MEDIA ADVISORY: SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio
Mazda MX-5 Cup
MEDIA ADVISORY
SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup
Round Four
Mazda Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Joe's
Portland International Raceway
Portland, Ore.
Media Contact: Erin Cechal, SCCA PR Specialist, (785)608-9522,
ecechal@scca.com
Event/Circuit Mazda Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Joe's
Portland International Raceway
12-turn, 1.967-mile road course
Qualifying: Saturday, June 9 at 3:15 p.m. (PDT)
Green Flag: Sunday, June 10 at 4:00 p.m. (PDT)
Race Length: 45-minute timed race.
Television: All races to be aired on SPEED. Dates and times TBD.
Media Notes: Results are available on the AP SportsWire, via e-mail
and on the Internet at www.mx-5cup.com <http://www.mx-5cup.com/> .
Timing/Scoring: Live Timing & Scoring and lap notes via the SCCA(r) Pit
Board are available for all sessions through www.mx-5cup.com
<http://www.mx-5cup.com/> .
Records: Qualifying Lap: 1:27.890 (80.446 mph), Jim
Daniels, 2006
Race Lap: 1:29.053 (79.395 mph), Jim
Daniels, 2006
Average Speed: 78.537 mph, Jim Daniels,
2006
Closest Margin of Victory: 17.911 seconds,
Jim Daniels over
Brad McAllister, 2006
Storylines:
MX-5 CUP CONTINUES ITS PACIFIC COAST TOUR
Less than a month after tearing up Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the SCCA
Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup heads north along the
Pacific Coast to picturesque Portland, Ore., for Round Four of the
Championship.
With two wins this year, Jason Saini (No. 28 Autobarn
Mazda/SafeRacer.com) arrives in Portland with a sizeable lead in the
Championship, 27 points, over Ara Malkhassian. Saini took the win at
Round Three a full 16.387 seconds ahead of Laguna Seca expert Matt
Cross. Such a margin of victory is a rare occurrence in MX-5 Cup and
speaks volumes of how finely tuned Saini has his MX-5. He will be hard
to beat this weekend at Portland International Raceway, where he
finished fifth last year.
After collecting his first-career win at Road Atlanta in April, a
seventh-place finish at Mazda Raceway wasn't exactly what Malkhassian
(No. 11 Alara Racing) was aiming for to close the gap to Saini in the
Championship. Now Malkhassian needs to worry about Cross (No. 80 Jason
Hoover Motorsports/Hooverspeed) who is quickly gaining ground after a
second-place finish in Monterey. Cross has been successful at Portland
in SCCA Spec Miata racing, while Malkhassian's race here last year ended
early with mechanical issues.
Finishing fifth at Laguna Seca, Jesse Combs (No. 7 Coolgas Ltd. / Alara
Racing) rebounded well from a poor race at Road Atlanta, which he exited
early with car trouble. Combs now sits fourth in the championship, 13
points behind Cross.
Still making up for a fateful brush with the wall at the season opener
while running second is Andrew Caddell (No. 30
TeamMER/AimSport/PinnacleMazda). The 18-year-old is slowly digging
himself out of that hole with fourth-place finishes at Road Atlanta and
Mazda Raceway. Hailing from Graham, Wash., will Caddell's SCCA Spec
Miata experience at Portland International Raceway pay off and get him
his first MX-5 Cup podium this weekend?
Off the Championship radar but a threat none-the-less is Todd Buras.
After the inncorrect brake pads were found on Buras' car in post-race
tech at Laguna Seca, the No. 56 BSI/Team Garcia/MOMO/Joe Gibbs driver
had his second-place finish revoked. Buras had already missed Round One
in Houston and the Laguna Seca DQ has pushed Buras all the way down to
24th in the Championship. It would be a mistake however, to count Buras
out for a win this weekend considering he finished third in the
Championship last season.
Event Entry lists
No., Driver/ Hometown, Team, Car
5, Dale Alexander/ Tampa FL, Hale Motorsports, Mazda MX-5
7, Jesse Combs/ Houston, TX, Alara Racing, Mazda MX-5
8, Dr. Carlos Tesler-Mabe/ Vancouver, BC, Alara Racing, Mazda MX-5
10, Rick Bellew/ Mobile, AL, Team MER, Mazda MX-5
11, Ara Malkhassian/ Sonoma, CA, Alara Racing, Mazda MX-5
19, Bob Michaelian/ Seal Beach, CA, Hooverspeed, Mazda MX-5
21, Randy Hale, III/ Haddam, CT, Hale Motorsports, Mazda MX-5
24, Forest Barber/ Forth Worth, TX, Team MER, Mazda MX-5
25, Donnie Barnes/ Chapel Hill, NC, Team MER, Mazda MX-5
28, Jason Saini/ Fort Worth, TX, Team MER, Mazda MX-5
29, Patrick Barrett/ Los Osos, CA, Team MER, Mazda MX-5
30, Andrew Caddell/ Graham, WA, Team MER, Mazda MX-5
32, Jeff Moore/ Houston, TX, Alara Racing, Mazda MX-5
39, Brad McAllister/ Portland, OR, Wired Motorsports, Mazda MX-5
43, Barry Fromberg/ Plano, TX, Alara Racing, Mazda MX-5
44, Steve Bottom/ Newport Beach, CA, Steven Bottom Racing, Mazda MX-5
52, Donna Gilio/ Carson City, NV, Hooverspeed, Mazda MX-5
56, Todd Buras/ Melbourne, FL, BSI Racing, Mazda MX-5
57, Mike Gatto/ Cumming, GA, BSI Racing, Mazda MX-5
58, Steven Bernheim/ Encino, CA, BSI Racing, Mazda MX-5
59, Andrew Carbonell/ Miami, FL, BSI Racing, Mazda MX-5
65, Chris Sarian/ Littleton, CO, SarWood Racing, Mazda MX-5
80, Matt Cross/ Folsom, CA, Hooverspeed, Mazda MX-5
83, Kim Ouye/ Salinas, CA, Hooverspeed, Mazda MX-5
88, Pratt Cole/ Salt Lake City, UT, RP Motorsports, Mazda MX-5
00, Harrison Williams/ Houston, TX, Alara Racing, Mazda MX-5
01, Bill Sweedler/ Norwalk, CT, Hale Motorsports, Mazda MX-5
08, Laura Olson/ Costa Mesa, CA, Hale Motorsports, Mazda MX-5
09, John C. Kuitwaard/ Wantagh, NY, P1-Motorsports.com, Mazda MX-5
Erin Cechal
SCCA Public Relations Specialist
800/770-2055 ext. 354
ecechal@scca.com
www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com>
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