Rocketsports Racing Mexico City Preview

ROCKETSPORTS RACING READY TO WRAP UP THE SEASON SOUTH OF THE BORDER

EAST LANSING, Mich. (November 2, 2005) – The final race on the 2005 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford schedule takes place this weekend, November 4-6, in Mexico City, Mexico and Rocketsports Racing drivers Timo Glock and Michael McDowell look to finish the team’s season with top results.

Glock wrapped up the Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year title in Australia, leaving the race 44 points ahead of Ronnie Bremer when he only needed to be ahead of him by 35 points to clinch the honor.  Glock is the first driver in the 26-year history of the award to represent Germany.  

Reliability has been the key for the rookie sensation this season while driving the #8 DHL Global Mail/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone.  Glock sits in the top ten of the Champ Car championship standings in ninth with a total of 181 points and is second to 2004 and 2005 Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais in laps completed this season, finishing 1,215 out of 1,240 laps possible.  

Champ Car returns to a natural terrain road course this weekend for its season finale to run on the 2.781-mile permanent road course at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez venue.  Glock, who earned his first Champ Car podium in Montreal, has one more opportunity to work with his Rocketsports team to reach their overall goal of the season – a win.  They were so close to tasting the victory campaign in Montreal, but this weekend they have packed their glasses and are ready to toast a good finish to the season, with the motivation and determination of finishing in victory circle.

McDowell may be new to the Champ Car circuit, but he is definitely one to watch this weekend in Mexico City.  He is the only driver that will be running in both the Champ Car World Series and Grand American Rolex Series events in Mexico City.  He will race the #31 Commercial Defeasance/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone for Rocketsports Racing on Sunday, November 6, a day after he competes in the Grand American Rolex Series racing the #19 Finlay Motorsports Daytona Prototype on Saturday, November 5.  This weekend will mark the first time a driver has competed in both a major sports and open-wheel race in the same weekend since Mario Andretti did it in 1975.

The American has one Champ Car start/finish under his belt after taking to the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia.  Despite being a challenging course, in addition to slick road conditions at the start of the weekend, McDowell did not put a tire wrong while on course the entire weekend.  He qualified 16th and finished 12th, scoring nine championship points in his debut event.

McDowell became the sixth-youngest driver to ever start a Champ Car World Series event when he took the green flag for his debut at the age of 20 years, 10 months and two days.  Rocketsports Racing holds the record for starting the youngest driver in Champ Car history when the team put, then 17-year-old Nelson Philippe, behind the wheel of a Rocketsports Champ Car in 2004.  

Qualifying for the Gran Premio Telmex-Tecate presented by Banamex will take place on Saturday afternoon, November 5, to determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s race, which will take the green flag at 2:45 p.m. local time.  Race coverage can be seen live on SPEED Channel beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.  To follow Rocketsports Racing all weekend long, sign up for Race Director at www.champcar.ws.  







Notes
	Formed in 1985 by racecar driver and businessman Paul Gentilozzi, Rocketsports Racing is based in East Lansing, Michigan.  In addition to a two-car Champ Car entry, the team runs a multi-car effort in the Trans-Am Series.
	Rocketsports Champ Car entry started in 2003.  The team expanded to a two-car endeavor in 2004.  Michael McDowell will drive the #31 Rocketsports car and Timo Glock will pilot the #8 DHL Global Mail machine.
	Rocketsports has recorded one victory (Road America, 2004) and two poles (Milwaukee, Montreal, 2003).
	Representing Germany in the Champ Car World Series, Glock is a graduate of the Deutsche Post Speed Academy and has shown his driving talents by winning multiple championships and honors throughout the European ranks.
	Glock, a former Formula driver, started as a test driver during 2004 in a season that saw him make his F1 debut, followed by three other appearances (China, Japan, and Brazil).
	This is Glock’s first season in the Champ Car World Series.
	Glock Earns First Podium, One Lap Shy of Win – Timo Glock found himself in front of the pack in Montreal pacing his first laps in a Champ Car.  He maintained the lead for 19 laps as the Molson Indy Montreal headed toward the checkered flag.  Penalized for short cutting the course on two separate occasions, the German was forced to give up the lead on the final lap.  Earning his first podium in only ten starts by finishing second, Glock was the only rookie to finish in the top ten in Montreal and was awarded a point for obtaining the most positions during the race after starting 11th.
	Glock wrapped up the Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year title during Round 12 of 13 by finishing sixth place in Australia.  He now leads Ronnie Bremer by 44 points leading into the last event in 2005, enough to clinch the title early because the most points a driver can earn during a race weekend is 35.
	Glock is the first German to take the title for Champ Car Rookie-of-the-Year in the awards. 
	Michael McDowell becomes the third American driver that currently races in the Champ Car World Series.  
	McDowell became the sixth-youngest driver to ever start a Champ Car event when he took the green flag in Australia at the age of 20 years, 10 months and two days.
	In racing both sports cars and open-wheel cars during the same season, Michael McDowell will be joining the ranks of such multi-talented legends as Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt.   It has been over 30-years since a driver has raced in both during the same weekend at the same track.  According to motorsports historian Earl Ma, on April 4 and 5, 1959, at Daytona, A.J. Foyt, Jim and Dick Rathman, and Len Sutton participated in both a 100-mile USAC Champ Car race and a 1,000 km sports car race; and on July 13 and 14, 1974, at Watkins Glen, Sam Posey and David Hobbs co-drove in the eight-hour endurance race, then ran F5000.  Mario Andretti did the same double in 1975.
	McDowell’s background in racing began at the age of three racing BMX bikes, soon after he started racing go-karts at the age of eight.  Winning multiple races and championships, he moved to the next level, eventually making his way and a name for himself in the Star Mazda Series.  He now, in addition to racing with Rocketsports Racing, races with Finlay Motorsports driving the Daytona Prototype and a Grand-Am Cup car paired with former Rocketsports driver Memo Gidley.
	In 2004, McDowell claimed the Pro Formula Mazda North American Championship in dominating fashion by qualifying on the pole 60 percent of the time and won 70 percent of the races in the 40 plus car fields.  His championship title was preceded by another standout season in which he claimed the 2003 Rookie-of-the-Year title and finished second in the series standings.
	McDowell will be making his Champ Car debut in Australia and will finish the season with Rocketsports Racing in the season finale at Mexico City.
	The Lexmark Indy 500 will mark the 45th start for Rocketsports in the Champ Car World Series.

Quotes
Timo Glock #8 DHL Global Mail/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone
“It is great that we were able to wrap up the Rookie-of-the-Year title in Australia, but we still have one more thing to accomplish this season – a win.  That is my main concern this weekend, to be able to give back to my Rocketsports team for what they have done for me this season.  It will be nice to get back to racing on a natural terrain road course; those are one of my specialties.  Although I will have to learn the track at the start of the weekend, just as I have had to do at all the venues we raced at this season, I plan to learn it quickly so we can focus on getting a perfect set up for qualifying and race day.  Hopefully we can repeat our success in Montreal, the last road course we participated on, but this time come home with the win.  It is hard to believe this is the last race of the season, but what a great place to have our finale.  Mexico is a great place to race, I really enjoyed myself in Monterrey because all the fans were great, and I look forward to racing in front of all the fans in Mexico City.  It should be a great weekend for all.”

Michael McDowell #31 Commercial Defeasance/ Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone
“After making my Champ Car debut in Australia, I am confident with myself and the Rocketsports team and we are ready for a great performance in Mexico City.   Now that I have been through one event, I know what to expect out of the race weekend while competing in a Champ Car.  I feel that the first event went really well, and this next one can only be better.  We will focus really hard to get the #31 Commercial Defeasance/Rocketsports car in the top five.  It will be a busy weekend for me, as I will be driving both the Rocketsports’ Champ Car and the Finlay Motorsports’ Daytona Prototype in the Grand American Rolex Series.  It will be the last race for both series, and it is really exciting that I can participate in both events.  From what I hear, the Mexicans really love their racing, so it should be a very fun weekend putting on a good show for them in both series.”