked hard and put together a great car for me. It was perfect, and couldn't have been better." Lee started third on Sunday too, but he passed Wickens right away to move into second. On a restart on lap 10 Lee took the lead away from Coletti, but then Coletti passed him back. Lee kept the pressure up the rest of the way, but Coletti was not to be denied. "He wasn't faster in any particular part of the course in the first race, but he seemed stronger in the chicane in the second race," Lee noted, but added quickly "My car handled very well all weekend though." At the checkered Wickens and Reed Stevens tangled and spun in the last turn, allowing de Silvestro to move into third and pushing Wickens back to ninth. Stevens took the checkered backwards in 16th place. "The race was definitely interesting," Lee said of Sunday's event. "At the beginning I had a fight with Wickens for second, and then I was fighting with Coletti. First we had a large gap but then I was able to close it. I was very disappointed when Coletti passed me after I led for a short time. I thought that I would pull away, but I couldn't. "It was a pretty clean race for me though; I wasn't close to an incidents" he noted. Lee said the two runner-up finishes definitely boosted his confidence. "I'm tied for the lead in the championship now; I have to make that right next weekend," he said with conviction. "I hope to repeat the two podium finishes this coming week at Indianapolis." Both Lee and Thorne's Autotecnica cars are sponsored in part by Bumper to Bumper, Autoparts Warehouse, the Francis A. Lee Company, Matt-Con Services Corp. and Integrated Structures. Both drivers are also looking for additional marketing partners to join their program. More information is available on the Internet at twintooth.com, autotecnicagroup.com and formulabmwusa.com. The weekend stats follow: Practice: 1. Stefano Coletti, 1:47.705 (90.547 mph) Qualifying for Race 5: 1. Stefano Coletti, 1:44.987 (92.893 mph), new track record. Qualifying for Round 6: 1. Stefano Coletti, 1:45.365 Race Results for Round 5: 1. Stefano Coletti Race Results for Round 6: 1. Stefano Coletti Points After Rounds Six: 1. Matt Lee and Robert Wickens, 55 Rookie of the Year: 1. Maxime Pelletier, 77 Two Laps on Slicks Are All Lee Needs For Two Pole Positions Friday at IMS In Formula BMW USA Action
INDIANAPOLIS, June 30 - Matt Lee of Syosset, N.Y. earned the pole position for both Saturday and Sunday's 14-lap Formula BMW USA races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during a qualifying session at the famed speedway Friday afternoon. The 16-year-old Team Autotecnica driver will start first in Saturday's race at 4:40 p.m. and Sunday's race at 9:30 a.m. Both events on IMS's 2.605-mile road course support the United States Grand Prix. The qualifying session was extremely dramatic for Lee, whose fastest lap in the morning practice session was just 15th-fastest in the field of 29. That session was held in dry conditions, but due to an afternoon shower the track was wet for the start of the 30-minute qualifying session Friday afternoon. Lee and his Twin tooth Racing teammate, Robert Thorne of Sherman, Conn., were first and second at one point early in the qualifying session while on rain tires, but as the track started to dry some of their rivals pitted and moved ahead of them. With just a few minutes left in the session, the team brought Lee into the pits for slick tires. He only got two laps at speed with the slick Michelins, clocked at 1:38.981 and 1:39.393, respectively, but they were good enough for both poles. It was the second and third pole position of the year for Lee, who is tied for the lead in the Formula BMW USA point standings with Robert Wickens, who will start second in both races. "In the last four minutes of qualifying, we put slicks on," Lee explained. "My fastest lap was my second-to-last one. The last one would have been faster but I got held up in traffic on my last lap. "The Team Autotecnica crew made a rush effort to get the dry set-up on the car, and it paid off," he elaborated. "The grip level was even better than in practice because of all the rubber the Formula 1 cars put down. We're all on Michelin tires; even the Porsche Supercup cars are on Michelins. The only ones that aren't are the Indy Pro Series cars. "Wickens was second, and Coletti [Stefano Coletti, who won the last two races last weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix was seventh." Lee said he hopes it won't rain on Saturday and Sunday, but no matter what the weather is, he has high hopes. "Hopefully our races will be in the dry, but no matter what, I think we have a good car," he concluded. Thorne, who is one of the series' top Rookie of the Year contenders, will start 22nd Saturday and 19th Sunday. Time ran out in the qualifying session before the team could change his car's tires over to slicks. "At first Matt and I ran together, and I figured I'd try to match my pace with his and maintain the distance between us," explained Thorne, who is also 16. "My lap times improved a lot after that, and before I knew it I was in P1. Then 30 seconds later Matt took that position so I was P2". "We maintained first and second for four laps or so, but then a lot of the field pitted for slicks, including Matt. Basically my time on wets didn't count for anything after they got on slicks. Time ran out before we could change my car's tires too, but Matt got two laps in on slicks which got him the pole, and I dropped back to 22nd." Thorne said he's still enjoying the whole Indy experience, however. "It's cool to be here," he noted. "It's exciting to race on the same tracks as the F1 drivers." "The race track is great," Lee concurred. "Only a few select people get to drive on it, and I am very happy to be here." Both Lee and Thorne's Autotecnica cars are sponsored in part by Bumper to Bumper, Autoparts Warehouse, the Francis A. Lee Company, Matt-Con Services Corp. and Integrated Structures. Both drivers are also looking for additional marketing partners to join their program. More information is available on the Internet at twintooth.com, autotecnicagroup.com and formulabmwusa.com. Friday's results: First Practice: 1. Stefano Coletti, 1:37.997 (95.697 mph) Qualifying for Race 1: 1. Matt Lee, 1:38.981 (94.742 mph) Qualifying for Race 2: 1. Matt Lee, 1:39.393 (94.365 mph) Source: Restart Communications, Inc. |
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June 2006
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