Indy Lights: Dorricott Racing Looks to Keep Momentum at Toronto
16 July 1999
SUNNYVALE, Calif.- Hoping to build on their front-running momentum from the first half of the season, Dorricott Racing's Oriol Servia, Casey Mears, and Philipp Peter are primed and ready to continue challenging each other and pressuring all others as the hotly contested PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Championship goes to Toronto, Sunday, July 18.The 43-lap/74.003-mile Indy Lights race around 1.721-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit of Toronto's Exhibition Place is round seven of the 12-race series and scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET.
This is the 14th consecutive appearance of CART's "Official Development Series" at Toronto since 1986, and is the featured support event for the CART FedEx Championship Series Molson Indy Toronto later that afternoon.
Servia, of Pals, Catalonia, Spain, has displayed road racing prowess throughout the year and Toronto isn't expected to be any different. His back-to-back second place finishes at Portland and Cleveland complemented second place at Nazareth in round three, and fifth place at Milwaukee in round four. Excluding his 12th place showing at Long Beach, Servia has finished in the top-six in five of six races this year including sixth place in the season opener at Homestead. His series-leading 69 points marks the first time in 20 career Indy Lights races that he has led in the championship.
Casey Mears, of Bakersfield, Calif., has rivaled Servia in top-six consistency as evidenced with five consecutive top-five finishes to open the season. His lone blemish is eighth place at Cleveland - a deceiving finish since Mears was running in fourth and fifth place for much of the race before his motor "let go" with six laps remaining. Mears, however, is breathing down his teammate's lead and only trails by two points with 67 counters.
Mears podium visits have included third place at Nazareth in round three and second place at Milwaukee in round four. After scoring season opening back-to-back fifth place finishes at Homestead and Long Beach, Mears added fourth place at Portland in round five in the Sooner Trailer/American Racing Custom Wheels Lola T97/20.
Mears, who is the son of legendary Off-Road World Champion and Dorricott Racing team manager Roger Mears, is the only driver in the series who has completed every Indy Lights race lap (379 laps) and every mile (520.760 miles) run to date.
Philipp Peter's second and fifth round victories at Long Beach and Portland distinguish him as the only two-time Indy Lights winner on a street or road course this season. A veteran European road racer, the Monte Carlo, Monaco, resident returns to Toronto with an eye toward another podium. Peter, who drives the Red Bull/Remus/ESTEBE/Chicco d' Oro Lola, started and finished fourth at Toronto last year. He is presently in fourth place with 60 points.
Dorricott Racing is a year-round professional motorsports organization based at Sears Point International Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Race results, team and sponsor information may be viewed on Dorricott Racing's web site, http://www.dorricottracing.com.
ESPN2 will provide same-day coverage of the Toronto Indy Lights race, Sunday, July 18, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. PT).
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