Monday, September 25, 2006

SCARY WEEKEND AT THE RACES

Racing was exciting to say the least. Champ Car race was held@ Road America - Elkhart Lake, WI, USA, on Sunday, September 24th.

A.J finished 1st. WAY TO GO!!!



P.T. finished 10th.........Ahhhhhhh.

Katherine Legge, the only female driver in the series, drives #20 car for Champ Car World Series. This weekend she piloted a pink PKV Racing machine to support Ford Motor Company's Warriors in Pink program.

The Warriors in Pink program is a part of Ford's effort to eradicate breast cancer through its commitment to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Series®, for which the automotive company has dedicated $87 million in donations and in-kind gifts to date, during its 12 year sponsorship. The Indianapolis-based PKV Racing team will do its part to raise awareness by repainting its Champ Car while Legge will don a Warriors in Pink-themed firesuit for the weekend.


At the end of the weekend, Legge will donate her uniform, including her shoes, gloves and her specially-designed Troy Lee-painted helmet, to a charity auction with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The firesuit was donated by Puma, which created the new look for Legge at no cost, while Champ Car partner Sherwin-Williams donated the paint for the new livery at no charge to the team, as well as an additional $5,000 on top of the cost of the paint.


"It is an honor for me to contribute to such a great cause and I am happy to support Ford in any way I can.," Legge said. "My team and I feel privileged to do anything we can to raise awareness for breast cancer research and to further the effort of finding a cure and we just hope we can make a difference."

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/News/Article.asp?ID=10892



Legge, who qualified a season and career high tying eighth, got an equally good start picking up three places by the second lap. One as a result of the opening lap incident and another when Justine Wilson was moved back two spots for jumping the start. However, on the restart following the crash she got boxed in and lost sixth places dropping to 11th. Showing her trademark determination, Legge began the long climb back. She picked up one spot on lap seven, but fell back to 12th after the first round of pit stops. Legge fought her way back to 10th by the second round of stops and when Tracy made an off-track excursion after losing a battle with Servia, she was in ninth. Legge was running in seventh just before the start of the third round of stops, then moved into second place when she was able to stay out longer then most of the cars ahead of her. The extra laps, with a low load of fuel, gave Legge additional track position so that following a very quick stop by the Bell Micro - PKV Racing crew on lap 43 she reemerged in sixth place, just behind her teammate. Three laps later she was flying through the air upside down and staring at the ground.


"I am a bit shaken, but I'm okay...as you can see," she said. "All my bits are intact, so that just goes to show how strong Champ cars are. It was a big impact, but hopefully everything will be fine for the next race at Surfers Paradise."


Legge went on to say, "I don't think you are really aware of what is going on when you have a situation like I had. All of a sudden the car just sped up and hit the wall. Then I see the ground and there is dirt coming into the cockpit...and I see the fence...honestly you are thinking what is going to happen next. I think I saw parts breaking off all around me. And I think I saw the engine split away because the thing I was thinking about the most was that the car was going to catch fire, which it did. Then when the engine went away and I though okay that's good. To be honest I think I had my eyes closed for lots of it, but it is a bit scary."


Legge concluded by saying, "The only problem I am having now is I banged by knee a little bit against the bulkhead. It is just a bit of bruising which won't look to attractive in my dress at the Atlantic's banquet tonight."
Note: Following her crash safety officials reported that Legge was "awake, alert and had no complaints." She was held for observation for approximately half an hour. Upon arrival at the Champ Car medical unit she was asked if she wanted anything to which see responded, "Just a cup of tea."


Legge, a rookie, made her 12th career Champ Car start and first at Road America although she did compete there last year in the Atlantic Championships qualifying third and finishing second. The native of Guilford, England has earned four top-10 finishes in her first 11 Champ Car races placing a season, and career, high sixth at Milwaukee, eighth in her Champ Car debut at Long Beach eighth in Cleveland and ninth in Denver. She has qualified in the top-10 twice in 12 attempts this year (eighth on the oval in Milwaukee and here on the Road America road course). The resident of Indianapolis, Indiana is third in laps completed and ninth in laps led with 12. Legge is 16th in the standings with 122 points, 46 points out of 10th. She is fifth in the Roshrans Rookie of the Year race.


Legge has established a number of Champ Car records this season. She is the first female to start a Champ Car/CART race since Lyn St. James at Michigan in 1995 and the first female to lead a Champ
Car race (Milwaukee, 12 laps). Her sixth place finish at Milwaukee set a new Series high for a female driver (her eighth in Long Beach and Cleveland give her the three best finishes) surpassing a ninth place finish by Janet Guthrie at the 1978 Indianapolis 500. Legge won three races and finished third last year in her rookie season in the Atlantic Championship Series. Her victory in her debut Atlantic event at Long Beach made her the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America.

Thank goodness Katherine survived the horrific crash. So scary to watch the crash take place.

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