Finnish rookie gets first taste of Champ Car
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| Juho Annala |
The event will mark the debut for Juho Annala in the Champ Car World Series and open-wheel racing in the United States. The team and Annala successfully completed a two-day test, April 10-11, at MSR Houston just outside of Houston, Texas to prepare for the upcoming race. Annala completed 165 laps at 2.38 miles per lap for a total of 392 miles of trouble free running. The team spent the first morning allowing the young driver to familiarize himself with the track and check that all of the car systems were ready for the test. The team then worked closely with Annala to find a chassis setup to suit the car to his driving style. They moved him through a progression of changes to feel different suspension and aerodynamic configurations and allowed him to direct setup development to simulate what he will be going through during the Long Beach race weekend.
“I am very happy with how the test went," said the Finnish driver. “We did quite a large program and accomplished as much as we could during the two days we had out there. It was the best thing that we could do before the big event, especially since it was the first time for me to drive a Champ Car. I learned so many things about this car and so many new things about race cars in general. I think that we are in good shape as we head to Long Beach. I am really looking forward to it! The #10 Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone Champ Car was so fast, it was the best car that I have driven so far. I feel comfortable after having two full days to run in it and work with the team and confident that we can have a good race weekend together."
Pizzonia, who has not had the opportunity to run the #9 Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone, will return to the 1.968-mile street course in downtown Long Beach, California with at least the familiarity of working with the Rocketsports team. He will be reunited with race engineer John Gentilozzi, along with a core group of crew members he worked with back in 2006.
“It is a shame that prior commitments caused me to miss out on testing this car with the team last week," said Pizzonia, who has been signed to compete in the Nextel Stock Car Brazil Series which had their season opener this past weekend. “I will get into Long Beach on Tuesday, and we will be busy getting ready to run on Friday. It will all happen quickly, but I am more then excited to get back into a Rocketsports Champ Car. Although the car is different from when I drove in Champ Car in 2006, I expect nothing less then a good weekend. The Long Beach course is one that I am familiar with and really enjoy. I am just so excited to get to go back there and race again this year. It should be an exciting event, with a 20-car field, the competition is going to be tight and I anticipate a good challenge."
As previously stated, Annala will be making his Champ Car debut in the Long Beach event. So while his teammate will have a new race car to get familiar with, the 24-year-old will be getting acclimated with a new race track.
“I am really looking forward to competing on the streets of Long Beach", said Annala. “Obviously, this will be my first time competing not only here, but in a Champ Car, but I can’t wait for the experience. I was doing a lot of ‘homework’ in preparation for this event, and after watching several race tapes, I feel that I have a good idea of what to expect. And the expectations of pure enjoyment will definitely be on top of the list. This looks like a very challenging course, and with a full field, the racing is going to be very exciting. I am just happy to be a part of the field and hope for a good race."
The Grand Prix of Long Beach will kick off on Friday, April 18 with a morning practice and the first round of qualifying later that afternoon. Saturday will give the Rocketsports team another opportunity for practice time before the final round of qualifying. The race will take the green flag at 1:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, April 20 and can be seen on ESPN2 with coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. Rocketsports PR