Indianapolis, IN (May 15, 2008) - The PDM Racing team that campaigns Swiss rookie Cyndie Allemann in the Firestone Indy Lights series, has gotten off to a good start to the 2008 season with some very respectable race results and some even more impressive test sessions.
The 2008 season got under way at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March where Allemann made her first start on an oval track. As a European racing driver, her experience has been restricted to road courses. After running as high as seventh in the race, Allemann began experiencing handling problems, but drove wisely to finish in 16th position.
"Normally, you wouldn't be happy with finishing in 16th place, but to her credit, she stayed out of trouble all weekend and brought the car home intact," said PDM owner Paul Diatlovich. "She will be running on a lot of ovals this season so you can put this race down to an on-track learning experience."
The following weekend, Allemann felt more at home as the series held a pair of races on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL. In the first race, Allemann started 12th and cruised to a much more impressive. From eighth starting position, she found the track blocked by an accident on the opening lap and rejoined the race in last place. She began moving up in the standings, only to be punted in the last turn and spun out. Once again, she rejoined the race and made it back to 10th where she ultimately finished.
"We expected Cyndie to do well on the road courses and she delivered two fine races," Diatlovich continued. "Once again, she stayed out of trouble and got her first top-10 finish of the year in the first race and in the second race, she got caught up twice in someone else's mistake. She didn't lose her cool and once again scored a top-10 finish. You can't help but wonder where she would have finished had those two incidents not occured."
Prior to the fourth race of the season at Kansas City, Allemann got her first laps around the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where she will compete in the May 23rd Freedom 100. In a one-day test, she was fifth fastest.
Buoyed by the Speedway test, Allemann looked to be in line for a strong finish at Kansas City. Starting in the 14th position, she ran as high as seventh and was recording lap times significantly faster than the race leaders. Unfortunately, she made a rookie mistake and spun into the wall.
"Like I said before, the ovals are a learning experience for her," Diatlovich explained. "Obviously, it would have been better had she taken it a little easier and concentrated on finishing, but she clearly is showing that she has the speed. She passed people and she lapped quicker than the leaders. A good finish would have been the proper reward for the performance, but unfortunately it wasn't to be."
