Mishael Abbott Places First and Third Against Formula Mazdas in the South Atlantic Road Racing Championship at Road Atlanta

September 4, 2002

Atlanta, GA—Professional racecar driver and Coral Springs resident Mishael Abbott placed first against other Formula Mazdas and fourth overall on Sunday in the South Atlantic Road Racing Championship (SARRC) event at Road Atlanta.  The victory came after a three-lap full course caution and re-start allowed Mishael to pass the then first place Formula Mazda and win the race in her class.  Mishael was the only female to participate in the event.

Mishael, racing a Formula Mazda she assisted in rebuilding with Spyder Racing, faced difficulties early on.  Racing on her fifth lap during Friday’s practice session, the left front wheel of the car fell off, causing her to miss the remainder of her first session and the entire second practice run.  She managed to qualify third in her class and ninth over all during Saturday’s test sessions.

Car trouble continued into Monday’s race, when half of the engine cover fell off during Mishael’s fourth lap, causing her to lose two positions on the track.  The remainder of the cover was dislodged during a spin out later in the race.  Despite these setbacks, she finished third in her class and twelfth overall on Monday.  Mishael’s success has qualified her for the SARRC runoff this October in Savannah, GA, a main reason for Mishael’s participation in the weekend’s event.

“Placing first and third in my class this weekend was not something I expected,” Mishael stated after the race.  “I am genuinely overwhelmed, and I owe a lot to the guys at Spyder racing for all of their help rebuilding my car so quickly.  Without them I wouldn’t have made it to Atlanta, let alone have won here.”

The SARRC competition featured 44 cars, including Formula Atlantics and Formula Continentals, and eight Formula Mazdas, and was the final series race of the season.  Mishael Abbott’s next race will take place September 14 and 15 at the Homestead Motorsports Park SCCA Regional as she continues to prepare for the Star Mazda Series race on October 11 and 12.  Mishael’s sponsors include CDC Builders, the BYBLOS Group, Sky and Beyond, and Skyline Management Group.

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Infiniti Pro and Gateway Indy 250 Pictures

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Mishael Abbott Finishes Third at Road Atlanta

July 29, 2002 

Arriving at Road Atlanta for the first time this past weekend, Mishael Abbott was looking forward to the South Atlantic Road Racing Championship (SARRC) regional event of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).  

It was a typical hot and humid Atlanta weekend that began with open practice on Friday allowing Mishael to get familiar with the new track, a 12-turn, 2.54-mile road coarse, just northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. 

Mishael had a good showing on Saturday, qualifying fifth on the grid in her Formula Mazda.  Mishael’s race field of 29 cars included the typically faster, greater horsepower, Formula Atlantics and Formula Continentals as well as many Sports Racers. 

In Sunday’s race, Mishael showed her great driving skills and netted another trophy for her shelf; bringing home third place in her Formula Mazda class and also third place overall.  A highlight of the race for Mishael was when she posted the second fastest lap of the race, with a time of 1:32.3 (99.72 mph). 

Mishael was very excited and pleased with her first performance at Road Atlanta in the South Atlantic Road Racing Championship event. She wants to thank all those who helped her during the weekend, especially Cybernation Motorsports allowed her to use their Formula Mazda while her recently obtained Formula Mazda is brought up to race condition. 

“This weekend at Road Atlanta was great.  It would not have been possible with out Cybernation Motorsports generosity of letting my use their car.  Spyder Racing’s Rusty Carter gave me a fast race car right from the start of the weekend and together we worked together to get faster.  I am looking forward to coming back to Road Atlanta; the track has made it onto my favorite track list!!” 

Mishael’s next race is scheduled back at the Road Atlanta track for an SCCA Double Regional SARRC event, August 31 through September 2, 2002.  Mishael will be devoting most of this next month actively pursuing sponsorship for the balance of this year as well as and for 2003 to assure her ability to compete in the Infiniti Pro Series, the newly formed feeder series for the Indy Racing League.  Be sure to check out Mishael’s website www.mishaelabbott.com for continuing updates.

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Mishael Abbott Takes her First Shot on an Oval at Pikes Peak International Raceway

June 17, 2002 

The third round of the Star Mazda Series North American Championship brought Mishael Abbott to her first oval race in a Formula Mazda.  The Star Mazda Series joined the Indy Racing League at Pikes Peak International Raceway on June 15-16, 2002 as a support race for the Radisson Indy 225.  PPIR is a D-shaped one-mile, moderately banked oval with four distinctly different corners.  Mishael spent Friday testing the JZ Racing Star Mazda set-up and familiarizing herself with the uniqueness of the oval tack.  Friday afternoon practice was interrupted by severe rain showers which left a green track for all three practice sessions.  At the conclusion of Friday’s practice, Mishael was ranked 22 of 28 competitors, she was a mere 0.8 of a second behind the leader’s time. 

 Getting accustomed to the oval track with limited banking, Mishael steadily decreased her lap times while avoiding too close a look at the concrete walls ringing the track.  By Saturday afternoon qualifying, she was getting much more comfortable in the car and posted a qualifying lap of 28.726 seconds (125.322 mph), 0.6 of a second faster than her previous best practice lap, resulting in a seventh place grid position.

Rain showers plagued the entire race day at PPIR, with the IRL race being red flagged for a hail storm.  The Star Mazda event was green flagged during a steady drizzle.  By lap three Mishael had moved to the fifth position.  Unfortunately while attempting to further improve her position in turn one, she spun with 22 fellow competitors pursuing.  Driving skill on both Mishael’s part and the remaining drivers resulted in all cars continuing without damage.  Mishael however lost one lap while restarting her stalled race car.

The balance of the race was spent attempting to regain the lost lap; a lengthy yellow due to the ongoing rain prevented her from recovering the lost lap.  She posted the sixth quickest race lap and passed all but a few of the cars which overtook her during the spin.  Mishael’s finishing position was 19^th however her on-track position was ninth behind the winner, still a lap down.

 “This was the best racing experience of my career to date” commented Mishael “qualifying in the top ten was my first goal which I achieved on Saturday.  I regret the spin and feel as though a top five finish was well within my grasp.  Spyder Racing’s Rusty Carter, served as my engineer this weekend, and his car setup gave me an incredible race car with which to compete.  I can’t wait to get back onto an oval track.” 

Mishael will miss the next two rounds of the Star Mazda North American Championship to actively pursue sponsorship for the balance of this year and for 2003 to assure her ability to compete in the Infiniti Pro Series, the newly formed feeder series for the Indy Racing League.  In the mean time Mishael’s next race is scheduled to be an SCCA Double National event at Roebling Road Raceway in Bloomingdale, GA, July 4-7, 2002.  Be sure to check out Mishael’s website www.mishaelabbott.com for continuing updates.

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Mishael Wins Her First Formula Mazda Race at Moroso

Test Race Weekends

The past couple of weeks have been busy ones for Mishael Abbott as she spent the last two weekends flying from one end of the country to the other to test at two of the more famous tracks in the United States, Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, near Monterey, CA and the Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona, FL. 

This was Mishael’s first experience on either track.  She was able to combine time with testing and familiarizing herself with the tracks while getting valuable experience during the SCCA events sponsored over the weekends.  She viewed these opportunities as preparation for future events such as the Rolex 24 hours at Daytona and the eighth round of the Star Mazda Series at Laguna Seca later this year.

Mishael plans to take the next week off for Mother’s Day but will return to the track to prepare for the SCCA Regional race at Moroso Motorsports Park on May 18-19, 2002. 

Other News:  The Mishael Abbott web-site is now listed in major search engines such as Google and Yahoo where she can now reach international attention.

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Mishael Abbott on the Speed Channel April 6, 2002 at 7:30 PM ET

 Exciting News!

This is a follow up to our last press release in which we announced Mishael’s debut in the first round of the Star Mazda North American Championship  Racing on March 15, at the famed Sebring International Raceway Mishael had one of two in-car cameras provided by Speed Channel for this race.  The event was a prelude to the 12 Hours at Sebring later that weekend.

 The race can be seen on Speed Channel with the initial airing on Saturday, April, 6^th at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time and additional showings at 12:30 AM April 7th and 3:00 AM on Monday, April 8^th.

Mishael was very excited about this race and the fact that Star Mazda and Speed Channel approached her to place an in-car camera on her Formula Mazda.  ‘It was a real thrill just to be in the race much less have the camera in my car’, said Mishael.  ‘Once the race started I didn’t think about it but concentrated on the driving.  I see this race as a great start for me.  Despite some problems with the car set-up, I stayed on the track and was also able to move up six places from where I started.  All in all, a respectable finish.' 

Mishael is looking forward to future Star Mazda races in 2002.  ‘I am concentrating this year on racing and gathering sponsors to help me make the next step as I set my sites on racing Indy cars.’ 

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Test Day at Moroso Motorsports Park

 Mishael Abbott returned to Moroso Motorsports Park for a single day of testing on Friday, March 22, 2002 in her Formula Mazda.  The focus of the SCCA test-day was car set-up and testing of a rebuilt transmission.  Mishael improved her lap times each session out on the track.  Her times were equal to that set at the SCCA Winter Nationals in January before the day was cut short when an out of control car forced her to clip a wall.  Mishael was still enthusiastic as they came home with a better understanding of car set-up, while working with Rusty Carter, a Formula Mazda team mechanic and ex-fellow SKUSA Karting competitor.

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Mishael Abbott races in Star Mazda support race for the 12 Hours of Sebring

 Competing for the first time at the famed Sebring 12-hour, 3.7 mile circuit on Friday, March 15, 2002, Mishael Abbott made a very respectable showing in the first round of the Star Mazda Series North American Championship.  She raced in a car from Pro-One Motorsports and was assisted by Pro-One mechanic Edva Arkusauskas,  This race was run as a support race prior to the 50^th Anniversary of the 12 Hours of Sebring. 

 Preparing for Fridays event began earlier in the week with several practice sessions.  On Tuesday, Mishael ran into difficulty with a seat that was sized improperly for her.  In the truest sense of sportsmanship, the R Sports Team, a competitor at the races, stepped up and poured a new foam seat for Mishael to use in later practices.  With the new seat and growing experience with the car and track, Mishael increased her lap times with each practice run, posting a respectable time of 2:16.486 (97.592 mph).

 Friday morning found the racers on a very slick track for early qualification laps.  In her runs that morning Mishael faced some trouble, spinning out in turn one but recovering and causing no damage to the car.  After a pit stop to make some tire adjustments, she went on to qualify 38^th out of a field of 43.  Prior to the start of the race, three drivers were moved to the back of the field for having non-compliant parts found in the post-qualifying impound allowing Mishael to start in the 35^th spot along-side fellow female competitor, Ginni Swanton. 

 At the start of the race Mishael quickly jumped up six places only to drop a few as she had to skillfully avoid several cars crashing off the course.  During the race she had only one off-track excursion when she drove through the dirt in the safety pin.  Mishael used a full-course caution to catch up to the leaders and passed 2 cars going into turn one when the track went green again.

 Mishael commented at the conclusion of the race, “I am very happy with the week at the famous 12 hours of Sebring.  I accomplished my goals of finishing the race.  There were a lot of cars crashing and I was not one of them.  I am looking forward to running more of the Star Mazda North American Championship races in 2002.”

“The best part of the weekend here at Sebring was meeting all of the great people in the Star Mazda pits.  All of the teams and drivers were very friendly and helpful.” 

 Driving with one of two in-car cameras provided by Star Mazda for the television coverage of the race, Mishael finished all 18 laps and finished in 29^th place averaging 86.877 mph.  The race can be seen on Speed Channel with the initial airing on April, 6^th at 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.

  Be sure to follow all of Mishael’s action on her website at www.mishaelabbott.com.

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Results from the Annual Sun Trust Media Challenge

Mishael Abbott participated in the 2nd Annual Sun Trust Media Challenge at the Grand Prix of Miami Saturday, March 2nd, 2002 as a member of the defending champion, all female, 99.9 KISS Country Team. The challenge matched teams from local area professional sporting teams, television and radio stations in a pit stop - obstacle race prior to the season opener for the Indy Racing League. at Homestead Miami Speedway.

The 99.9 KISS Country Team won their first two heat races.  With a $5000 prize on the line to be donated to their favorite charity, the WKIS Team lost the final race by a narrow margin to the WIRL 107.9 Country team.  The WKIS Team had the faster tire changing times but lost valuable time on the track due to a slow pit vehicle used to carry the tires in the competition. 

Fun was had by all participants and of course the true beneficiaries were the charities.

Click the photos below to see full size pictures.

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Mishael Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Grand Prix of Miami

The Grand Prix of Miami is the series opener for the Indy Racing League.  This prestigious event will be ushered in Saturday March 2^nd 2002 with the 2^nd  Annual Sun Trust Media Challenge.  This challenge pits teams from local area television and radio stations in a pit stop – obstacle race. 

The winning team will win a $5000 prize to be donated to their favorite charity.  Mishael has been selected as one of the four members of the defending champion, all female 99.9 KISS Country Team. 

Celebrity Debbie Blake will head up the KISS Team, which has pledged to donate the prize money to the Homestead Hospital Pediatric Ward.  The ward is scheduled to be remodeled around a racing theme.  Competing against them will be teams made up of members of the Miami Dolphins, Florida Marlins, and the Miami Heat. 

 

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Mishael Abbott Races at Sebring

Sebring, Florida – In only her second race weekend in a Formula Mazda, Mishael Abbott qualified sixteenth in a field of thirty cars at the Winter Vacation National Races at Sebring International Raceway’s north course. Mishael avoided a spinning car immediately ahead of her and went on to qualify with a lap time of 1:09.00’ (92.87mph), less than five tenths of a second behind the three cars in front of her. The pole qualifier came in with a time of 1:06.10’ for the event sanctioned by the Central Florida Region of SCCA. Mishael still holds the lap record at Sebring for shifter karts with a time of 1:14.62’ set in April of 1999.

Fabio Castellani and Bobby Khavidi, her Pro-One Motorsports teammates are on hand to coach Mishael throughout the weekend. Mishael will race again January 12 and 13 at the 34^th Annual Winter Nationals at Moroso Motorsports Park in a Formula Mazda.

 

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Mishael Abbott Scores Top Five Finish in Formula Mazda Debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

October 2001 – Debuting at the historic, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, Mishael Abbott took yet another step towards Indianapolis. The 20 year old native of Coral Springs, Florida proved that she is poised for the 2002 STAR MAZDA SERIES opener next spring in Miami by performing very well in the adverse conditions served up for the race.

In a field of 28, Mishael started in the middle of the pack. Displaying her driving prowess and despite the unseasonably cold, windy weather of Ohio she brought in a 5th place finish. The mercury at Mid Ohio never topped 50 degrees, leaving the racing surfaces unpredictable. In this event, which featured many drivers in spinouts and cars leaving the track, Mishael had and overcame her own difficulties. Early in the race, spinning her car once only proved to strengthen her determination to outperform the other drivers. Each lap allowed both car and driver to settle into the adverse conditions. Through a demonstration of her technical driving skills and will to succeed Mishael’s lap times improved throughout the race.

During the post race interview, Mishael spoke eagerly of her next opportunity at Mid-Ohio. "This not only was my first full race experience in the Formula Mazda but also my first time running here at Mid-Ohio. This is one of the most technically demanding circuits in North America. I’m not sure that I fully mastered it this time but I do feel confident that the track didn’t master me. We’re looking forward to returning here for the pro series event scheduled for next summer".

Heading back to Florida for the winter, Mishael will continue to seek seat time at every opportunity. "I’ve raced shifter karts for several years and have also tried my hand with other racing series. The Formula Mazdas are by far the most rewarding and challenging vehicles that I’ve had the opportunity to drive. They are a "spec" class with strict regulations on the chassis and engine. The primary focus is then placed on the driver and his/her ability to demonstrate their skills and adaptability. Practice and experience gained during the off season will certainly allow me to excel in the coming year," added Abbott.

For the 2002 season Mishael has agreed to drive for Pro-One Motorsports headquartered out of GingerMan Raceway in South Haven, Michigan. Pro-One Motorsports has compiled an excellent team that includes Italian driver Fabio Castellani, who recently won a Sport Car Club of America National Championship event, also held at the Mid-Ohio facility in late August. The STAR MAZDA SERIES will have Mishael touring North America with races in Miami, Florida; Mosport (Canada); Texas Motor Speedway; and MAZDA Raceway at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California to name a few. Mishael will continue to keep her skills sharp by running her Banke Honda powered Birel in select shifter kart races at venues up and down the east coast, including the prestigious Barre Grand Prix held each summer in Barre, Ontario, Canada.

"The 2002 season, with Pro-One, will hopefully be a major stepping stone of my goal to challenge and win the Indianapolis 500. Several females have competed there over the past few years but none have come close to winning. I feel with the help of my teammates and their many years of racing experience, here and in Europe, that I can, in the very near future reach this goal," declared Abbott.

For more information, photographs or a media kit please contact www.pro-onemotorsports.com/

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