Rocketsports Racing Toronto Race Report
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Heather Haupt ▪ cell: (517) 927-8472 ▪ e-mail: heatherh@rocketsportsracing.com ROUGH RACE DAY FOR ROCKETSPORTS RACING IN TORONTO AS KASEMETS FAILS TO FINISH DUE TO MECHANICAL FAILURE TORONTO, Canada (July 9, 2006) – An early morning in Toronto saw the Rocketsports Racing team working very hard, which ended up as a short day for Tonis Kasemets in the #18 Flexovit Abrasives/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone car who failed to finish the race due to a broken half shaft. During the morning Warm Up session, Kasemets’ rolled out for some more practice time before the main event this afternoon. At the start of the session, an incident occurred causing a red flag, halting the session for a few minutes. When the track went back to green, the Estonian driver ran a few laps before he was involved in an incident of his own. While the rookie Champ Car driver for Rocketsports was starting to make a run in Warm Up, contact was made by Paul Tracy when he tried to go on the inside of Kasemets’, which resulted in Kasemets taking flight and heading straight into the wall. Damage was done to the car and the #18 Rocketsports crew was fast to work to prepare the front suspension. They did a great job getting the car race-ready in time to make the 11:45 a.m. grid line up. With all the hard work behind them, the team looked forward to a rewarding race. Kasemets started in the 17th position on the grid and managed to be sitting P14, despite radio calls to his crew that his car was getting loose. He came in on Lap 47 worried about the left front brake. The crew removed the tire and did not see anything wrong with the brake and Kasemets headed back out. He managed one more lap before he could tell that the car had broken, and the problem was a broken left rear axle. "It was a tough day for the Rocketsports team,” stated Kasemets as he reflected on the overall race day in Toronto. “The #18 Flexovit Abrasives/Rocketsports crew did a great job getting the car back together after the incident during the morning Warm Up session. Even though the car was inspected from the incident and everything seemed fine, we think that the contact during Warm Up may have caused a crack that we couldn't detect." Kasemets made his third Champ Car start this afternoon when the green flag waved to kick of the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto, Round Seven of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. This is his first DNF (Did Not Finish) due to the mechanical issue, as he successfully finished the first two races he has run with the team. He will return to the cockpit of the #18 car in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with the hopes of continuing to improve his driving of the Champ Car and finding more speed in the car. The team will have one weekend off before heading to Edmonton for the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix Presented by The Brick Community on July 21-23. Subscriptions: [Champ Car Press Releases] [Internal Champ Car List] Change subscriptions: http://rocket.cmagic.com/index.php?option=com_mamml&Itemid=&action=unregistered&type=unregistered&userid=1294&test=a316e055424f1abe35a0c84e23d899f1