Andrew Ranger: Youngest driver ever on podium in Champ Car
In Monterrey for Mi-Jack Conquest Racing
source: Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Andrew Ranger driving the Tide / Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Car #27, finished 2nd in Monterrey, Mexico yesterday for Mi-Jack Conquest Racing. He started 14th on the grid and improved the most positions during the race. Nelson Philippe, driving the Wellbox / Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Car #34, also had a strong performance in Monterrey as he led the most laps, 23. The team had a differenct strategy between the two drivers and even though it gave the opportunity for Nelson to be right up front, a yellow flag on lap #64 took his chance away of winning the race. He had a contact five laps later with Timo Glock that ended his race. Andrew Ranger - Tide / Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Lola-Ford #27: "The car was very good all weekend. Just yesterday we had a big problem with the car for the last setup and I only qualified 14th. Once the problem was fixed though, the car was very good to drive; it was fantastic! I worked really hard, talked a lot with my engineer and never stopped pushing; started 14th, finished second. This was my second race ever in Champ Car and my first podium. It was a tough race; the temperature was very hot with the humidity making it almost unbearable. I think it's fantastic for me and for the Mi-Jack Conquest Racing team to be on the podium. I'm very happy because the team worked so hard on the car and everything." · Andrew Ranger came from 14th on the grid to become the youngest driver ever to win a Champ Car podium surpassing the former record established by Scott Dixon · Most improved driver of the race: started 14th, finished 2nd · 5th Position in points for the Championship. · 1st Position in points for "Rookie of the year" · First rookie driver ever to claim a spot on the Champ Car podium in Monterrey · First driver since Ningel Mansell in 1993 to score a podium in one of his first two starts · The Nation's Cup standings are as close as they have ever been in the 10-year history of the award. Brazil leads with 56 points with Canada and France coming in at one point behind
Nelson Philippe - Wellbox / Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Lola-Ford #34: "On Lap 16, the second caution, I stayed out and took the green flag as the leader of the race for the first time in Champ Car. It was awesome - leading for 11 laps and then to pit out of the lead. Again on lap 47, I'm leading and I'm 3.776 seconds over Wirdheim, The car was very good, fast, everything was going really well as I had another 12 laps leading the race. I was driving fast, but on lap 69, Timo and I tangled on turn one and we stopped in the middle of the track. That was the end of this race for me. Overall, of course I am disappointed. We didn't get to the finish after leading 23 laps. My congratulations to Andrew for his first podium finish. The team worked really hard and I'm very happy for that. Now, we will get ready for our next race in Milwaukee."
· Started 13th, finished 12th · Total Lead laps: 23 · Nelson Philippe went to the Podium in Monterrey to receive the award for leading a race-high 23 laps in his two times at the front.
Eric Bachelart - Team Owner: "This has been a very good day for Mi-Jack Conquest Racing. I'm very proud of our two drivers and the whole team. It was a very difficult race and both drivers showed a lot of maturity even though they are the two youngest drivers in the field. We ran very competitive cars in the race yesterday and the pit stops were very strong. Both our drivers showed us today that they had the skill and talent to run up front and challenge the veterans. This result is very encouraging and we are going to work very hard to keep up the momentum." |
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