2006 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear- Sebring

March 17, 2006 – Making his series debut at his home track, Gerardo Bonilla, from Orlando, Florida, pulled away to victory in his Skip Barber Racing/Carmela Sausage Mazda in Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear this afternoon at Sebring International Raceway in Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Joining Bonilla on the podium at the famed 3.7-mile road course were Daniel Herrington and Adrian Carrio.

“I’ve been teaching other drivers at the Skip Barber Racing School for so long and wondering when it was going to be my turn, and I’m finally getting my chance,” an excited Bonilla exclaimed. “It’s my first race in the series, and to win it feels amazing. It’s the result of a lot of hard work from the Andersen Racing Team, as they did an engine change right before qualifying and we qualified fifth, and then they went right back to work.”

The race, originally scheduled for 20-laps, became a timed 45-minute race due to several caution periods in the first half of the event. “The start of the race was rough as the second row didn’t quite get the jump they needed and had a side-by-side battle into turn one,” Bonilla said. “Ryan Justice and another car got close and spun. I felt bad for them for about a quarter of a second and then I got back to work. I was able to pass Brad Jaeger on the restart to take the lead by using the draft down the front-straight .”

Daniel Herrington, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, also making his series debut at Sebring, drove a smart race to finish second after lining up tenth on the grid driving the Bluetooth SIG AIM Autosport Mazda. “We were strong from the get-go this weekend but with the chaos of qualifying and starting tenth I was focused on just finishing because points are so important,” Herrington explained. “From the start I just started taking what I could get and after a few laps I had moved up into second, but Gerardo did a fantastic job on the restarts.”

World Speed Motorsports driver Adrian Carrio, in his second year of competition, would capture his first podium finish in the series with a third place finish in his Rockford Fosgate Mazda. “The start at turn one was little bit crazy when a couple of cars went off and my race started off slowly, but I just took my time and started working my way through the field,” the seventeen-year old driver from Monument, Colorado, said. “I just focused on hitting my marks and driving a smart race and have to thank my engineer Mike Doyle, driver coach John Olsen and my mechanics for giving me a great car today.”

While the top three drivers had solid races moving up to the podium, the busiest driver on the track was another series rookie, Matt Varsha, who sliced his way through the field to finish fourth after starting last due to an incident in qualifying. “I’ve been through the worst 24 hours in racing after yesterday afternoon,” Varsha said. “I was down and the team was down but we just went back to work and the car today was awesome. We’d been through so many ups and downs this weekend so when I crossed the finish line I was pumping my fist like I’d won the race, excited not just for myself but for the whole Racers Edge Motorsports team that had worked so hard to give me an awesome car.”

With one round complete, Bonilla holds both the overall and Expert Series points lead for drivers aged 30-44. In the Masters Series for drivers aged 45 and older, defending champion John Pew finished at the top of the class, running as high as fifth before finishing twelfth overall.

The 2006 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will be featured on SPEED Channel with one-hour broadcasts for all twelve rounds, starting with Round One from Sebring International Raceway, which is scheduled to debut on Sunday, April 9th at 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

Round Two of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will be held in conjunction with the American LeMans Series and ChampCar race weekend in Houston, Texas, on May 13th and 14th. For more information please visit www.starmazda.com.

Brad Jaeger Captures Pole Position for Season Opener at Sebring

March 16, 2006 – Brad Jaeger, of Cincinnati, Ohio, captured his first Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear pole position in qualifying this afternoon at Sebring International Raceway, lapping the historic 3.7-mile circuit in a new track record time of 2:01.002. Jaeger, driving the #2 Andersen Racing Team Mazda, edged out Ryan Justice, who posted a time of 2:01.089 in the session. Series rookie, Carl Skerlong, qualified third fastest at 2:01.166 in the Molecule sponsored Phenom Racing Mazda.

"It was a great qualifying session for us," Jaeger, an engineering student at Vanderbilt University said afterwards. "It's a great way to start of the season for Andersen Racing Team and myself. Coming to a new team this season everything's just come together so well, which makes it so much more rewarding to be able to go out there and put the car on pole for the first race. The session itself was a bit chaotic with a red flag early in our half of the session, which cut into our track time, and at that point it became a mental game knowing that we only have two or three laps at most to try to set a fast time."

In taking the top spot in qualifying Jaeger knocked Ryan Justice off the top of the time sheets for the first time this weekend. "It's always disappointing when you aren't starting on pole, but my warmup lap put me second on the grid and on the second lap someone had brought a lot of dirt across the track in the turn three complex and for a moment I thought I was going to go into the wall myself, " Justice said. "We didn't get a chance to show how fast we really are this session but the Northwest Autosport Mazda has been fast all weekend on new or old tires so we're ready for the race."

The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear splits the 45-minute qualifying session into two groups of drivers in order to provide the drivers more space on the circuit, in today's qualifying session this custom, combined with the red flag caused when the Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda of Matt Varsha went off track at the start of the session. "We're not really sure what happened yet but the car wasn't slowing down as it had early and I locked up the tires because they were so cold. As soon as I got onto the brakes hard the wheels locked up and I went into the wall," Varsha, the son of SPEED Channel broadcaster Bob Varsha explained. "It's really disappointing because the team has worked so hard to give me a fast car and we knew we could be right up front for qualifying. Now I need to use this as motivation to charge through the field during the race."

Skerlong, making his first appearance with the series with Phenom Racing Group, a new team to the series, was able to take advantage of his time from the first half of the qualifying session to qualify third in his first visit to Sebring International Raceway. "It's been a bigger learning curve than expected here this weekend but we've been gaining speed all weekend even if it wasn't always showing up on the time sheets," the resident of Mukilteo, Washington, explained. "It was a bit of tough luck for the drivers in the second session with what happened, but in the end it's what you do with the time you were given."

Series rookies Casey Neal, from Cincinnati, Ohio, and and Gerardo Bonilla, of Orlando, Florida, captured the fourth and fifth positions in the qualifying session. Bonilla, the 2005 Skip Barber Racing National Champion, was surprised to find himself towards the front of the grid after the team raced to complete and engine change ahead of the session, finishing the job just minutes before he took to the track. "I feel like I'm on cloud nine and can't think of a better way to start the season after the adversity the crew overcame today," Bonilla exclaimed. "It just proves that I'm on the best team no question. The guys just swarmed over the car to do what had to be done and get me out there for the session."

Thirty-six drivers participated in the session with the top ten drivers separated by only one second. Jaeger's fast lap broke the previous track record set by Dan DiLeo during qualifying for the 2004 championship round at Sebring. Round One of the 2006 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is slated to start at 2:35 PM Eastern Time on Friday, March 17th.

Qualifying

Justice Sets Pace in Final Practice Session

March 16, 2006 – In the final practice session ahead of qualifying for Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, Ryan Justice, of Portland, Oregon, set the fastest time of the morning in his Northwest Autosport Mazda, lapping the 3.7-mile Sebring International Raceway circuit with a time of 1:58.965, to top the charts for the third consecutive practice session. Justice, a Business Administration and Marketing student at Loyola-Marymount University, has served notice to the paddock that he will be a driver to be reckoned with in this his third season of Star Mazda competition.

Joining Justice in the top three ahead of Thursday afternoon's qualifying session were Jon Branam, of Miami Beach, Florida, who posted a time of 1:59.299 in his 3-Dimensional Services Mazda and Matt Varsha, from Atlanta, Georgia, who turned in a time of 1:59.312 in his Red Line Oil/Classic Mazda sponsored Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda.

Thirty-six drivers participated in the session with the top 24 drivers posting times below the existing track record of 2:02.022 set by Dan DiLeo during qualifying for the event in 2004. With favorable weather conditions expected for the rest of the day DiLeo's official track record is expected to be surpassed once qualifying begins at 12:50 PM Eastern Time. Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is slated to start at 2:35 PM Eastern Time on Friday, March 17th.

Official Practice Session #3

Justice Paces Final Wednesday Practice Session at Sebring, tops charts in both sessions

March 15, 2006 – Sebring, Florida. Ryan Justice, of Portland, Oregon, who shattered the track record at Sebring International Raceway this morning in the first official practice session, came through again in the afternoon session, setting fast lap once again with a time of 1:59.216 during practice for Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Overall lap times were slower than the morning session when Justice, driving the Northwest Autosport Mazda,lapped the 3.7-mile circuit in 1:58.304, to break the record of 2:02.022 set by Dan Dileo in 2004.

Making his first appearance with the championship, Daniel Herrington, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, set the second fastest time of the afternoon as he posted a time of 1:59.421 in his Bluetooth SIG sponsored AIM Autosport Mazda. He was closely followed by another series rookie, Matt Varsha, son of SPEED Channel broadcaster Bob Varsha, who lapped the circuit in 1:59.708 in the Red Line Oil/Classic Mazda sponsored Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda. Varsha would not escape the session unscathed however as he suffered damage to the rear wing of his Pro Star Mazda while trying to avoid a spinning Jon Brownson.

Brad Jaeger, a mechanical engineering student at Vanderbilt University, posted the fourth fastest time at 1:59.791 in his Andersen Racing Team Mazda, while the fifth fastest time of the session was locked down by series rookie Ron White in the Fulton Valley Farms Ron White Racing Mazda. White, who comes to the series from the karting ranks, lapped the circuit in 1:59.813 during the sunny afternoon session.

The morning session, when temperatures were cooler, produced the fastest times of the day, and while Justice holds the top slot he was closely followed by Jon Branam, from Miami Beach, Florida, who set a fast time of 1:58.697 in his 3-Dimensional Services AMerican Speed Factory Mazda. White, from Santa Clara, California, had the third fastest time of the day at 1:58.723.

Practice resumes with a final thirty-minute practice session at 8:30 AM Eastern Time on Thursday morning. Qualifying for Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will commence at 12:50 PM Eastern Time.

Official Practice Session #2

Ryan Justice Shatters Track Record in First Practice Session at Sebring

March 15, 2006 – Sebring, Florida. Ryan Justice, of Portland, Oregon, shattered the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear track record at Sebring International Raceway this morning in the first official practice session ahead of Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Driving the Northwest Autosport Mazda, Justice lapped the 3.7-mile circuit in 1:58.304, to break the record of 2:02.022 set by Dan Dileo in 2004.

Jon Branam, a native of Miami Beach, Florida, posted the second fastest time of the session in his 3-Dimensional Services sponsored American Speed Factory Mazda setting a time of 1:58.697, while series newcomer Ron White set the third fastest time at 1:58.723 in his Fulton Valley Farms Ron White Racing Mazda. With ideal conditions on the circuit 27 of the 37 drivers that participated in the practice session posted times below the existing track record.

Running with the American LeMans Series as part of the 54th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear continues with it's second official thirty minute practice session at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

Official Practice Session #1

Adrian Carrio Tops Time Sheets at Sebring

March 14, 2006 – Sebring, Florida. Adrian Carrio, of Monument, Colorado posted the fastest time of the day at Sebring International Raceway, lapping the 3.7-mile circuit in a time of 1:59.325 in Tuesday afternoons final unofficial practice session ahead of Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, part of the 54th Annual 12 Hours of Sebring activities.

Driving the Rockford Fosgate Mazda for World Speed Motorsports, the 17-year old Carrio, edged out series rookie Daniel Herrington, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who set a fast time of 1:59.544 in the AIM Autosport prepared Bluetooth SIG Mazda. The third fastest time of the day was set by Ryan Justice in the Northwest Autosports Mazda. Justice, who topped the charts in the second practice session, set a time of 1:59.967 in the final session of the day.

Official practice for Round One of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear gets underway from Sebring International Raceway at 8:00 AM Eastern Time.