Fernandez, Diaz Take 2-Race Victory Streak to Long Beach
An
increasing base of mechanical knowledge about their race car, plus an
abundance of experience on the American Le Mans Series' circuits is
adding up to some spectacular, early-season results for the Lowe's
Fernandez Racing duo of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz.
The
two head to this week's Patron Tequila American Le Mans Series at
Long Beach, seeking their third straight victory in the LMP2 class
after having swept the first two events at Sebring and St.
Petersburg.
Once
again, the team will take the No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX-01b it's been
running for two seasons to a pure street course that Fernandez and
Co. should know better than anyone.
Fernandez
has been racing at Long Beach since 1992, when he was running Indy
Lights. He also made 11 starts there with the CART circuit, posting a
strong second-place finish in 2003. Still, he'll have to be sharp
from the start, because the event is relatively short and there's a
limited amount of practice time.
"It's
more bumpy than St. Pete," Fernandez said of the Long Beach
course. "I've been competing there for many, many years and I
enjoy driving it."
Fernandez
said one of the biggest challenges this weekend will be negotiating
through the traffic generated by several classes racing at the same
time on the same course, as in all ALMS races.
"The
GT1 Corvettes will be there, and they're fast on the straightaways,"
he said.
Traffic
was no problem for Fernandez and Diaz at St. Petersburg. They won by
a lap in their class and finished second overall. They also led the
overall event for 11 laps.
"It
was another perfect weekend for us," Fernandez said. "We
had no problems whatsoever. It was a perfectly prepared car by Lowe's
Fernandez Racing, and I am very proud of the guys. It was another
good race for Luis and he gave me a good car with no problems.
"Conditions
were tough on the track, especially Turn 1. It was very slippery. You
had to slow down quite a bit on that corner. If you went off line a
little bit, it was quite bad.
"We
had a fantastic pit stop where we went to (position one) overall."
The
team also won the Michelin Green X Challenge award at St. Petersburg.
It leads those season standings heading to Long Beach. The award is
given to two teams -- one prototype and one GT -- that demonstrate
the best overall performance and fuel efficiency with the least
environmental impact.
Fernandez,
who is spending the days before the race vacationing with his family
in Colorado, cautions that he and his team must not let up in their
efforts. He said his LMP2 competitors are stronger than the early
rsults indicate. He predicts the Dyson Mazda team, which now trails
50-16 in the point standings, will soon sort out the mechanical
issues with its cars and present a more formidable challenge.
"They'll
be a lot more competitive," he commented.
Fernandez
also said that while it's disappointing that the series is seeing
short fields this year -- only six prototypes at St. Petersburg in a
field of 17 -- it's just a sign of the tough economic times.
"The
American Le Mans Series isn't the only circuit being hurt by the
economy," he noted.