Manteca's Speed 16th in F1 Race in Malaysia

Manteca native Scott Speed posted a 16th-place finish in just his second
career Formula One race on Sunday at the Malaysian Grand Prix. 

Speed qualified 12th on the Sepang International Circuit for Scuderia
Toro Rosso (Italian for Red Bull), but was forced from the race on lap
41 with what was determined as a clutch activation problem. Renault's
Giancarlo Fisichella won the 56-lap feature with teammate Fernando
Alonzo second and Honda's Jenson Button third. 

 "It's too bad that I did not finish the race because this was the track
where we expected to struggle most," said Speed, who got as high as
ninth place in the race at one point. "We were over-gripped
aerodynamically, but I and my engineer got the set-up about right in the
end. It's a shame we did not finish." 

Speed, who placed 13th in the season-opener in Bahrain on March 12,
began his open-wheel racing career at the Jim Russell Racing School,
which is based at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.  

Speed returns to action in the third round of the Formula One season on
April 2 in Melbourne (Australia). Race fans will get their first glimpse
of Speed on American soil in F1 competition at the United States Grand
Prix in Indianapolis, July 2.  

Scott Speed - 2006 Formula One Season

Race: Qualify, Finish

1. Bahrain (March 12): 16th, 13th

2. Malaysia (March 19): 12th, 16th

3. Next race: Melbourne (April 2)