Dorricott Racing: Trois-Rivieres Race Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       

Contact:        James Hyneman   
        jhyneman@compuserve.com

                                DIAZ SCORES SIXTH AT TROIS-RIVIERES 

        TROIS-RIVIERES, Que., Canada (Aug 3, 2003) - Luis Diaz, of Mexico
City, was smooth, fast, and skillful in finishing sixth place Sunday, Aug.,
3, at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

        Diaz, who also qualified sixth in the Telmex Swift 014a, had an
opening lap stumble when Joey Hand slipped past him for sixth place. Diaz
reclaimed sixth place on lap 18 of the 45-lap race when Aaron Justus lost
control of his car and slid into a tire barrier in turn six of the
1.521-mile, 10-turn street circuit. However, the slippage to Hand
unknowingly created a problem to Diaz's motor that affected him midway
through the race.

        Diaz became part of a four-car contingent that literally ran
nose-to-tail between laps 2 and 29. Among those were Justus, Danica
Patrick, Hand, and Diaz. Driving fourth in line significantly reduced the
airflow to Diaz's motor. This caused his motor's water and oil temperatures
to reach dangerous levels. Diaz was forced to back off a bit so his motor
fluids could regain normal operating temperatures. The field had spread out
enough by that time that he was unable to firmly challenge Patrick after
Hand passed her on Lap 29. Despite this set back, Diaz consistently ran the
fourth fastest laps of the race.
        
        "All in all we had a good race," said Diaz. "This is a difficult
track to pass and this race wasn't much different than past races in that
regard. The also weren't many opportunities to advance because most of the
drivers didn't make any mistakes. Today, I was in a group of four cars that
ran really close. My engine didn't have clean air for a long time. That
caused it to overheat so I had to back off a little to cool it down. All
the cars from third through seventh were fast but nobody made a mistake
until Aaron (Justus) hit a tire barrier. By that time my engine was running
too hot for me to make a big move. Don't get me wrong. This was a good
result. I had a good car and this was a much better race for me at
Trois-Rivieres than last year. However, I am looking forward to racing on a
more traditional road course like Mid-Ohio next week. The team is doing
better and we have every reason to believe we'll be very competitive again
at Mid-Ohio."

        The 45-lap Atlantic sprint was completed in 45:14.076 at an average
speed of 90.787 miles per hour. This broke the previous race record of
46:28.841 (88.353 mph) established by Hoover Orsi in 2001.

        Race winner A.J. Allmendinger scored 23 points for the weekend and
extended his Series lead to 34 points over second-place finisher Ryan
Dalziel, 148-114. Diaz collected 10 points and remained in ninth place with
59 points. However, Diaz also moved to within  striking range of the
top-six and only trails sixth-place Hand by nine points, 68-59. Diaz is
only 24 points behind fifth-place Justus who has 83 points.

        Round nine of the 2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship will be next
Sunday, Aug. 10,  at the Champ Car Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio at Lexington,
Ohio's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

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