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"Rondet Le Metronome..."

[Chicago, Illinois] Nicolas Rondet of Melle France scored his second victory of the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series in the same fashion as the first, wire-to-wire from the pole. Like a metronome keeping the beat, Rondet never missed in his Mini Vacations Dodge Reynard as from turn-1 he would lead from a history making Sara Senske and Jon Morley. With her second-place finish she becomes the first woman in the history of CART sanctioned races to stand on the podium. It was a career best finish for both Senske and Morley who previously had never scored higher than sixth and fourth respectively. With the win Rondet extends his championship lead over Matt Plumb by 15-points.
"It might have looked easy but a win seldom is. Sara was right there most of the race and I had to keep focused and push all the time," said Rondet. "But this win is good for me. I'm happy for Sara and Jon being their first podium and that my closest competitors in the championship are not here (on the podium). Other than Vancouver, we have three of the four rounds remaining on courses that I expect to perform very well on."

Rondet jumped out to an early lead from the pole. The expected battle for second place between Senske and Hunter-Reay never materialized as Senske easily slotted in behind Rondet in her Lynx Racing Dodge Reynard with the balance of the field swarming into turn-1 two and three abreast. Hunter-Reay began falling back even before crossing the start line. Accelerating out of turn-4 he experienced a drop in power, plummeting him down the order eventually retiring following slight car contact in the opening lap that set his front wing askew.

From the opening lap the first four cars of Rondet, Senske, Morley and David Wieringa remained in that order, nearly nose to tail, for the duration of the race. Weiringa tried his best to pass Morley but was unable to make it stick despite seeing daylight into turn-1 on at least one occasion. Nevertheless, it was to be a career best finish for the Chicago based rookie. Further back in the pack several side-by-side duels resulted in a change of the order. Most notable was Matt Plumb who finished fifth after starting ninth. He engaged in thrilling duels with Peter Boss, Davy Cook and finally Sepp Koster who had attempted on numerous occasions to find a way past Wieringa.
On a track where she knew that it would be difficult for the leaders to pass, Senske continued to pile on the pressure usually around half a second behind Rondet. In the end the Frenchman was inch perfect and without a significant mistake by him the end was nearly a forgone conclusion.

"I'm thrilled," said Senske of Kennewick, Wash. "I'm always looking to race hard and better my position but Nicolas always had the advantage setting the pace and being on the inside line into turn-1 at the start so it was going to be difficult to get around him."
For Morley his first ever oval-race proved to be a breakthrough. Having struggled in the most recent rounds, Morley was never lower than fourth quickest in any of the on track sessions throughout the weekend.

"It's a big weight off my shoulders to be here and I really have to thank Skip Barber because without the Big Scholarship I probably wouldn't have been racing at this level this year. Racing against David (Wieringa) was really unnerving because he's a friend and you don't want to tangle but yet you want to race hard against each other. During the race I played around with my anti-roll bar adjustment, eventually finding a comfortable balance that let me cruise to a third-place," said Morley who drives the No. 11 Barber-CART Scholarship Team Dodge Reynard.

Sixth place eventually went to Koster who had struggled a bit with his cars balance which was a marked contrast to the previous race at Toronto where he proclaimed his car was "magic." Even so he garnered an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Davy Cook finished seventh in his first oval-race start ahead of Roger Yasukawa in eighth. Akihira Okamoto and Rafael Sperafico, also first time oval racers rounded out the Top-10. For the second event in a row, Rene Bauer took home the $500 Conseco Step Up Award finishing in 11th place after starting 19th.

Round 9 moves onto a roller coaster in the form of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course along with the CART FedEx Series. All the action from Chicago airs on ESPN 2 on August 20 at 5:30 p.m. EDT.

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"Rondet on Chicago Pole"

[Chicago, Illinois] He was quickest in practice and Frenchman Nicolas Rondet's form held true for qualifying to capture his fourth career pole for round 8 of the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series. The biggest splash however was made by Lynx Racing's Sara Senske who had held onto the pole for most of the single-car qualifying session. In the end only Rondet, who went second to last in the order could unseat her. She is now the first female driver to start on the front row of a CART sanctioned event. American Ryan Hunter-Reay will start on the inside of row-2 in third place.

Rondet captured the pole with a quick lap of 00:31.461 sec for an average speed of 117.746 mph around the Chicago Motor Speedway's 1-mile oval.

"I was watching the flags very carefully to see what the wind was doing and watching the times of the other drivers. The privilege of starting last allowed me to see that no one was improving. I was able to drop my front wing and it worked," said Rondet. "I think it's going to be very difficult to pass on this track honestly, but that could all change after the Champ Cars lay down some more rubber. It may lead to a second groove through the corners."

The qualifying order was determined by the inverse of championship points making leader Rondet last on the list. In fact, he went second to last after Jon Vannini waved off his first attempt. Senske was the eighth of the 20 drivers to take her two laps of qualifying going fastest on her second lap with a time of 00:31.529 sec. The expectation was that the point's leaders would lower the standard but one by each fell short. The ever-present breeze began to increase pushing each subsequent driver out toward the wall in the turns 1and 2 complex. More and more it was looking like Senske's time would reward her with her first pole. Starting second to last in the original order, Hunter-Reay's first pass through the timing beams yielded the 11th quickest time. On his next and final lap he fell but 34-hundredths of a second shy of Senske. Only Rondet and Vannini remained. Rondet's first lap netted the fifth position and then as he flashed beneath a streaming checkered flag the No. 24 Mini Vacations Dodge Reynard beamed onto the pole. Vannini would end as the 14th quickest car, a solid result for the second year driver from California.

"I'm very proud of the performance I put in today. I want to thank Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty and the Lynx Racing Team for believing in me enough to perform here. I just focused on putting my head and foot down straight out of the pits and driving the smoothest laps that I could," said Senske who hails from Kennewick, Wash. "It was exciting to be one of the first to qualify then watch the field whittle down and still be atop the times. Everybody was trying to get me to stop pacing and biting my nails, so I'm very thrilled to be on the front row. It's going to be much more fun to be in a position to potentially win the race and definitely finish on the podium than have to hack my way through the field."

Unlike Rondet, Hunter-Reay made no changes to his car in spite of being in a position to do so. He also went out with the mindset that he would use only one of his two allotted laps to qualify. His first green flag lap he treated as simply another warm-up accounting for the 11th quickest time at that point.

"I'm starting behind two very experienced racers so I'm confident it's going to be a good start. Oval racing being what it is, you never know what's going to happen and you can go from the front to the back very easily. That said, I just want to make a good start and work from there to have a clean race and score some good points," said the Barber-CART Scholarship Team driver.

The race could make a good opportunity for both Rondet and Hunter-Reay to make hay in the championship standings. They currently reside first and second respectively with Rondet drawing out a further one-point advantage thanks to the pole. He now leads Hunter-Reay 86 to 81. Those most closely fighting for the title will find themselves mired in the midfield. Koster, fifth overall will start sixth while Yasukawa who lies fourth will start from the seventh slot. Most disappointed was Matt Plumb who will have to battle from the ninth starting spot to defend his third position in the overall standings.

Hunter-Reay's Barber-CART Scholarship team mates will start alongside and behind him though he shouldn't expect any help from them as they are looking to turn around some lackluster midseason performances. On the pace here in Chicago, Jon Morley will start fourth while Rafael Sperafico will start sixth. Hometown favorite David Wieringa continues to give his fans something to cheer about. He has performed well throughout the two days of track time earning himself the eighth spot on the grid. Peter Boss rounds out the fastest ten qualifiers. In all only 0.965 seconds separates the 20-car field.

Round 8 of the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series will get underway at 3:15 p.m. CDT in support of the CART FedEx Target Grand Prix of Chicago. All 60 laps can be followed live on www.barberdodge.com

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"Rondet Leads Practice"

[Chicago, Illinois] Frenchman Nicolas Rondet recorded the fastest time yet in the first of the two 30-minute practice sessions earlier this morning. His best lap stopped the clocks in 00:31.037 sec. for an average speed of 119.354 mph. Rookie Rafael Sperafico was the quickest driver in the final practice leading into single-car qualifying for round 8 of the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series. Sperafico took his Barber-CART Scholarship Team Dodge Reynard around the 1-mile Chicago Motor Speedway oval in 00:31.122 sec. for an average speed of 119.028 mph. His time represents the second quickest overall on the day thus far.
Overall on the combined quickest times from practice the fastest five were comprised of Rondet, R. Sperafico and his team mate Jon Morley, Alex Sperafico, and Matt Plumb. The difference from Rondet to Plumb was 0.141sec.
Single-car qualifying takes place later this afternoon at 4:15 p.m. CDT.
 

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"Rondet All The Way"

(PHOENIX, Az.) April 21, 2001 -Leading the race from the pole all the way to the checkered flag, 30-year old Nicolas Rondet from Melle, France captured his second career Barber Dodge Pro Series victory at Phoenix International Raceway. Never seriously challenged during the race Rondet led Sepp Koster of The Netherlands across the finish line by 8.306 sec., and setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. For his efforts Rondet is rewarded with 20 points for the win and a point each for the pole and the fastest lap of the race. The 22 points coupled with the 12 points earned in the first round for his third-place finish give him a commanding lead early in the 2001 12 round Barber Dodge Pro Series. Rookie Rafael Sperafico of Brazil finished third.
"I knew that if I made it through turn-2 in the lead that it would be very difficult to get passed. As things turned out I was able to pull a little further away each lap. The car was right on the money. If I had to go back out onto the track right now I wouldn't change a thing," said Rondet who drives the No. 24 In KART USA Dodge Reynard. "It's going to be a long season but obviously its good to start it at the front."
The 40-minute race started under the threat of rain but all 21 Dodge Reynards went off on slick Michelin tires. Midway through the race, rain fell out on the back half of the course making things very treacherous. It was the only time Rondet slowed down the entire race. Consistently he was able to stretch his lead each lap by three to four tenths of a second on a lap that lasts only 59 seconds. Koster knew right at the start of the race that Rondet was the class of the field on the day. Nevertheless he made some changes to his No. 4 Stora Drain Dodge Reynard's roll stiffness to dial out some understeer midway though the race via his cockpit adjustable anti-roll bars. For the balance of the race he was able to maintain a comfortable pace that kept Sperafico at bay, though the young Brazilian was able to close the gap down to one second in the early part of the race.
"We came here rather conservatively looking to get on the podium and score some points to get the season off to a good start, so I guess I have to be happy with this result," said Koster who failed to score points in the opening round at Sebring. "It's a long season so hopefully this is the start of something nice."
Sperafico, 19, started the race from third on the grid and drove an intelligently strong race more befitting of a driver with twice the experience. Yet only in his third career start, the Barber-CART Big Scholarship winner continues to demonstrate his prowess.
"I'm prepared to stay here and continue to drive well. I have so many people helping me, there are five people in my family who race, so I'm going to do everything I can to stay at the front," said Sperafico. "I liked this track and Sebring as well. Let's see what happens the rest of the year."
Fellow Barber-CART Big Scholarship winner Jon Morley scored a career high fourth-place finish. He made up a place at the start from sixth then passed Marc Breuers on lap seven in turn-4. He chased Sperafico, but it was in vain though he never sustained any real pressure from behind for the duration. Floridian Davy Cook, another rookie, had his best ever finish taking a fifth-place finish. Breuers was yet again the victim as he slid wide in turn-2. Cook, right on his gearbox, capitalized to take over fifth place. Breuers, in his second year, nevertheless was content with a career best sixth place.
Roger Yasukawa drove well to finish seventh after starting the race from 13th. Eighth place went to rookie Christian Szymczak who was as high as sixth before a brief spin caused him to lose to places. Ryan Hunter-Reay battled from an opening lap spin that relegated him to 19th after starting fourth to finish in ninth place. He battled spiritedly throughout the field to gain places including a side by side duel with Peter Boss. Boss would ultimately take the tenth position. Californian Jon Vannini made up the most places over his starting position advancing from 21st to 14th earning him the $500 Consceco Step Up Award.
Rondet now heads to rounds three and four over the Memorial Day weekend at Lime Rock Park with a healthy 11-point margin over Rafael Sperafico in second and his cousin Alex Sperafico another point down in third overall.
Round two of the Barber Dodge Pro Series will be broadcast on ESPN 2 on Thursday May 3 at 6:00 p.m. EDT.

Top 15 Points Overall Following Round 2
Rondet, 36; R. Sperafico, 25; A Sperafico, 24; Hunter-Reay, 23, Morley, 21; Yasukawa, 21; Cook, 19; Boss, 17; Breuers, 17; Koster, 16; Szymczak, 13; Akihira Okamoto, 10; Gian Domenico Brusatin, 7; Sara Senske, 5; Vaninni, 5.

 by George Tamayo  

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"Rondet Rolls To Provisional Pole"

(PHOENIX, Az.) April 19, 2001 -Frenchman Nicolas Rondet drove his No. 24 In KART USA Dodge Reynard to the provisional pole for Saturday's second round of the 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series. Rondet secured the prime spot on his 23rd of 24 laps completed in the 30-minute session. His quickest lap around the 1.51-mile road course at Phoenix International Raceway was timed at 0:59.145 sec. for an average speed of 91.910 mph, unofficially below the existing qualifying record. Rondet traded the pole on two occasions with the Alex Sperafico, winner of the first round at Sebring last month. Sperafico ended the session in second place 0.153 sec. short of Rondet's time. Barber-CART Big Scholarship winner Jon Morley of Columbus, Ohio finished the session with the third quickest time after having led the morning practice. In all the first 15 drivers qualified within one second of one another. "Jon (Morley) showed us the way the last two sessions and the qualifying is so tight that tomorrow is another day," said a sanguine Rondet. "The draft was not so important today as the wings give you a greater advantage in clean air so I tried to stay away from traffic." Rondet was characteristically quiet during the previous practice sessions. "I'm never good in practice," added Rondet. "I always focus on qualifying and the race when it really counts and I don't think there is a 'miracle' set up so I just try to get a good read on the car and the track during practice." Sperafico of Toledo Parana, Brazil continues on the good form found at the first race in Sebring. He snared the pole for the first time 20 minutes into the session only to have Rondet take it right back moments later. A red flag halted the qualifying session at the 23rd minute for five minutes. When the track reopened, Sperafico reclaimed the provisional pole only to have Rondet lower the mark once again as the session drew to a close. "I had a lot of understeer early in the session, but we made a bit of a change to the set up to get some more grip," said Sperafico who drives the No. 9 Iveco Fiat Dodge Reynard. "After the red flag, I set a good time but then made a mistake on my next lap and got into traffic on my last lap. Tomorrow we will be on new tires and if the temperatures stay the same or are cooler everyone will go faster." Morley was the quickest driver on the track in the opening minutes of the session, only to struggle somewhat midway through. A change to stiffen his Barber-CART Big Scholarship/Centric Parts, Inc. Dodge Reynard midway through found an improvement in speed, but alas ran out of time to take full advantage of the change. "I felt a little pressure going into the qualifying being the fastest rookie as well as the fastest overall in practice. But I soon got over it and found a good rhythm after making the change to my car. I just ran out of time in the end, but I'm not too worried as tomorrow's another day," said Morley. Matt Plumb of Unionville, Penn. was fourth quick just a tenth of a second slower than Morley. Plumb struggled early in the session only to make the necessary changes to his car to find a significant improvement and vault to fourth at the end of the session. Dutchman Sepp Koster finished fifth overall after having held the provisional pole midway through the session. Another Pennsylvanian Marc Breurs just missed out on breaking into the top-5 for the first time in his Sunoco liveried Dodge Reynard. The second year driver finished the day sixth quick. Rounding out the Top-10 were Roger Yasukawa (7th), Rafael Sperafico (8th), Sara Senske (9th) and Peter Boss (10th) Final qualifying is set for Friday, April 20 at 2:05 p.m. PDT. 

by George Tamayo

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