Edwards Perfect for Team USA at Snetterton

Nov 14, 1999
Attleborough, England — Californian Paul Edwards grasped the advantage in the Formula Palmer Audi Winter Series by virtue of a pair of fine victories this afternoon at Snetterton, England.

Fellow Team USA Scholarship winners Andy Lally and Jeff Simmons also showed promise during the pair of 15-lap races which were held in cold but dry conditions after early morning rain saw both 20-minute qualifying sessions run on a wet track.

Edwards, 21, from Santa Maria, Calif., qualified second for the series opener, merely 0.008sec behind polesitter Tom Sisley. Edwards placed Sisley under intense pressure until the young Englishman cracked on lap 12, spinning off at the Esses and damaging his car too badly even to return for the second race. Edwards controlled the remainder of the first race before taking the checkered flag 5.617sec ahead of teenaged Irishman Adam Carroll.

“In the early laps I knew I needed to stay with [Sisley] — and save my rear tires,” recounted Edwards. “Almost right away I could see he was abusing his tires, and he started to get more and more ragged. Eventually he just got in [to the Esses] too deep. After that I just took it easy and saved my tires for the second race.”

Edwards qualified on pole for race two and was never headed. His only concern came when compatriot Lally spun out of fifth place on lap 11 and high-sided his car on the exit of the Esses. After two laps behind the pace car, the race was restarted for merely a one-lap dash to the finish. Again, Edwards was up to the task.

“That’s one of the easiest times to make a mistake — when you think you’ve got it made and something like that happens,” said Edwards, “but I just pit my head down and it was no problem.”

Lally, 24, from Northport, N.Y., finished fifth in the first race and seemed on course for an identical result in race two before his spin.

“It’s annoying but at least I set my fastest lap of the week, so that was encouraging,” he said. “I improved the car after the first race. The speed’s there, and now I’ll go to [rounds three and four at] Brands Hatch next week with a lot of confidence.”

Simmons endured a thoroughly frustrating day, which began badly when he slid off into a sand trap only seven minutes into the first qualifying session. He duly ended up seventh on the grid, one position behind Lally. Simmons looked to have redeemed himself in qualifying for the second race when he set the fourth fastest time — only for it to be disallowed when the stewards deemed that the checkered flag SHOULD have been displayed a few seconds before he crossed the start/finish line to record his best time. It wasn’t, but his time was disallowed anyway. The afternoon’s races were similarly disappointing as both were punctuated by spins. Still, Simmons notched up a pair of eighth-place finishes and showed what might have been by setting fourth fastest lap in race two.

“I made more mistakes today than I’ve made in the last two years,” he admitted.

The trio of Team USA Scholarship cars drew rave reviews for their patriotic red, white and blue livery featuring support from Valvoline, CART, Tasman Motorsports, Audi, PacWest Racing, Mercedes-Benz USA, Road Racing Drivers Club, Klein Tools, Skip Barber Racing School, No Fear and Mitel Semiconductor.

Race 1 results: 1, Paul Edwards (USA), 18m43.519s, 93.82mph; 2, Adam Carroll (IRL), 18m49.136s; 3, Paul Munn (GB), 18m49.661s; 4, Martin Rihs (A), 19m01.417s; 5, Andy Lally (USA), 19m01.888s; 6, Dan Hazlewood (GB), 19m02.489s; 7, Paul Rozalowsky (CDN), 19m04.915s; 8, Jeff Simmons (USA), 19m06.925s; etc. Fastest lap: Munn, 1m04.861s, 108.34mph.

Race 2 results: 1, Edwards, 17m50.862s, 98.43mph; 2, Munn, 17m51.897s; 3, Giorgio Pantano, 17m52.269s; 4, Carroll, 17m53.525s; 5, Rihs, 17m55.774s; 6, Simon Pearson (GB), 17m58.996s; 7, Joe Robinson (GB), 17m59.428s; 8, Simmons, 17m59.960s; 19, Lally, not running; etc. Fastest lap: Edwards, 1m05.165s, 107.84mph.

Championship positions after two of four races: 1, Edwards, 48pts; 2, Munn, 38; 3, Carroll, 36; 4, Rihs, 31; 5, Simmons & Rozalowsky, 24; also 12, Lally, 15.

Photo: Simmons claimed a pair of eighth-place finishes at Snetterton and is now fifth in the points table