Toronto, Ontario (September 18, 2008) – The penultimate round of the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda also marks the second straight race at a track new to the series as Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park hosts Round 10 this weekend, Friday 19th – Sunday 21st September. For Canada’s James Hinchcliffe, the coming weekend presents an opportunity to put a disappointing Round 9 behind him after the former points-leader wracked up a second consecutive finish outside the top-ten.
The 21-year-old Toronto racer endured another trying weekend last time out, Sunday 14th September, at the brand-new New Jersey Motorsports Park. ‘Hinch’ qualified his Forsythe Pettit Racing #3 INDECK/TireRack.com entry seventh and was hoping for a top-ten finish when an early spin and contact promptly ended his chances of a solid points score.
The Canadian, in addition to fighting a loose car at the start of the race, had pushed wide on the dust kicked off from Junior Strous’ car ahead which promptly pitched Hinchcliffe into a spin on the gravel and into the path of Dane Cameron. Nursing a damaged front-wing, James returned to the pits for a replacement before returning to the race, albeit two laps down. The real damage was in the points chase however as Hinchcliffe’s 16th place finish dropped him from third to sixth in the Driver Standings and quickly eradicated any hope of a late season title-push.
“Well obviously last weekend’s race in New Jersey was pretty frustrating,” stated Hinchcliffe on his arrival in Utah. “I actually think it was a bit of a mistake to race at the New Jersey track as I just didn’t think they were ready to host a race series like this. The layout itself was beautiful and pretty fun to drive but I think they have a bit more work to do before hosting a series of this caliber.
“Moving on though, we’re racing at another track new to the series here in Utah. Last weekend we were ok in the high-speed turns but we struggled a bit with the low-speed corners. Miller seems to have a lot of high-speed corners which could suit us but it’s such a long lap here so I think it’ll be a challenge to find the perfect set-up. That said, I’m more confident heading into this race and I think with the car that we have we should have a better shot of running at the front. I’m just focusing on ending the season on a high note now and seeing if we can score a couple more race wins!”
Friday 19th September hosts Qualifying 1 at Miller Motorsports Park at 6:20pm EST followed the next day by Qualifying 2 at 10:55am EST. Round 10 of the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda gets underway on Sunday 21st September at 4:30pm EST – www.millermotorsportspark.com
Top-6 Atlantic Drivers – R9/11: 1st Bomarito (USA) 204pts, 2nd Summerton (USA) 188pts, 3rd Niemela (FIN) 182pts, 4th Strous (NED) 166pts, 5th Skerlong (USA) 165pts, 6th HINCHCLIFFE (CAN) 160pts – www.atlantic-championship.com
ENDS – www.hinchtown.com
Photo Credit – “James Hinchcliffe pilots the #3 INDECK/TireRack.com Swift-Mazda Cosworth” – TNT Images
For further information or interview requests please contact Stuart Morrison Public Relations:
Tel: +1 514 684 2621 / Cell: +1 514 945 3253 / Email: stuart@sm-pr.com
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