Long Beach, Calif. (April 17, 1999) — If there’s anything for sure about Nicolas Rondet’s performance today on the streets of Long Beach, it’s that he has clearly established himself as a sure-fire frontrunner in this year’s Kool/Toyota Atlantic Championship.
On the upside, Rondet set the fastest lap of the race and ran as high as second while battling with Anthony Lazzaro, and put a move on Lazzaro reminiscent of Alex Zanardi. On the downside, while taking another run at Lazzaro, Rondet slid off-line and collected the Turn 1 tire barrier with his right front corner, ending his day on Lap 34 of the 37-lap race.
“It was my mistake,” said Rondet, who finished 21st after starting 7th. “I was trying to close the gap on Anthony and went in a little too fast. I had clipped him earlier with my front wing and the car was a little off-balance. I ended up off line and in the tires. I feel really bad for the World Speed crew. They worked so hard this afternoon getting the car ready for the race after I clipped the tire wall in this afternoon’s qualifying session. It’s a shame, but we proved today that we have the speed and that World Speed will be a top contender for the rest of the season.”
This afternoon’s qualifying session almost seemed to foreshadow today’s race. Rondet again had the fastest lap of the session, until he clipped the Turn 1 wall with his right front corner. “A podium finish would have been great,” said team owner Chuck West, “but we proved this weekend that we can run with the best of them. Nicolas did a fantastic job, especially in only his third Atlantic race and first at Long Beach. We’ve got some great people on this team and our performance today is very encouraging for the rest of the season.”
In a sidenote, Jeff Bucknum and Grant Ryley finished 3rd and 6th, respectively, today at Road Atlanta in the Star Formula Mazda Pro Series race. The Kool/Toyota Atlantic series resumes at Round 2 on May 1 in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.