KEEPING BUSY DURING THE BREAK
The drivers and teams of the 2008 Atlantic Championship have found a variety of ways to keep themselves busy until Round 3 of the Atlantic Championship at Mont-Tremblant at the end of this month.

Monterey Festival of Speed winner James Hinchcliffe attended the Indianapolis 500 last month and will return to the television commentary booth once again for this weekend’s Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Carl Skerlong, who finished second to Hinchcliffe at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, has been competing in the Northwest Region of the Rotax Max Challenge Series Presented by Mazda. Skerlong has also been riding a dirt bike on a motocross track to stay fit, while his Pacific Coast Motorsports teammate, Frankie Muniz, recently moved from Los Angeles to Scottsdale, Ariz.

Mathiasen Motorsports driver Jonathan Bomarito will put a somewhat different type of Mazda horsepower to the test this weekend as he is slated to co-drive the No. 30 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Six Hours of The Glen. Bomarito will co-drive the machine with Craig Stone and Jameson Riley.

On the heels of their top-five performances in the Monterey Festival of Speed, Condor Motorsports/Team Holland racers Junior Strous and Dominick Muermans went for fitness and media training in Naples, Fla. Running along the beach, team strategy meetings, television media training and local interviews were part of their schedule. Team Holland also bought a pair of Yamaha jet skis to give the drivers some extra fitness training on the Gulf of Mexico at speeds approaching 60 miles per hour.

German racer Andreas Wirth returned to his home country and has been active in shifter karting. He plans to visit Italy next week for mountain training, which will include climbing, running, cycling and coordination training in addition to rest and relaxation. Wirth’s Brooks Associates Racing teammate, rookie Markus Niemela, has also been working on his training in Europe.

“I have used this break to train hard, as it’s not easy to get progress with your fitness level when there are a lot of races, as you can’t work out that hard,” Niemela explained. “When racing is on, it’s more like maintaining your fitness level and keeping your body as sharp as possible for the driving itself. I have also been working together with my management group to ensure good continuity for my career and have already been working on a 2009 program. Luckily, I have also had a chance to enjoy Finnish summer as well, which is actually really nice with light nights and so on!”

As for the BAR team, both the No. 8 and No. 88 machines were on display for Memorial Day weekend at Mazda dealerships near the team’s Tucson, Ariz. Headquarters, including Jim Click Mazda, which is one of the leading dealerships in terms of sales. The Atlantic car displays enjoyed great newspaper and television promotion.