Genoa's Richard Philippe Scores the First Podium of 2009 at Long Beach

Story posted - Apr 20 2009 6:39 AM

April 19, 2009. Long Beach, CA

Richard Philippe (Funkemotion.com #36) scored his first podium of 2009, with a 2nd place finish in the Long Beach Grand Prix. Philippe got position on Stefan Wilson in turn 1 at the start and moved to 3rd place. Then on lap 2, J.R. Hildebrand slapped the wall hard, causing Hinchcliffe to check-up and allowing Richard to slip past to 2nd. Richard was unable to make up ground on 1st place after being held up by lap traffic, and eventually he had to settle for 2nd place.

Local favorite, Jonathan Bomarito's fortunes (in the #63, RLM Investments car) went from bad to worse. After having his front row starting position taken away from him on Saturday, his engine experienced an electrical problem mid-way through the race, and he had to retire in order to prevent further damage to the equipment.

Team Owner Mark Olson states,

"Obviously, we're really proud of Richard's achievement today. He made a good start and made two great moves early. He had fun, and he left it all out on the race track. You just can't ask for anything else.

We're also proud of Jonathan. He did everything right all weekend. He was 2nd quick in practice, he posted a qualifying time that was 2nd by 3/10,000 of a second, he persevered through all of Ana Beatriz's oil, only to suffer an electrical failure. He didn't get the result he deserved, but he was the consummate professional in the face of adversity. I look forward to having him in Indy Lights in the future."

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