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BRISCOE: A Tough One In Richmond
Written by: Ryan Briscoe
Penske Racing   http://www.penskeracing.com
07/02/2009
Mooresville, NC
 
Hi Again Everyone!

I wish I could write to all of you under better circumstances, but Team Penske had a tough one in Richmond on Saturday. The weekend started out very promising. We were quick in practice and both Helio and I qualified really well – we started third and fourth, respectively. I thought we were certainly going to be strong in the race.
Ryan Briscoe's developed into one of the most consistent drivers in the IndyCar Series, but the Aussie had an uncharacteristic DNF at Richmond last weekend. (LAT) » More Photos

On Saturday night, we were running well, up near the front as soon as the green flag dropped. We were in good shape in the very early stages of the race. Unfortunately, I spun out on lap 27 and hit the wall, which ended my night really early. It was the first race that I didn’t finish on the lead lap and obviously I’m very disappointed with the result.

It’s tough to end a race so early, especially when we had such a good car. I would’ve loved to have seen what we had in the Team Penske car in the later stages of the night; I’m sure we could’ve been battling for the win. My guys worked extremely hard all weekend, like they always do, so it’s especially disappointing to end our night so early.

Despite our result, Richmond is always a busy race for us because our sponsor, Philip Morris USA (PMUSA), is based there. We get a tremendous amount of support from everyone in Richmond – the PMUSA employees come out to the race in full force when we come to town. Helio and I also had the chance to spend a few days at their headquarters and manufacturing plant, which is always fun. It gives us an opportunity to get to know some of the employees there as well as tour all of the facilities and that definitely adds to our race weekend experience. This year, they brought their Hot Laps drifting program to the manufacturing center so the employees could get a sense of what their adult consumers experience. Since we were there meeting everyone, we also got to participate, which was a lot of fun! I’ll tell you, it’s always interesting to drive a different kind of high-performance vehicle and getting the chance to do some drifting was really exciting.

I was happy that the race was on a Saturday night, because that gave me and Nicole (my fiancée) a few days off. We got home late Saturday night, so I was able to wake up in my own bed on Sunday morning. We had a nice day on Sunday – we had some friends over to the house to relax and hang out. We went out on the lake and fooled around on the water a bit and came home and had dinner with everyone. The weather was awesome all day and it was nice to have an entire Sunday to do whatever we wanted.

On Monday and Tuesday I was able to train a little bit and get back into my workout routine. It was a quiet few days – I ran some errands, worked around the house and just got to relax and get away from racing for awhile. It’s Nicole’s birthday on Thursday, so on Monday we went out to dinner, just the two of us. I won’t get to be with her on her actual birthday, so it was nice to get a chance to celebrate early!

I head to upstate New York on Wednesday night for some media appearances on Thursday and Friday in Rochester and Syracuse in order to promote this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen International. After a relaxing few days, I’m back at it once again on the race circuit!

After a disappointing event in Richmond, we’re turning our attention to the upcoming weekend. The good news is that there’s a lot of racing left in the 2009 season and I’m confident we can make up
the deficit we lost in the Championship hunt. We have a string of temporary street/permanent road courses coming up, which Team Penske has historically done very well on and I am expecting similar results in the next few weeks.

Last year, Helio and I won two road course events – I won at Mid-Ohio and Helio took the victory at Sonoma. Plus, I won the season-opener this year in the streets of St. Petersburg, so I think it’ll be great to start turning left AND right again for the next stretch of events.

We head to Watkins Glen this weekend and I have to say, I’m really excited to go back to upstate New York. There is so much history at Watkins Glen International and it’s definitely my favorite road course on the 2009 IndyCar Series schedule. I started on the pole there last year and Helio started on the pole the previous three years before that, so Team Penske has proven that we’re quick at the track.
Despite his short-lived race, Briscoe still remains in the championship hunt as the series moves to a string of road courses. (LAT) » More Photos

In 2006, I was driving for a smaller team, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, and I was able to finish third at The Glen. It was my first IndyCar Series podium finish, so Watkins Glen will always be a special place for me.

I’m really looking forward to this weekend and I am confident we’ll have competitive cars there for the race. I will report back next week to all of you and I hope it will be as the Watkins Glen race winner! It’d be great to earn my first win at The Glen and get some momentum back in our Championship hunt.

Thanks for reading and I will talk to you soon!

~Ryan

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

Briscoe began his racing career in 1993 at the age of 11 by competing in the Junior Yamaha Australian Championship, and he would go on to earn a Championship in the Series the following year. In 1997, Briscoe moved to Italy, providing a true turning point in his career. Over the course of the next several years, he competed in Europe in a variety of series' including Formula A, Formula 3, Formula 3000 and Formula Renault 2000. In 2002, he landed a role as a test and back-up driver for Panasonic Toyota Racing in Formula 1, which brought him the worldwide attention that eventually landed him his ride with Ganassi Racing in 2005.

After a horrific season-ending accident jeopardized his racing career, Ryan Briscoe made a triumphant return to racing full-time in the IndyCar Series in 2008. Driving for one of motorsports most legendary teams, Team Penske, the 27-year-old Australian proved himself a winner as he embraced the challenge and had a breakout season. In his first season with the Team, Briscoe earned three wins and three poles. Starting off the new season in style with a win at St. Petersburg, Ryan demonstrating that he is the latest threat to make a run at the 2009 IndyCar Series Championship.

In his spare time, Briscoe is an avid fan of watersports. He enjoys waterskiing, wake boarding and wake surfing. He works out seven days a week employing a triathlete’s regimen of running, biking, swimming and weight training. He also enjoys golf and tennis. In addition to his native English language, Briscoe is also fluent in Italian. He is single and currently lives in Mooresville, NC.

Learn more about Ryan and the Team Penske organization at PenskeRacing.com
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