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Ambrose in top 5 in Mexico practice PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Marcos Ambrose has finished in the top five of both practice sessions for the Corona Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City today.

Ambrose was fourth fastest in the opening practice session of the weekend in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion, before backing up that effort with fifth fastest in final practice later in the day.
Today’s speed is a positive sign for Ambrose ahead of the first road course event of the season. The Australian is still looking to improve his car’s set-up ahead of qualifying tomorrow.

Kyle Busch and Scott Pruett topped today’s two practice sessions, with those two drivers joined by Ford drivers Colin Braun and Ambrose as posting top five times in both sessions.

Q & A with Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

Q: HOW IS THIS COMPARED TO THE OTHER ROAD COURSES YOU’VE SEEN?

MA: “It’s a pretty simple road course. It’s a good race track. It’s Mexico, so the fans get excited. It’s a long race. You’ve got to look out for your gear here, the gearbox, brakes and stuff. The pit strategy and all that stuff comes into play here, too. There’s a lot going on.”

Q: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT IT IS SIMPLE?

MA: “It’s flat and the corners are fairly standard corners. They’re not anything radical out there. There’s no off-camber corners. There’s no rough patches, so much. It’s a fairly standard race track.”

Q: YOU’VE STATED THAT YOU’RE RACING HERE FOR THE OVALS, BUT DOES THE ROAD COURSE GIVE YOU A SENSE OF COMFORT?

MA: “We’ll see. If we run well, I guess. But I feel like I can run well here. I feel confident that we have a better car than we had here last year so we can run a strong top 10.”

Q: HOW DOES THE SPACER MAKE RACING DIFFERENT?

MA: “I don’t think the spacer makes that much different, it’s just going to slow us down some, maybe take a second off a lap time or so. The race will still play out the same. I think fuel strategy, tire conservation and all that will still play a major part. You might see a little bit of drafting with the new motor package because there is less horsepower for everybody especially if you run in the wind.”

Q: YOU CAN DRAFT ON A ROAD COURSE?

MA: “Oh, yeah, drafting is big on a road course. It’s a different technique, but if you’re running behind someone and you’re going to catch him because you have less air going over your car.”

IS THAT A TECHNIQUE ALL DRIVERS HAVE OR IS THAT A ROAD RACER TECHNIQUE?

MA: “It’s a road racing deal. I’ve run a lot of races where drafting is huge. With small cars with no power, you gain a lot of time in a pack because you’re helping each other get along with the wind. As soon get a lot of horsepower, the drafting goes away on a road course.”

Q: IS QUALIFYING UP FRONT KEY HERE?

MA: “I don’t think so, I don’t think so at all. I think you’ve just got to be in position on the last pit stop in the pit sequence to come out in the top-10 and then it’s a race to be won.”

Q: DO YOU RELY ON DRIVER ERROR? NOT YOURS BUT OTHERS?

MA: “There is going to be a lot of driver error out there. I think if you don’t make a mistake and you have a safe strategy on the stops and everything, you should be in good position. You don’t have to do anything special, you’ve just got to not make too many mistakes. If you spin off at the wrong time, flat spot a tire, or down change badly and damage the gearbox, then that’s what is going to put you out of the race.”

RESULTS: Final Practice
1. #40 Scott Pruett 88.097 seconds
2. #16 Colin Braun 88.109
3. #25 Boris Said 88.640
4. #20 Kyle Busch 88.855
5. #59 Marcos Ambrose 88.905
6. #27 Brad Coleman 88.981
7. #9 Patrick Carpentier 89.068
8. #64 Max Papis 89.120
9. #86 Antonio Perez 89.339
10. #17 Erik Darnell 89.441

RESULTS: Practice 1
1. #20 Kyle Busch 89.661 seconds
2. #40 Scott Pruett 89.800
3. #16 Colin Braun 89.868
4. #59 Marcos Ambrose 89.922
5. #5 Adrian Fernandez 89.056
6. #25 Boris Said 90.215
7. #2 Clint Bowyer 90.328
8. #64 Max Papis 90.460
9. #17 Erik Darnell 90.546
10. #27 Brad Coleman 90.552

2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Sta! ndings - After Race 8 of 35
1. Clint Bowyer 1189
2. Car Edwards 1165
3. Kyle Busch 1083
4. David Ragan 1068
5. David Reutimann 1065
6. Brad Keselowski 1011
7. Mike Bliss 998
8. Kevin Harvick 977
9. Jason Leffler 962
10. Kelly Bires 926
17. Marcos Ambrose 773

2008 NNS Prizemoney after 8 races:
Marcos Ambrose: US$234,524 (A$252,632)

RACE SCHEDULE
Local Mexico City (US Central) Times
Qualifying
Saturday 19 April 2008
10:35am

Race – 80 laps
Sunday 20 April 2008
1:00pm US Central
2:00pm US Eastern

UNITED STATES TV SCHEDULE
Sunday 20 April 2008
ESPN
1:30pm US Eastern

AUSTRALIAN TIMES
Australian Eastern Standard Times
Qualifying
Sunday 20 April 2008
1:35am

Race – 80 laps
Monday 21 A! pril 2008
4:00am AEST

AUSTRALIAN TV SCHEDULE
Monday 21 April 2008
Ten HD
3:30am – 7:30am AEST

AUSTRALIAN TV REPLAY
Saturday 26 April 2008
Ten HD
12:00pm – 1:00pm AEST

ABOUT AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Track Length: 2.518 miles (4.05km)
Race Distance: 80 laps – 201.44 miles (324.19km)
Circuit Type: Permanent Road Course

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES RECORD BOOK
Defending Nationwide Race Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya
Defending Nationwide Polesitter: Scott Pruett
Marcos Ambrose 2007 Race Finish: 8th
Marcos Ambrose 2007 Qualifying: 12th
 
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