Road America: Conquest Racing Saturday notes

Lee and Ricci Face a Tough Battle to Reach the Top Ten in Sunday's Race

Matt Lee (#44 Integrated Structures / Mazda -- Cosworth) and Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease / Lotto / Global / Mazda -- Cosworth) will start Sunday's Champ Car Generac Grand Prix at Road America in 12th and 13th, respectively. Both drivers struggled to put together a fast qualifying lap but are looking forward to a strong race on Sunday. They will be working toward ending their Atlantic Championship season on a high note with dual top-ten finishes.

Giacomo Ricci #18 Banca Italease / Lotto / Global / Mazda-Cosworth

"I don't think that either of us was too happy with today's qualifying results," said Ricci. "We seemed to be missing something today and haven't been able to match my qualifying from earlier in the season. We aren't too far off but tomorrow we'll start twelfth and thirteenth. It isn't too bad of a spot because I think we'll have the chance to do some overtaking during the race. I am just focusing on having a good race tomorrow and strong results for the final championship race."

Matt Lee #44 Integrated Structure / Mazda - Cosworth

"I had a pretty strong strategy going into today's qualifying," began Lee. "I was getting some nice drafts and had some good lap times, unfortunately I made a mistake in the last lap and wasn't able to improve our time but otherwise it seemed to be a pretty good session for us. The team is working on preparing a good car for tomorrow and I look forward to having a good race."

Steve Ragan, Conquest Racing Atlantic Team Manager

"We thought we went in with a strong qualifying strategy today," said Steve Ragan, Conquest Racing Atlantic Team Manager. "Matt was showing a good lap pace early in the session but in the end neither driver was able to put together a better time. I have no doubt that both Giacomo and Matt will be well focused and drive a good race tomorrow."

Eric Bachelart, Conquest Racing Team Owner

"I think we had some pretty good cars today but Giacomo did not find a good draft and it definitely cost him a lot. Matt had a better strategy but unfortunately he made a mistake on his fastest lap. We will have some good talk about having a good plan for tomorrow's race and move up to the front"

Event Information

The twelfth and final round of the Champ Car Atlantic Series Championship will be at the Champ Car Generac Grand Prix at Road America. The green flag drops on this round at 12:45p.m. EST. ESPN2 will broadcast the races on Wednesday, August 22nd at 5:00p.m. EST. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN360.com.

-credit: cr