Matt Lee and Giacomo Ricci will look to improve their qualifying times for the second Portland race source: conquestracing.com The Conquest Racing Atlantic Team of Matt Lee and Giacomo Ricci qualified twelfth and thirteenth for the first of two races during the Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland. Matt Lee (#44 Mazda-Cosworth/Swift/Cooper) finished twelfth with a lap time of 67.125 and a top speed of 105.332-mph. Giacomo Ricci (#18 Mazda-Cosworth/Swift/Cooper) finished thirteenth with a lap time of 67.202 and a top speed of 105.211-mph. "Qualifying went better than practice this morning now that the track had the chance to warm up," said Matt Lee. "We still have room to improve so the team will work on the car and I will work on a few driving aspects to better the lap times. Tonight we'll work on everything and at the next qualifying tomorrow and I think we will improve our times." "I'm a little disappointed because I think the team can do better than thirteenth," said Giacomo Ricci. "I was able to run really well on the first set of new tires but on the second new set, I slipped down a few places. Unfortunately, I went off the track while on that second set. I sustained a little damage on the tires and while the team was able to replace it I just wasn't able to get up to a faster speed." "We realize that we have a lot of work to do to improve our lap times for tomorrow," said Steve Ragan, Conquest Atlantic Team Manager. "I think that both of the drivers are capable of producing some fast lap times and we will work to make that happen at the qualifying session for the second race. With two races this weekend, we have a lot of track time ahead of us here at Portland and we'll be pushing to better our results tomorrow." Giacomo Ricci is currently fourth in the Rookie of the Year standings with a top finish of sixth place during the first three races of the 2007 season. Matt Lee is currently eighth in the Rookie of the Year race and both drivers have completed 95 out of 96 laps so far in their season. The Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Joe's Sports and Outdoor will drop the green flag on the fourth round of the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship on Saturday, June 9th at 12:15 p.m. PST. The fifth round of the Champ Car Atlantic Championship will be held on Sunday, June 10th at 11:00 a.m. PST. Both races will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Monday, June 18th beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST.
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