American Le Mans Series

Lowe’s Fernández Racing pre-Sebring notes

© Fernandez Racing

The American Le Mans Series kicks off its 2008 season with one of its signature events – the 56th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Lowe’s Fernandez Racing drivers Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz will be preparing for their second career starts in the historic race, one of North America’s premier endurance classics.

Fernandez and Diaz captured their best result of 2007 at Sebring last March, netting a second-place podium finish in LMP2 class competition and third-place overall in their ALMS debut.

They return to the challenging road course with a new vigor, the result of a change to the Acura ARX-01b chassis this season. The move makes Lowe’s Fernandez Racing a full Acura-factory effort joining the Acura-powered teams of Andretti Green Racing and Patron Highcroft Racing, which campaigned the ARX chassis last season, and newcomer de Ferran Motorsports.

Race Notes:

* Circuit – 3.7-mile permanent road course
* Saturday’s race will be 12 hours with a 10:05 am EST start
* A driver may not drive more than eight hours total in the race, and cannot drive for more than four hours in any six-hour period
* ALMS points are determined based on the length of an event with Sebring awarding an additional six points to first through 10th-place finishers

Of Note:

* Sebring marks the debut of the team’s new equipment package – the #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX-01b LMP2 prototype
* Fernandez and Diaz will share driving duties – a third driver will not be utilized
* Diaz temporarily relocated to Fernandez’s residence in Scottsdale, Ariz., last month so the pair could train together for Sebring and the start of the season; their intense fitness program also included rounds of boxing
* Lowe’s Fernandez Racing last tested at Sebring on February 21, completing a three-day outing
* Fernandez and Diaz claimed the first of three podiums in 2007 at Sebring

Fernandez on the start of the season: “I am very excited for the season to begin particularly because of this new car. The results of our tests have been extremely promising, and we are coming to Sebring with a strong package and great partners in Lowe’s and Acura. Having said that, Sebring is just a different animal altogether. I can’t begin to add up the miles that I have done in testing, but a 12-hour endurance race here gives you a whole new perspective. Despite our great result last year, I left frustrated because we were just not fast enough (to win). From what I’ve seen in our pre-season testing, I am very encouraged for this weekend.”

Diaz on Sebring: “By far, this is one of the most difficult tracks that I have driven on but at the same time it is exciting to drive. I watched a lap of the track from a helmet camera that I had on during a recent test, and it was amazing. It was a new point of view on just how super-bumpy and super-fast this track is and what not only the drivers but the equipment has to endure. It is a great challenge and that’s why our finish here last year meant so much. As a team, we have been doing everything we can to go for wins this season. Adrian and I have been working hard on our physical conditioning, and I am really, really excited about our Acura chassis. I am looking forward to a great year.”

About the Drivers:

Adrian Fernandez… enters second season of ALMS competition claiming three podiums and six top-five finishes in 2007 debut… is a veteran of 12 years at the top levels of open-wheel competition, winning in both Champ Car (CART) and IndyCar Series (IRL) competition… debuted in sports car competition in 2006, winning the Mid-Ohio Rolex Sports Car Series race and claiming four additional top-five finishes… began competing in select NASCAR Busch Series events in 2005, driving for Team Lowe’s Racing and Hendrick Motorsports… finished fifth in the IndyCar Series championship in his inaugural season in 2004 with three wins… missed the 2000 Champ Car championship crown by only 10 points, finishing second in the series to Gil de Ferran… has garnered numerous awards over the years including “Athlete of the Year in Mexico”… named one of Mexico’s 300 most influential people by a national magazine in 2006… 44 years old from Mexico City…resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., with wife Catalina and daughter Valentina.

Luis Diaz… enters second season of ALMS competition claiming three podiums and six top-five finishes in 2007 debut… entered sports car competition in 2004 netting eight wins in the Grand-Am series over three years as well as Rolex Sports Car Series Team Championship honors in 2006 and a second-place result in the driver championship co-driving with Scott Pruett… was named “Driver of the Year” in Mexico in 2006… won the Mexico Formula 3 championship in 1998… earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Indy Lights Pan-American Championship, Mexico Formula 3 Championship and Formula Reynard Series Mexico… U.S. open-wheel success includes a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Atlantic championship… began racing go-karts at the age of 12, winning several national championships… 30 years old from Mexico City… resides in Toluca, Mexico, with wife Carolina… nickname is “Chapulín” (Cha-poo-leen) which means grasshopper.

About the #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX:

* Powered by the 3.4-liter Acura LM-V8 engine
* Chassis is the Acura ARX-01b, the latest version of the ARX-01a chassis which was developed by HPD [Honda Performance Development] through a technical partnership with Wirth Research in England
* Tires are Michelin

Lowe’s Fernandez Racing Key Personnel:

* Tom Anderson, co-owner/managing director (founded Fernandez Racing with Fernandez in 2000)
* Steve Miller, general manager (eighth year with the team; reunited with Diaz who he worked with in 2000 in Indy Lights)
* Mike Sales, team manager (as a chief mechanic, has had a decade long relationship with Adrian Fernandez which includes victories in Champ Car, IndyCar Series and Grand-Am competition)
* John Ward, race engineer (is in is ninth year as a race engineer for Adrian Fernandez; designer of many Eagle chassis for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers including the Eagle Mk III IMSA GTP car which won the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 1992 and 1993)
* Tony Leith, chief mechanic (eighth season with the team; was a lead and chief mechanic in ALMS in the late ‘90s with Panoz Motorsports)

ALMS Schedule – 56th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (all times EST)

March 10 10:50 am – 12:20 pm Test Session
4:10 pm – 5:40 pm Test Session
March 11 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Test Session
March 12 10:00 am – 10:55 pm Practice
2:15 pm – 3:10 pm Practice
March 13 10:15 am – 11:10 am Practice
3:35 pm – 4:00 pm Qualifying
7:15 pm – 9:00 pm Night Practice
March 14 9:55 am – 10:55 am Practice
March 15 7:30 am – 7:50 am Warm Up
10:05 am – 10:05 pm Race SPEED 9:30 am EST Live – Fox/SPEED Latin America 8:30 am EST

About Lowe’s Fernandez Racing:
Lowe’s Fernandez Racing launches its second year of competition in the American Le Mans Series in 2008 as one of four Acura-factory LMP2 class teams. Driving talents Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, both of Mexico City, Mexico, will campaign the #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX-01b prototype in the series’ 11 rounds of competition. Lowe’s, the second largest home improvement retailer in the world, has enjoyed much success in the motorsports arena including 2006 and 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championships with Jimmie Johnson. Fernandez Racing was formed in the fall of 2000 by Fernandez and motorsports veteran Tom Anderson. In its seven years of competition, the team has claimed victories in the Champ Car (CART), IndyCar (IRL) and Grand-Am Series.

(Fernández Racing)