American Le Mans Series

Michael Jourdain Jr. ready to join Lowe’s Fernandez at Petit Le Mans

© American Le Mans Series

Lowe’s Fernandez Racing adds to its arsenal this week with the addition of Michel Jourdain Jr. alongside team regulars Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz aboard the #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX. The trio are preparing for a cornerstone event of the American Le Mans Series – the Petit Le Mans endurance classic. Thirty-eight entries and an infusion of open-wheel talent will vie for bragging rights in the challenging 1,000 mile/10-hour race at Road Atlanta.

Fernandez and Diaz have displayed their adeptness in endurance racing, crossing the finish line second in two starts at the Twelve Hours of Sebring. [2008 result disqualified in post-race technical inspection.] Through no fault of their own, the pair did not fare well in their Petit Le Mans debut last year. An on-track incident two hours into the race resulted in a blocked track leaving Diaz nowhere to go. Significant damage to the rear of the car occurred when Diaz was subsequently hit from behind. The team was able to make the necessary repairs to return to the track but the initial heavy damage caused the team to retire with just over six hours remaining in the race.

Jourdain, 32, will be preparing for his team and ALMS debut this weekend following an earlier announcement that the Mexican talent was signed as a third driver at Lowe’s Fernandez Racing for Petit and the two 2009 endurance events. Like Fernandez, Jourdain made his mark in the open-wheel ranks in a nine-year Champ Car career that included 152 starts, two wins, nine podiums and a third-place finish in the 2003 championship. He made his sports car racing debut in 2006, running three races with Doran Racing in the Grand-Am series.

Petit Le Mans will receive extensive coverage from SPEED with a one-hour preview special on Thursday at 7:00 pm EDT, online streaming of Friday’s qualifying at SPEEDtv.com beginning at 3:25 pm EDT and six-and-a-half hours of race coverage on Saturday starting at 11:00 am EDT.

In addition to a star-studded field, other highlights at the Petit Le Mans will include the launch of the Green Challenge™ – an on-track competition between some of the most sophisticated and technically advanced race cars in the world – a Green Challenge™ Round Table Media Forum on Thursday at 1:15 pm EDT and the annual State of the Series Press Conference at 11:00 am EDT on Friday. Additional information can be found at www.americanlemans.com.

Race Notes:

* Circuit – 2.54-mile, 12-turn permanent road course
* Saturday’s race will last 1,000 miles or 10 hours with a 11:15 am EDT start
* A driver may not drive more than seven hours total in the race, and not more than four hours in any six-hour period

Of Note:

* Michel Jourdain Jr. will be making his debut with Lowe’s Fernandez Racing and the ALMS this weekend
* Jourdain participated in three test sessions with the team prior to this weekend; most recently at Road Atlanta this past weekend with earlier tests at Mid-Ohio and Road America
* This will be the second career ALMS starts at Road Atlanta for Fernandez and Diaz, and the first for Jourdain
* Diaz has made one prior start at Road Atlanta in Indy Lights competition [2001]
* Last year Fernandez and Diaz qualified sixth in class and eighth overall but retired with just over six hours remaining in the race following an earlier on-track incident
* Fernandez and Diaz finished second overall in the last endurance race – the Twelve Hours of Sebring – but were disqualified in post-race technical inspection after failing an engine stall test
* Fernandez and Diaz are currently seventh in the championship standings and could advance into fifth place (16 points out) and third place (32 points out) with the help of additional points awarded at Petit (30 points for a win) and Laguna Seca (25 points for a win)
* Lowe’s Fernandez Racing is currently fifth in the team championship rankings, 30 points shy of third place
* Since entering the ALMS last year, Lowe’s Fernandez Racing has claimed five podiums and 10 top-five results with a pair of second-place finishes [Sebring 2007 and Mosport 2008] as its best results to date

Adrian Fernandez, #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX: “This is becoming a favorite race track for the drivers, and the race itself brings a lot of good competition from around the world – not just the American Le Mans Series – and also a lot of good drivers and former champions like Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan just to mention a few. The level of competition is really, really high. Obviously, you have the different classes to compete with which makes it very interesting and makes the competition quite tough because of the speed differences. This track is particularly challenging because it is very fast. It is a tough, physical race track for everyone. This race is a good way for a lot of drivers that are not racing or their series are over to come and keep up their miles. And it is becoming more and more popular with the fans. Every year it is getting better and better. This track has great spectator viewing areas where you can see a lot of the race track. Our test this past weekend went well. We gave Michel a lot of miles and he is doing very well.”

Luis Diaz, #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX: “I am very confident going into the race. We were almost three seconds quicker than with the Lola last year right away in testing this weekend and the car handled very well. The team has shown that we are competitive in the long races like Sebring. Last year, we had bad luck here but I felt we would have finished well if we didn’t have those problems. Michel brings his experience which makes us a stronger team. I feel very, very confident that we will have a good result.”

Michel Jourdain Jr., #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX: “This weekend for me is many things. I am very, very excited to race in the ALMS. The Petit Le Mans, in a short time, has become a classic race and to do it with Adrian and Luis is so great. We have been friends for so many years and to have this opportunity is fantastic. I really enjoy endurance racing and when it is with good friends, it is even better. The race track is very difficult. It has so many blind spots and it is tough to learn but I think I am getting better at it. Adapting to the car is not easy but, again, I think I am getting better at it. It is a very fast car in the fast corners – so, so quick. In talking to Scott Dixon, it’s amazing because it is so much faster than an Indy car or anything that we have driven before in the fast corners. Hopefully, we can give Lowe’s and Acura a win. Adrian and Luis have been so close many times this year. I wish it had happened before so there wasn’t so much pressure, but I would love to be part of the first win of the season.”