Milwaukee: Josh Hunt Friday notes

Hunt Confident of Race Charge in Milwaukee

Making his debut on the famous American Milwaukee Mile oval circuit Josh Hunt is confident of a charge up the order in round three of the Toyota Atlantic Championship tomorrow in his Wright Patton Shakespeare supported entry.

The Gold Coaster continually improved his times and confidence on America's oldest oval during the three practice sessions leading up to today's two-lap single-car qualifying session.

"Tuning the car was a little tougher than on a road course, on an oval it is a case of anticipating what the car is going to do rather than on a road you simply feel the characteristics as it is happening," said Hunt.

"The track itself is one I am really enjoying, it's flat out in fifth gear with no braking.

Hunt was the second car on the track for the single-car qualifying session, however he and his Lynx Racing team missed the set up in the cooler afternoon conditions qualifying 12th.

"We tried something different in qualifying that really didn't work, it is as simple as that," said Hunt.

"We now know that we have a good base set up that probably would have put me just outside the top five, but we tried something different to find some more pace in qualifying that didn't work, now I have some work in front of me.

"It's not an awful position because it is a long race and we know exactly where we went wrong and are confident of returning up the order."

Hunt believes tomorrow's 100-lap race will be the toughest in the Championship thus far.

"One hundred laps around here is going to seem like a long time, I think tyre wear will play a significant part in the outcome," said Hunt.

"In the opening two rounds I have been able to look after my tyres quite well where as quite a few others have lost pace late in the race due to tyre wear.

"After two top 10 finishes I am aiming to look after my tyres, keep out of trouble and aim for a top five finish tomorrow."

Run in conjunction with the opening round of the Champ Car World Series, this is the 31st year of competition for the Toyota Atlantic Championship and is regarded as the premier training ground for the future stars of the sport.

Hunt is the first Australian to compete in the Toyota Atlantic Series since fellow Queenslander David Besnard in 1999 and has received major support from Wright Patton Shakespeare Financial Group, which is owned by Gold Coast businessman Craig Gore and Champ Car World Series Co-Owner and Aussie Kevin Kalkhoven.

A successful year in the Toyota Atlantic Championship will see Hunt make his Champ Car debut in the Lexmark Indy 300 on the streets of the Gold Coast on October 21-24.

The Toyota Atlantic race at the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 250 in Milwaukee is the third of 12 rounds in the Championship. All 12 scheduled races this year will be run in conjunction with Champ Car World Series events on tracks that include road courses and ovals, as well as street and airport circuits with eight rounds in America, one in Mexico and three in Canada.

100-lap race for round three of the Toyota Atlantic Championship will be held on Saturday at 5:15pm (8:15 am Sunday June 6 Aust EST).

The time in Milwaukee is 15 hours behind Australian EST.

-jhr/bam-