Burnaby, British Columbia - October 9, 2007 - Multi-time karting champion and current Star Mazda series front runner Lorenzo Mandarino scored his second victory of the season in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Mandarino took the lead in the closing stages of the event and went on to take the checkers at Road Atlanta.
In Thursday afternoons qualifying session the British Columbia resident claimed the outside pole position and a strong starting spot on the outside of the front row. With a majority of the drivers setting their quick times earlier in the run, Mandarino worked on the setup of his Newway Forming Team G.FRO Pro Mazda to turn his quick time on lap eleven. Looking to advance his position in the race, Mandarino and crew went to work to improve the car for Friday.
After a major incident at the start of the event and the eventual restart that followed, Mandarino inserted himself into the second position and was involved in an intense battle with his fellow competitor in third. As the duo raced hard, they began to run down the leader before the yellow flag flew once again. Circuiting the Road Atlanta race course under caution, Mandarino began to prepare his plan of attack to take the lead in the remaining laps.
During the mad scramble of the resulting re-start two laps later that had veteran race observers biting their nails, Mandarino moved into the lead with a daring side-by-side pass through the first turn and would never look back. Mandarino paced the field before the final caution and eventual checkered flag flew on the event to give the Canadian pilot his second victory and lots of momentum heading into the final event in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear.
�Boy, I really needed this one,� stated Mandarino in the post race press conference. �We qualified second, but the weather made the race a gamble for us. It rained in the morning, and it was mostly dry by race time though there were some clouds around, so choosing to go with the dry setup and dry tires was a calculated risk. The G.FRO team gave me a great car for the race and gave me some really good coaching over the radio and helped me make correct decisions about how to run the race. This is their win as much as mine and is a big step forward toward my plans for 2008, which I hope to finalize soon.�
Mandarino�s next event will see him back in the seat of his Neway Forming Team G.FRO Pro Mazda machine as he will look to continue his winning ways at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Mandarino currently sits seventh in the overall points standings and will look to improve on that position at the October 20th event.
Lorenzo would like to thank all of his supporters for all of his successes throughout this season and express a special thank you to Neway Forming, Team G.FRO and Rossi Motorsports. For sponsorship opportunities and more information on Lorenzo Mandarino, please contact Lorenzo at 604.298.6463 or visit him online at www.LorenzoMandarino.com
From Mike Maurini // Autosports Media
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