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The 2002 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship is one of the rungs in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) ladder system.
The series is sanctioned by CART and administered by Pro-Motion Agency Limited.
The list of alumni competing in this category is impressive.
It includes many open-wheel stars such as Michael Andretti,
Jimmy Vasser, Bobby Rahal, Keke Rosberg, Danny Sullivan and the Villeneuve’s.
The primary sponsor of the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship is Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Support is also provided by the Yokohama Tire Corporation, BBS Wheels, Bosch, PPG Industries and MCI WorldCom. The series offers more than $1 million U.S. total prize, plus bonus money. $85,000 purse is up for grabs at each event, with the winner receiving $20,000 – the series pays down to the twentieth place. In 1989 Toyota became the title sponsor for the Formula Atlantic series. All cars use the Toyota 4A-GE engine, a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine tuned to produce approximately 240-horsepower at 9,500 rpm. The Swift 014.a, introduced for 2002, is the exclusive chassis supplier and all cars are equipped with Yokohama tires. Last season’s Swift 008.a is also eligible to compete in the series. The 2002 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship begins in early March at Fundidora Park and concludes in Denver, Colorado, on August 31.
Round nine of the twelve-race 2002 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship was a forty-five-lap event held on the ten-turn 1.521-mile temporary street course at Trois-Rivieres.
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The points leader heading into round nine of the CART Toyota Atlantic series was Michael Valiante. Interestingly, Valiante had not claimed a single pole position this year. Driving the No. 19 Lynx Racing Swift 014.a, he bettered Alex Gurney’s time to earn the top spot. Valiante would lose the lead to Gurney momentary, but in the end, he captured his third victory of 2002 and extended his points lead by nineteen markers. |
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Early in the qualifying session at Trois-Rivieres, Alex Gurney topped the timesheets and it appeared he would collect his first pole of 2002. However, he fell short by a margin of 0.105-seconds and would start on the outside of the front row. During the race, Gurney passed the leader, Michael Valiante, but a mistake lapping a back-marker cost him the position. Gurney finished second by a margin of 0.742-seconds. |
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Canadian Marc DeVellis drove the No. 67 Sierra Sierra Racing Swift 014.a. Round nine at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres would be his first race of the season. During the qualifying session, he recorded the tenth fastest time. Early in the contest, DeVellis started moving up the race order. By the time the checkered flag was displayed, he had advanced seven positions and grabbed the final spot of the rostrum. |
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Jon Fogarty competed in the CART Dayton Indy Lights Championship last season and joined this year’s Formula Atlantic series. To date, Fogarty had collected one pole position and four podium finishes, of which one was a victory at Mexico. He entered round nine third in the title chase. In qualifying, Fogarty set the fourth-fastest time. The driver of the No. 32 Swift 014.a would finish in the fourth position. |
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The second Lynx Racing entry was driven by Grant Ryley. Prior to the Trois-Rivieres event, Ryley’s best qualifying performance was an eighth in round two at Long Beach, where he finished fourth. He seemed to excel on the temporary street circuits and was third fastest in qualifying for round eight. However, the race did not go as well and Ryley crossed the finish line in thirteenth place. |
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The third member of the formidable Dorricott Racing team was Luis Diaz. Like his teammate Fogarty, he competed in the CART Dayton Indy Lights Championship last year. Diaz has two poles and a victory at Portland International Raceway, which places him fifth in the standings. At Trois-Rivieres, the driver of the No. 33 Swift 014.a was gridded eight for the forty-five lap contest and finished in the sixth position. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Valiante | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Alex Gurney | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 3 | 10 | Marc DeVellis | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 4 | 4 | Jon Fogarty | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 5 | 11 | Rocky Moran Jr. | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 6 | 8 | Luis Diaz | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 7 | 15 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 8 | 14 | Rodolfo Lavin | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 9 | 5 | Joey Hand | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 10 | 9 | Sepp Koster | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 11 | 16 | Alex Figge | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 12 | 18 | Alex García | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 45 | - |
| 13 | 3 | Grant Ryley | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 44 | - |
| 14 | 19 | David Wieringa | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 44 | - |
| 15 | 20 | Nicolas Rondet | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 44 | - |
| 16 | 23 | Eduardo Figueroa | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 44 | - |
| 17 | 24 | David Cutler | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 44 | - |
| 18 | 22 | Kyle Krisiloff | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 43 | - |
| 19 | 26 | Eric Jensen | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 43 | - |
| 20 | 21 | Frank Dancs | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 43 | - |
| 21 | 27 | Bob Siska | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 41 | - |
| 22 | 12 | Waldemar Coronas | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 41 | Accident |
| 23 | 13 | Ryan Dalziel | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 26 | Mechanical |
| 24 | 7 | Jonathan Macri | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 18 | Accident |
| 25 | 6 | Roger Yasukawa | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 9 | Mechanical |
| 26 | 25 | Carl Russo | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 7 | Accident |
| 27 | 17 | Stephan Roy | Swift 014.a - Toyota | 2 | Accident |
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