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Indy Lights: Dorricott Dominates at Portland!

21 June 1999

PHILIPP PETER WINS HIS SECOND LIGHTS RACE OF THE YEAR 

        PORTLAND, Ore. (June 21, 1999) - Philipp Peter took the honors and
Dorricott Racing garnered the credit as the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights
Championship's top ranked team captured first, second, and fourth place in
round five of the 12-race series at Portland International Raceway, Sunday,
June 20.

        Peter's victory was enhanced by the respective second and fourth
place finishes of his teammates, Oriol Servia and Casey Mears. Peter, who
started third, led all 38 laps to cross the finish line 0.782-seconds ahead
of Servia in a race where multiple caution flags slowed the average race
speed to 80.593 mph. 

        Servia's runner-up showing combined with his record-setting
qualifying lap of 1:06.112 (107.218 mph) to win the pole propelled him into
a tie with Airton Dare for second place in the Indy Lights championship
with 53 points. Peter, who won round two at Long Beach in April, jumped up
to fourth place with 48 points. 

        "I finished second place again and I'm second in the championship,
but somehow I don't feel like laughing," said Servia. "I feel I drove a
nearly perfect race. I accomplished what I wanted on the start. I wanted to
beat Jonny (Kane) and I did. What I didn't count on was Mr. Peter making
the move he made. His car was set-up with a little less downforce than mine
and before we even reached the braking zone he was beside me. Peter was on
the inside. He's my teammate, so what could I do?"

        Mears, meanwhile, entertained another nearly unbelievable
performance after starting 12th. Mears scored 12 valuable championship
points to improve his series leading season total to 62 points - a nine
point cushion over Servia and Dare. 

        Peter's "move of the race" essentially occurred on the first lap
while approaching the first three turns (Festival Curves). Peter slipped
his Red Bull/Remus/ESTEBE/Chicco d' Oro Lola past outside polesitter Jonny
Kane and pulled beside Servia. He then opted for an inside line of drive
entering the Festival Curves and was able to accelerate past Servia through
the apex of corner one to take the lead.

        "I awoke at 4:30 a.m. this morning with the start on my mind," said
Peter. "I was hoping to be able to do just what I did on the start. It was
my teammate on the pole so I had to be very sure that I made any moves
cleanly. I was able to go on the inside, so I knew the corner was mine. I
took my chances early, but that allowed me to control the pace of the
race."

        The race was marred by four caution periods due to accidents for a
total of 14 laps. Although Peter and Servia were relatively unaffected by
the cautions, Mears was able to negotiate around the problems and steadily
trek to his fifth consecutive top-five finish.

        Mears moved his Sooner Trailer/American Racing Custom Wheels Lola
to 11th by lap 16 following the race's second yellow flag. He scooted into
10th place on lap 21, and then jumped two positions to eighth on lap 25
after a third yellow flag was issued.

        A horrific four-car crash during a race re-start on lap 30 handed
Mears the highly sought positions he'd been chasing. David Pook ran into
the rear of Geoff Boss on the front straight-away, launching Pook into the
air. Pook landed only to slide into Scott Dixon at the Festival Curves
entrance. No injuries were reported.

        However, Airton Dare and Andy Boss seeking to avoid the melee
inadvertently improved their positions over Mears while running through the
Festival Curves. Series officials ruled that Mears be repositioned to
fourth place for the race start on lap 35. Mears held his spot the final
four laps to stay atop the Indy Lights driver standings.

        "We've been consistently finishing high in the points this year and
that has paid off," said Mears. "That wasn't our plan. We go to every race
looking to win but this is the way things have worked out. We struggled
some this weekend, but after qualifying we actually found significant
problems in my car's set-up that we could finally fix. I'm really looking
forward to the upcoming races now." 

        Besides earning 17 points, including one bonus point for winning
the pole, Servia was awarded two Dayton Daytona racing tires for being the
top qualifier in the Catalonia/RACC/Elf Lola.

        The next stop for Dorricott Racing will be round six at the Medic
Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland on the temporary road circuit at Burke
Lakefront Airport, on Sunday, June 27.