Rocketsports Racing Milwaukee Report - Saturday

PASTORELLI LEARNS THE DIFFERENCES OF OVAL RACING VERSES ROAD/STREET COURSE RACING AS HE QUALIFIES FOR HIS FIRST-EVER OVAL RACE IN MILWAUKEE

WEST ALLIS, Wisc. (June 3, 2006) – The Milwaukee Mile is a challenging course to all drivers in the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, even more so for Rocketsports Racing’s driver Nicky Pastorelli who will be making his debut on an oval tomorrow in the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225.

During the two-hour morning practice session, there were three incidents on the track, along with debris, which shorten the time of the session.  For a rookie, it is important to gain as much track time as possible, especially when a team and driver are trying to find more speed out there.  He was able to find enough time during the practice session to run 83 laps and post a quick time of 23.374 second (159.130 mph), which marked his fastest time at the fame-Mile oval this weekend.

“It is tough out here,” said the 23-year-old driver on his first experience on an oval.  “I have anticipated running on an oval because I have heard so many different stories about doing so, and I am so excited to have this opportunity to experience it for myself.  It is a lot more difficult than I expected.  It always looked very simple to me, but to my surprise it is not.  The biggest factor that is affecting me is knowing the limit of the #8 Bavaria City Racing/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lolo/Bridgestone car.  On a road course, you can push the car pretty far before it becomes dangerous.  Here, you can push a little bit, but if you cross the line then there is no turning back, as we have seen over the last two days here in Milwaukee.”

This afternoon, Pastorelli was the first to go out for qualifying.  The green flag dropped after a couple of warm-up laps for the Italo-Dutch driver, as he had two laps to give it his best.  He posted his best time on his second orbit around the one-mile venue in a time of 23.725 seconds (157.946 mph).  Pastorelli will start 15th on the grid in Round Four on the 2006 Champ Car World Series schedule.

“There is definitely more pressure on the driver when qualifying for an oval race,” said Pastorelli on his first qualifying experience on an oval.  “You have to get up to speed very quickly, and that is something that I am not used to doing and it is difficult.  The car has been improving over the last two days.  We obviously did not qualify as good as we were hoping, but it is a long race and a lot can happen.  The main goal for me tomorrow is to drive smooth, be patient, and stay clean.” 

A quick warm-up session will take place tomorrow morning from 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Central Time.  Rocketsports Racing will take the #8 car out onto the grid at 12:15 p.m. local time in preparation for the drop of the green flag scheduled at 1:00 p.m.  The race can be seen live on SPEED Channel tomorrow just after the Bridgestone Pole Award Qualifying show which will air at 1:30 p.m. EST.