John Walko Racing
  • Home
    • About
    • John's Bio
  • Dorothy
  • Coachineering
  • Clients
    • Arms Up Motorsports
    • JDC Motorsports
  • Development
  • Contact

AWR's Rahal Finishes on the Podium at Sebring

3/18/2005

0 Comments

 
SEBRING, Fla., March 18 - One Andersen Walko Racing driver finished on the podium, two more were in the top 10 and the fourth ran as high as second in the Star Mazda season opener Friday at Sebring International Raceway. 

The youngest of the four ended up with the best result, as 16-year-old series rookie Graham Rahal of New Albany, Ohio started sixth, blasted off at the drop of the green, and finished third in The Bobby Rahal Automotive Group No. 12. 

Robbie Pecorari of Aston, Pa. started eighth and got as high as fourth at the very end. Then his car's engine shut off several times, dropping the Aston, Pa. driver to sixth at the checkered in the SAI Hydraulics No. 23. 

Jonathan Klein of Long Grove, Ill. also had some issues with the engine in his car, which is sponsored by Nexus Distribution Corp., Midwest Steel & Services, Ironclad Performance Wear and ProStar. He started 11th and ended up ninth. 

Pablo Donoso of Santiago, Chile started second and ran in that spot for a few laps. He inadvertently bumped the ignition switch in the Cristal Beer-sponsored No. 22, however, and when the engine died Bryan Sellers had nowhere to go and hit him in the rear. Donoso restarted and soldiered on for a few more laps but his car's rear suspension was bent from the contact, so he dropped out for a 39th-place finish in the 42-car field. 

Ironically Rahal had the same problem as Donoso did, although the results were not nearly as costly. He only lost a few yards when he bumped his car's ignition switch too. With no full-course yellows he couldn't catch the eventual winner, polesitter Raphael Matos, who led all 20 laps, or the second-place finisher, Matt Jaskol, but it was still a rousing start for the series rookie and son of Bobby Rahal. 

The start was definitely a thrilling moment for Rahal. Before the race he planned to go to the outside as the pack headed into turn one, which turned out to be a smart choice. "I didn't know what the other guys would do, but fortunately that was the place to go and I passed a bunch of guys right at the start," he said. "Outside of turn one it's not as grippy, but you can still run there." 

Jaskol got by him and pushed him to fourth on lap two, but when Donoso had his troubles on lap four Rahal bounced back to third and he stayed there the rest of the way. 

"I'm really proud of him," said his father, who is the grand marshal for tomorrow's Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring American Le Mans Series race. 

TV viewers can see the Star Mazda race on SPEED at 11 a.m. Eastern time on April 24. 

Andersen Walko Racing is one of the top formula car teams in North America. Its office is in Fairfield, N.J. and its shop is in North Versailles, Pa. 
​

Driver Quotes

Graham Rahal
"That was definitely the best start I've ever had in racing. Before the race started I decided I wanted to go to the outside. I didn't know what the other guys would do, but fortunately that was the place to go and I passed a bunch of guys right at the start. Outside of turn one it's not as grippy, but you can still run there."


"The car ran well. I'm still looking at this as a two-year program, so this is a great start. I want to thank my dad, Bosch, Norwalk Furniture, Andersen Walko Racing, and everybody on the team. We're looking for one through four in the championship, and I think we can still get it. Everybody on the team works together very well. The engineers all work together, and that gives us an advantage in that sense. 

"I bumped the ignition switch once and lost some ground, but luckily the car started back up again."

"About a third of the way through the race I started to leak oil. That caused the rear end to keep sliding out.'

"I wasn't surprised that there weren't any full-course yellows. It's a big track and there are a lot of places for guys to get off the track. If there had been a full-course yellow maybe I could have cooled my tires and caught those guys, but when I turned off the ignition switch I was lucky to just stay equal with them; no way was I going to catch them. So I just kept my pace and tried to run not too fast or too slow, and it paid off."

"Once in turn 15 there was lapped traffic in front of me, and a car shot off course right in front of me. I kept my foot in it, but that was quite interesting." 


Robbie Pecorari
"On the last lap I was fourth but then the motor cut out. I know I didn't hit the ignition switch, but it just stopped. It sputtered a couple of times and then it turned on again, but I went from fourth to sixth because of it. 


"The car was good in the left-handers but not the right-handers. For the first few laps it wouldn't turn at all. From laps five through nine or so the car was good, but from then on I had to deal with a lot of understeer. My left front tire was trashed, but I think that was caused by the understeer. 

"I was surprised there were no full-course yellows." 


Jonathan Klein
 "We had a good start, but then we started to fall back. In sixth gear my car sputtered a lot. The no-lift shifter didn't work, and that didn't help either.  


"Two guys spun in front of me once but I was able to get around them, so that wasn't too bad. 

"We had a good car. We just didn't have a good motor today." 


Pablo Donoso
"I was adjusting the bars and I touched the ignition switch and turned the car off by mistake. Bryan Sellers was behind me and he didn't know I was having a problem, and we tangled in turn 16. It broke my rear suspension. I ran for a few laps after that, but it was too bad so I had to drop out."
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Develop

    Here you can find out about our developments and experiences in coaching and engineering

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    July 2016
    November 2015
    June 2015
    June 2014
    August 2013
    November 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    November 2010
    March 2009
    February 2009
    September 2008
    August 2008
    April 2008
    February 2008
    January 2008
    December 2007
    November 2007
    October 2007
    September 2007
    August 2007
    July 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    February 2007
    November 2006
    October 2006
    September 2006
    July 2006
    May 2006
    April 2006
    March 2006
    February 2006
    January 2006
    December 2005
    November 2005
    October 2005
    September 2005
    July 2005
    March 2005
    February 2005
    December 2004
    November 2004
    October 2004
    September 2004
    July 2004
    June 2004
    May 2004
    March 2004
    February 2004
    January 2004
    December 2003
    January 2003
    December 2002
    May 2002
    October 2000

    Categories

    All
    Andersen Walko Racing
    Arms Up Motorsports
    Champ Car
    Dan Anderson
    Driver: Adam Pecorari
    Driver: Andrew Prendeville
    Driver: Charles Anti
    Dri/ver: Chris Livengood
    Driver: Chris Livengood
    Driver: Chris Winkler
    Driver Development
    Driver: Doug Prendeville
    Driver: Gerry Kraut
    Driver: Graham Rahal
    Driver: James Roe
    Driver: John Zartarian
    Driver: Jonathan Klein
    Driver: Kevin Lacroix
    Driver: Kevin Toledo
    Driver: Luca Mars
    Driver: Mark Bumgarner
    Driver: Michael Guasch
    Driver: Michelle Bumgarner
    Driver: Mike Andersen
    Driver: Mike Guasch
    Driver: Mike Hill
    Driver: Pablo Donoso
    Driver: Ramiro Scuncio
    Driver: Robbie Pecorari
    Driver: Ross Smith
    Driver: Russell Walker
    Driver: Scott Andrews
    Driver: Scott Willard
    Driver: Steve Welk
    Driver: Trent Walko
    F2000
    Firman
    Formula Atlantic
    Formula Continental
    Formula Ford
    Fuel Mileage Friday
    IMSA Prototype Challenge
    IndyCar
    JDC Motorsports
    John Walko Racing
    JWR Alumni Update
    Karting
    Kate Gundlach
    Ligier Norma LMP3
    LMP3
    Mazda
    NASCAR
    Norma Auto
    Pi Research
    Pitt FSAE
    Pittsburgh Auto Show
    PRL Motorsports
    Ralph Firman
    Road To Indy
    SCCA
    Sebring
    Star Mazda
    Track: Buttonwillow
    Track: Carolina Motorsports
    Track: Cleveland
    Track: Firebird
    Track: Fontana
    Track: Houston
    Track: Laguna Seca
    Track: Lime Rock
    Track: Mid Ohio
    Track: Mosport
    Track: NJ Motorsports Park
    Track: Phoenix
    Track: PittRace
    Track: Portland
    Track: Road America
    Track: Road Atlanta
    Track: Roebling Road
    Track: Sebring
    Track: St. Petersburg
    Track: Summit Point
    Track: Utah
    Track: VIR
    Track: Watkins Glen
    Trucking Business
    USF2000
    Van Diemen
    WKA World Karting Assoc
    WKA - World Karting Assoc
    Work Racing

    RSS Feed

Location

Contact Us

John Walko Racing
41 Wallace Avenue
Trafford, PA 15085

Tel:412.414.3304
© 2021 John Walko Racing.  All Rights Reserved
site design: Rapid Production Marketing
  • Home
    • About
    • John's Bio
  • Dorothy
  • Coachineering
  • Clients
    • Arms Up Motorsports
    • JDC Motorsports
  • Development
  • Contact