2009 Atlantic Championship

The 2009 IMSA Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship season was the thirty-sixth Atlantic Championship season. It was the first full season of the Championship under the sanctioning of the International Motor Sports Association. After a three-way title battle into the final round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, John Edwards became the series' youngest champion, beating Jonathan Summerton on a tie-breaker, after both drivers finished on 182 points. They also finished tied on four victories, but Edwards broke the tie with four second-place finishes compared to Summerton's three.

2009 Atlantic Championship season
Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda
Season
Races12
Start dateMarch 20
End dateOctober 11
Awards
Drivers' champion John Edwards

Schedule
Round Race name Circuit City/Location Race date
1 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring[1] Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 20
2 Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix[2] Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah May 17
3 Mazda Formula X – Race 1[1] New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey June 13
4 Mazda Formula X – Race 2[1] June 14
5 Northeast Grand Prix Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut July 18
6 Autobahn Grand Prix – Race 1[1] Autobahn Country Club Joliet, Illinois July 25
7 Autobahn Grand Prix – Race 2[1] July 26
8 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 8
9 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières[3] Circuit Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, Quebec August 16
10 Grand Prix of Mosport[1] Mosport International Raceway Bowmanville, Ontario August 30
11 Petit Le Mans[1] Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia September 26
12 Monterey Sports Car Championships[4] Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California October 11

Seven rounds are held jointly with the American Le Mans Series: Sebring, Miller, Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, Mosport, Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca.

The series planned to open its season on a road course on Hutchinson Island in Savannah, Georgia, on March 15. The race was postponed until 2010, as further work on the track was required before it could be homologated for professional open wheel racing. A second race at New Jersey Motorsports Park and Autobahn Country Club were added instead.[5]

Drivers and teams

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2009 Atlantic Championship. All teams are using the Swift 016.a chassis powered by a Mazda-Cosworth MZR 2.3-litre inline-4 engine and Cooper tires. C2 Class teams use the Swift 014.a chassis.

Team No Drivers Sponsor Notes
Condor Motorsports 6 Borja García[6] CJ Consulting missed Road Atlanta
Frédéric Vervisch Laguna Seca only
7 Max Lefèvre[7] DOTMOBiL
Conquest Racing 12 James Winslow[8] Sebring only
Matt Lee[9] Lime Rock only
21 Harald Schlegelmilch[10] Sebring only
Genoa Racing 17 Frédéric Vervisch[11] Quartier / Isomo / Shinokki missed Laguna Seca[12]
18 Tõnis Kasemets[13] Miller Motorsports Park only
Robert Wickens[14] Mosport only
Greg Mansell Road Atlanta only
James Winslow[9] New Jersey, Mid-Ohio & Trois-Rivières
19 Lime Rock, Autobahn & Road Atlanta
Jonathan Summerton Left team after New Jersey
Jensen MotorSport 1 Markus Niemela Joined team at Autobahn
2 Matt Lee Sebring only
James Winslow Miller Motorsports Park only
Davíd Garza Pérez[9] New Jersey only
Barrett Mertins[15] Laguna Seca only
3 Michael Nacol Left team after Autobahn
Eric Jensen Trois-Rivières & Mosport only
13 Autobahn race 2 only
Mathiasen Motorsports 26 Jonathan Bomarito[16] Sebring only[17]
Newman Wachs Racing 1 Markus Niemelä[18] Mr. Jones / Nuclear Clean Air Energy / Entergy Left team after New Jersey
34 Jonathan Summerton Joined team at Lime Rock
36 John Edwards[19] MAZDASPEED / Nuclear Clean Air Energy / Entergy
Paladin Motorsports 45 James Winslow Laguna Seca Only
Polestar Motor Racing 35 Tõnis Kasemets[9] missed Miller Motorsports Park
66 Richard Zober[9] New Jersey, Lime Rock only
Team Stargate Worlds
operated by US RaceTronics[20]		 77 Frankie Muniz[20] Stargate Worlds / Cheyenne Mountain Ent. / FireSky wrist surgery, missed 3 last races.
Jonathan Bomarito Stargate Worlds Road Atlanta & Laguna Seca only
78 Simona de Silvestro[20] Stargate Worlds / Cheyenne Mountain Ent. / FireSky
C2 Class
Swan Racing 29 Ahsen Yelkin Everclear Specialty Lubricants Sebring only
68 Chris Lee Everclear Specialty Lubricants Sebring only
71 Michael Mällinen Mallinen Properties selected races
75 Sadat Yelkin Everclear Specialty Lubricants Sebring only
80 Hans Peter Mid-Ohio only
88 Mirl Swan Everclear Specialty Lubricants Sebring, Mid-Ohio only

Race results
Round Race Name Pole Position Fastest Lap Most Laps Led Winning Driver Winning Team
1 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring[1] Jonathan Summerton John Edwards John Edwards John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing
2 Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix[2] Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds
3 Mazda Formula X – Race 1[1] Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Genoa Racing
4 Mazda Formula X – Race 2[1] Simona de Silvestro Markus Niemelä Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds
5 Northeast Grand Prix Simona de Silvestro John Edwards Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds
6 Autobahn Grand Prix – Race 1[1] John Edwards Jonathan Summerton John Edwards John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing
7 Autobahn Grand Prix – Race 2[1] John Edwards John Edwards John Edwards John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing
8 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio[21] Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing
9 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières[3] Simona de Silvestro Jonathan Summerton Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds
10 Grand Prix of Mosport[1] Jonathan Summerton John Edwards Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing
11 Petit Le Mans[1] Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing
12 Monterey Sports Car Championships[4] John Edwards Jonathan Summerton John Edwards John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing

Championship Standings

The point system was modified from previous years for the 2009 season.[22] Points are awarded as follows:

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Points 20 16 14 12 10 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
  • Bonus points will also be awarded for the fastest driver in a qualifying session (10 races will have two sessions), and most places gained during the race.
  • This means the maximum a driver can score is 21, as a driver cannot earn the most places gained point, if they've started from pole.
  • Only the driver's best eleven scores will count towards the championship.

Atlantic Class
Pos Driver SEB
 MIL
 NJ1
 NJ2
 LRP
 ACC1
 ACC2
 MID
 CTR
 MOS
 ATL
 LAG
 Points
1 John Edwards 1 2 5 6 2 1 1 9 2 2 3 1 182
2 Jonathan Summerton 3 6 1 2 4 2 11 1 3 1 1 2 182
3 Simona de Silvestro 5 1 2 1 1 3 2 2 1 10 2 10 176
4 Frédéric Vervisch 2 3 7 3 6 4 4 5 9 3 6 3 131
5 Tõnis Kasemets 7 5 6 7 5 5 3 10 4 6 9 4 103
6 Markus Niemelä 12 9 4 4 9 10 6 4 5 5 5 5 98
7 Borja García 6 DSQ 3 5 3 6 5 3 11 7 88
8 James Winslow 8 8 9 9 7 8 9 6 7 7 7 72
9 Frankie Muniz 10 4 8 8 10 7 7 8 6 62
10 Max Lefèvre DNS 7 11 11 8 9 8 7 10 8 8 9 58
11 Jonathan Bomarito 13 4 8 19
12 Eric Jensen 10 8 9 16
13 Harald Schlegelmilch 4 12
14 Robert Wickens 4 12
15 Michael Nacol 11 10 13 13 12 DNS DNS 11
16 Barrett Mertins 6 8
17 Davíd Garza Pérez 10 10 8
18 Richard Zober 12 12 11 7
19 Matt Lee 9 13 6
20 Greg Mansell 10 4
Pos Driver SEB
 MIL
 NJ1
 NJ2
 LRP
 ACC1
 ACC2
 MID
 CTR
 MOS
 ATL
 LAG
 Points
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th–10th place
Dark Blue 11th place or lower
Purple Did not finish
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn (Wth)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Driver replacement (Rpl)
Injured (Inj)
No race held (NH)

C2 Class
Pos Driver SEB
 MIL
 NJ1
 NJ2
 LRP
 ACC1
 ACC2
 MID
 CTR
 MOS
 ATL
 LAG
 Points
1 Michael Mällinen 5 1 1 1 1 93
2 Mirl Swan 1 DNQ 21
3 Hans Peter 2 17
4 Sadat Yelkin 2 16
5 Ahsen Yelkin 3 14
6 Chris Lee 4 12
Pos Driver SEB
 MIL
 NJ1
 NJ2
 LRP
 ACC1
 ACC2
 MID
 CTR
 MOS
 ATL
 LAG
 Points
  • Polesitters are denoted in bold. Polesitters are determined by the fastest overall lap in qualifying, and one point is awarded at each round.
  • Driver in italics has gained the most places in a round. One point is awarded at each round.

Notes
  • At round one, no hard charger point was awarded in the C2 Class as no drivers changed positions over the 19-lap duration.[23] This also occurred at rounds two, three and four, but on these occasions due to only one car taking part.

Television and other video

For the 2009 season, a new Atlantic Championship high definition television package was announced on HDNet, which features live coverage of certain events, and replays of others.[24]

Web video of events has also historically been available on the series website, and the series also has its own official YouTube channel under the username "AtlanticRacingSeries."

References
  1. "Atlantic Championship Schedule Features New Look in 2009". 2008-11-06. Archived from the original on 13 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  2. "Miller Motorsports Park Announces 2009 Racing Schedule". millermotorsportspark.com. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  3. "Star Mazda Announces 2009 Schedule" (PDF). starmazda.com. 2008-10-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-30. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  4. "Atlantic Series has new owner". montereyherald.com. 2008-11-05. Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  5. "Atlantic: Team Owners Meeting Details Revealed". 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  6. Ebentley (2009-03-12). "Garcia Flies Atlantic with Condor to Conquer America" (PDF). imsaracing.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  7. "Max Lefèvre". atlantic-championship.com. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  8. "Australian champion Winslow lands Atlantic series ride". motorsport.com. 2009-03-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  9. "Edwards Leads Atlantic Championship into First Doubleheader of 2009 Season at New Jersey". Atlantic Championship. Atlantic Racing Series. 2009-06-11. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  10. "Conquest Racing signs Harald Schlegelmilch for Sebring race". f1sa.com. 2009-03-09. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  11. Communications Inc. (2009-03-15). "Frédéric Vervisch joins Genoa Racing". flagworld.com. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  12. "Genoa Racing to skip Atlantic season finale". Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  13. "Genoa bulks up for round two". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2009-05-15. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  14. "Future Racing Stars On Display This Weekend as Atlantic Championship Returns to Mosport". 2009-09-27. Archived from the original on 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  15. http://www.atlantic-championship.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103:mertins-jensen-rls&catid=12:team-news&Itemid=24
  16. "Mathiasen and Bomarito return for 2009". speedtv.com. 2009-03-04. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  17. "Mathiasen Motorsports Withdraws from Series". eformulacarnews.com. 2009-04-16. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  18. "2008 Champ Niemela Joins Newman Wachs". speedtv.com. 2009-03-05. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  19. "John Edwards Joins Newman Wachs Racing for 2009 Atlantic Season". atlantic-championship.com. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  20. "Team Stargate Worlds Enters 2009 Atlantic Competition". atlantic-championship.com. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  21. "Atlantic Championship 2009 Racing Schedule". atlantic-championship.com. 2008-07-29. Archived from the original on 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  22. "2009 Atlantic Championship Points Structure Reconfigured" (PDF). 2009-02-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  23. Nate Siebens (2009-03-20). "2009 Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, Round 1 – Sebring International Raceway Driver Performance Chart" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  24. "Title Unknown". Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
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