Press: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Twin tooth Drivers Have Mixed Results After Formula BMW Qualifying Friday at Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio, May 19 - At first it appeared that 16-year-old Twin tooth Racing drivers Matt Lee and Robert Thorne had qualified third and ninth in Formula BMW action Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Unfortunately Lee's car didn't pass the post-qualifying tech inspection so he was moved to the rear of the field, which in turn moved Thorne up to eighth.

Lee said the team would file an appeal, but a series official said he didn't think the ruling could be appealed.

Lee, of Syosset, N.Y., was fastest of all the competitors in the final practice session before the first qualifying session but if the appeal is not successful he'll have to come from the rear in the first race. The lap that was thrown out was the last one he ran in the session when he toured the 2.25-mile,13-turn road course in 1:28.894 for an average speed of 91.444 miles per hour in his orange No. 44.

Thorne, of Sherman, Conn., improved his times dramatically since he arrived and he will start eighth in the same event thanks to his best lap in the 30-minute qualifying session, which was a 1:29.198 (91.132 mph). He drives the white No. 1. The cars are sponsored in part by Bumper to Bumper, Autoparts Warehouse, the Francis A. Lee Company, Matt-Con Services Corp. and Integrated Structures.

The top nine cars in the revised 26-car line-up were within 1 second of each other. Thorne was only eight-tenths of a second off David Garza's pole-winning lap of 1:28.372 (91.984 mph).

The qualifying session marked the first competition of 2006 for the Formula BMW USA series, which starts its third season with the first of seven doubleheaders this weekend at Mid-Ohio. The first race of the year is scheduled to get the green flag at 5:15 p.m. tomorrow. Qualifying for the second race will be held at 8:10 a.m. tomorrow morning to set the grid for that race, which will be held Sunday at 10:30 a.m. before the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) endurance sports car headliner.

The best laps of both young drivers came at the end of the qualifying session. Lee's best lap was the 14th and last one he ran, while Thorne's was the 18th of 19 laps he turned.

Lee only got 25 minutes to run in the qualifying session compared to most other drivers' half-hour. That's because Lee and another driver received penalties for a pit-lane incident that occurred in the Friday morning practice session. Lee took evasive action to avoid hitting a stopped car ahead of him, but both he and the driver behind him who hit the car were penalized for their roles in the incident. Lee's penalty was to lose five minutes from all subsequent practice and qualifying sessions at Mid-Ohio this weekend.

The track was resurfaced recently, a fact that pleased both drivers.

After a rainy day of testing here Thursday, the track was dry for qualifications Friday, although the temperature was only in the mid-fifties and it was cloudy. The weekend forecast is for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low sixties.

Lee finished 12th and 16th in the Formula BMW USA races here last year. Last year both races were completed under the half-hour time limit, as 15 laps were run per event in a little over 24 and 21 minutes, respectively.

Thorne is a rookie this year in the series. Only two other rookies qualified higher on Friday: Garza and Sebastian Saavedra.

After the Mid-Ohio races this weekend the Formula BMW USA circuit travels to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. for another doubleheader May 26-28.

More information is available on the Internet at twintooth.com, autotecnicagroup.com, formulabmwusa.com and midohio.com.

The stats so far this weekend:

Friday First Practice (9:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.)

1. Robert Wickens, 1:52.246 (72.420 mph)
8. Matt Lee, 1:56.437 (69.813 mph)
14. Robert Thorne, 1:59.487 (68.031 mph)

Friday Second Practice (12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.)

1. Matt Lee, 1:36.200 (84.499 mph)
17. Robert Thorne, 1:39.411 (81.770 mph)

Friday Qualifying for Race 1 (3:35 p.m. to 4:05 p.m.)

1. David Garza, 1:28.372 (91.984 mph)
8. Robert Thorne, 1:29.198 (91.132 mph)
25. Matt Lee, no time.

Lee's Drive Through Field Ends Violently In Formula BMW Season Opener Saturday at Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio, May 20 - Matt Lee escaped injury in a violent crash on lap 13 after a brilliant charge from the 25th starting spot to 11th.

Lee said the crash was caused when Maxime Pelletier hit him, causing him to spin and then get drilled by Joel Jackson, who had no hope of avoiding him.

Jackson was unhurt too, although both Lee's car and Jackson's caught on fire in the melee.

Team Autotecnica's Enrico Diano said that Lee's car would be repaired in time for the Syosset, N.Y.-based driver to compete in tomorrow's race, the second half of a doubleheader here.

Lee's official finishing position Saturday was 24th.

Thorne started seventh, and he was the fourth-highest-finishing rookie. He did an amazing job not to get caught up in the accident too, although his car's nose was damaged in the fracas. Luckily for Thorne he didn't have to race with that problem, as the event ended under the full-course caution for the crash.

Reed Stevens led the 17-lap race from start to finish. Robert Wickens finished second and polesitter David Garza placed third.

Lee had already passed seven cars by the end of lap two. He got by Philip Major on lap three to move into 17th place, and three laps later he was up to 15th with only Jules Duc between him and Thorne.

Thorne and Lee were in 13th and 14th, respectively, on lap seven. They ran that way until Lee passed Thorne on lap 10 and then set his sights on Ryan Campbell in 11th place. He had just made that pass when the accident occurred.

Lee qualified third for tomorrow's race during an early qualifying session Saturday morning with a lap in 1:26.698 (93.760 mph). That was just 0.268 of a second off David Garza's pole-winning 1:26.430 (94.051 mph).

Thorne qualified seventh for that race, which will be held tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. He was the second-fastest rookie in the session with his fastest lap of 1:27.643 (92.749 mph). Times were substantially faster in that qualifying session than they were in the qualifying session for Race One on Friday when the track conditions weren't as good. The weather was clear but cool on Saturday, with no rain, and more of the same is expected tomorrow.

Thorne and Lee's cars are sponsored in part by Bumper to Bumper, Autoparts Warehouse, the Francis A. Lee Company, Matt-Con Services Corp. and Integrated Structures.

After the Mid-Ohio races this weekend the Formula BMW USA circuit travels to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. for another doubleheader May 26-28.

More information is available on the Internet at twintooth.com, autotecnicagroup.com, formulabmwusa.com and midohio.com.

Saturday's stats follow:

Saturday Qualifying for Race 2 (8:10 a.m. to 8:40 a.m.)

1. David Garza, 1:26.430 (94.051 mph)
3. Matt Lee, 1:26.698 (93.760 mph)
7. Robert Thorne, 1:27.643 (92.749 mph)

Saturday Race One Results (5:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.)

1. Reed Stevens
12. Robert Thorne
24. Matt Lee

Lee Has a Rough Trip In Formula BMW Action Sunday at Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio, May 21 - Matt Lee of Syosset, N.Y., ended up in the grass off the last turn on lap 14 of the 15-lap race after he had just passed the fifth-place driver and was going for fourth. Lee's official finishing position was 20th.

Lee started third and was as high as second right after the green. Thorne started seventh and got as high as sixth in the race, which was held on a track that had wet spots at the start but dried as the event progressed.

Daniel Morad won the race over John Zartarian and Adrian Herberts. Although there were only two leaders it was a topsy-turvy event, as Morad started way back in 12th, Zartarian started sixth and Herberts took the green in 15th place in the 25-car field.

Lee got a great start and got into second right away by passing Simona de Silvestro, but a little later on lap one he got off course during a crash that also involved the fourth-place starter, Reed Stevens, and the second-place starter, de Silvestro.

Lee was able to rejoin the field and he was in 12th when the green waved again on lap four, while Thorne had advanced to sixth.

Zartarian got by Thorne on lap five to push him to seventh while Lee moved up to 11th on that lap when Steven Guerrero fell back.

Lee advanced rapidly on the pack of cars that Thorne was running with, but unfortunately the two teammates made contact on lap six. Thorne dropped from seventh to 11th, while Lee fell back to 14th.

Thorne stayed in 11th from lap seven until lap 12, moving up to tenth when the third-place driver, Doug Boyer, ran into trouble. He got ninth when his teammate got off course on lap 14, and brought his No. 1 home in that position.

The ever-improving Thorne was the fourth-highest-finishing rookie in the race and he ended his first weekend of Formula BMW USA competition with solid 12th and ninth-place finishes.

The premature end to Lee's day came after a thrilling late-race charge back up through the field after the contact on lap six. He got 13th on lap seven and moved into tenth on the next lap. He passed both the polesitter, David Garza, and Race Johnson on lap 10 to advance to eighth. He advanced two more spots on lap 12 when he passed Scott Schroeder and Boyer fell back. He was all over Sebastian Saavedra as he completed lap 13 in sixth place. He had just passed Saavedra and he was in fifth place and attempting to pass Ryan Campbell for fourth when he got off course and slid in the grass off the last turn on lap 14 of the 15-lap race. If the move would have worked Lee would have gotten at least fourth and perhaps even been on the podium.

Thorne and Lee's cars are sponsored in part by Bumper to Bumper, Autoparts Warehouse, the Francis A. Lee Company, Matt-Con Services Corp. and Integrated Structures.

After the Mid-Ohio races this weekend the Formula BMW USA circuit travels to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. for another doubleheader May 26-28.

More information is available on the Internet at twintooth.com, autotecnicagroup.com, formulabmwusa.com and midohio.com.

Saturday Race Two Results (10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.)

1. Daniel Morad
9. Robert Thorne
20. Matt Lee