He might not be able to dunk a basketball or shoot three-pointers but Graham Rahal (#18 Gehl Company) sure proved this weekend that he knows how to drive and win at the city located on the shores of Lake Erie. The 17-year-old Rahal completed a sweep of the Gehl Atlantic Championship of Cleveland on Sunday, grabbing the lead in the first turn and cruising to his third career victory in the Yokohama Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda.
Rahal, the son of three-time Champ Car champion Bobby Rahal, had to work hard to claim a win on Saturday. The native of New Albany, Ohio came from a fifth-place starting position and roared into the lead late in the race before taking the checkered flag on his "home" course at Burke Lakefront Airport. On Sunday, Rahal had a much easier go of it.
In the second standing start for the Atlantic cars of the weekend - the series' first since 1998 - Rahal got a great jump from second position, moving past polesitter Simon Pagenaud (#15 Team Australia/Location U/Cons. Gen. Vienne) and into the lead. From there, Rahal turned consistently quick laps and was never seriously threatened, winning by more than 15 seconds over the next-closest competitor. The weekend couldn't have panned out any better for the young Rahal. With his famous father working the pit board for his son at the same track where he won his first Champ Car race 25 years ago, Graham Rahal won easily and watched as the drivers in front of him in the Atlantic Championship chase struggled. With Sunday's win, Rahal has now closed the gap in the point standings, now just 12 points out of the lead.
For the second consecutive race, the 24-car Atlantic field enjoyed a strong start and a clean trip through the challenging and hazardous Turn 1 at the 2.106-mile airport road circuit.
And while no driver could match the launch that Rahal produced, several drivers showed their strength early. Third-place starter Richard Philippe (#33 INDECK/Layer 7) had a nice start and seized second place early, while Pagenaud suffered from a poor opening lap and dropped back in the field. Philippe, the 16-year-old Forsythe Championship Racing rookie who has suffered bad luck throughout the early part of the 2006 season, finally showed what he could do on the airport runways and taxiways. The '05 Formula BMW USA champion tried valiantly to catch Rahal, but he had his hands full with the competition behind him.
Sierra Sierra Enterprises driver Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) also looked strong in the early portion of the race. Starting sixth, Matos improved to third by the second lap. Fighting to score some valuable point this weekend, Matos made contact with the Turn 8 wall halfway through the 32-lap race and then went off course and suffered further suspension damage just a few turns later. The incidents spelled the end of the day for the pre-season championship hopeful.
American rookie Steve Ott (#22 MSR Houston) battled for position with Matos early and fought his way up to third place after starting fourth in just his fourth series start. Ott fought with Philippe for the second position throughout the latter stages of the event before he settled for a third-place finish - the first podium result for the former driving instructor at the MSR Houston road circuit.
Series leader Andreas Wirth (#37 INDECK/Wirth Solar) suffered his worst result of the season, but he had to work hard to earn his 18th-place finish. The second-year series racer started fifth for Forsythe Championship Racing but lost his front wing when he went off course early. After a visit to pit lane to make repairs, Wirth returned to the track but he had to drive like a demon to work his way back into the points. In the end, the determined German made his way back into the top 20 as he managed to retain the lead in the title chase.
Rahal's Mi-Jack Conquest Racing teammate Ryan Lewis (#30 Insport) once again proved to be one of the fastest drivers on track until a tour through the grassy areas at Burke Lakefront Airport proved unforgiving. After starting 15th, Lewis put his head down and weaved his way forward. The British rookie, making just his second Atlantic start, made it as far as fourth place while turning some of the fastest laps of the race. He went off course with six laps remaining and dropped back in the field as a result of the excursion.
Robbie Pecorari (#28 Western Union/USA Today/Gelles Racing) of Gelles Racing posted his best finish of his rookie season. The 19-year-old American rallied from a 10th-place starting spot to secure a fourth-place result in his first visit to Cleveland. Despite falling behind early, battling some handling issues and coming on late to work his way back into the top five, Pagenaud claimed fifth place for Team Australia. He remains second in the series standings, now nine points behind Wirth for the championship lead.
After scoring his best series finish of seventh in the first race of the weekend, Leonardo Maia (#7 Layer 7/INDECK) bettered that result by one spot on Sunday to cross the stripe sixth overall. Joe D'Agostino (#34 Newman Wachs Racing) also checked in with his top series result when he came home seventh for Newman Wachs Racing. Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Dynacor) of PR1 Motorsports recorded his fourth top-10 result of the season in eighth place. The bonus point for the most improved positions in the race was claimed by rookie Alan Sciuto (#12 Sealy/PKV Racing/The RoomStore of Phoenix) of the Chardon, Ohio-based Polestar Racing Group team. Sciuto started the race 24th but worked his way up to ninth at the checkered flag. For the second straight day, Mexico's David Martinez (#4 Mexico/US RaceTronics) brought home a 10th-place finish.
After running three events over the last two weeks, the Atlantic Championship will take a short break before heading north to Canada for Round 7 racing at the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto, July 7-9. For more information on North America's top open-wheel development series, please visit www.champcaratlantic.com.
