This weekend's Firestone Indy Lights championship series return to what the Americans call a 'road' course is good news for top New Zealand racing driver Wade Cunningham.
Cunningham, 24, the World Karting Champion in 2003 and Firestone Indy Lights champion in 2005, rates the venue of Saturday's Corning 100 race, New York State's undulating 5.43km Watkins Glen International, as one of the best circuits he has driven on and in the three seasons he has contested races there has never been off the podium.
"I don't necessarily 'like' one circuit over another or anything like that, "he says, " but yes, Watkins Glen is definitely the best natural terrain road course we race at over here."
Cunningham, who this year is driving the #11 Lucas Oils cars for the series top team, Sam Schmidt Motorsports, claimed pole position and finished third on his debut at the circuit in 2005 before completing the double (pole and a race win) in 2006 then claiming pole, a win and a second (when there were two races at the round) in 2007.
One of the reasons Cunningham likes it is that is fast and flowing. Another is that it requires commitment, real commitment.
"If you can't commit," he says, "you don't go fast there. It's as simple as that."
After only competing in selected rounds of the series last year - as he pursued a drive in the Indycar series - Cunningham currently lies third in the 2009 series points standings on his full-time return, the highlight so far pole and a runaway race win at the fifth round at Indianapolis in May.
The young Kiwi was also odds on to win the seventh round of the series at the Iowa oval last weekend only to be wrong-slotted in the dying stages after leading the majority of the laps and end up second.
Despite a couple of low scoring rounds at the start of the season Cunningham is one of a number of championship prospects this year heading into Saturday's race just 22 points behind leader, American JR Hildebrand, and only six behind current points number two, Brazilian Mario Romancini.
In previous years, particularly at the half-way point of the season a definite favourite - it was Cunningham himself in 2005 - has emerged. This year, however, only 59 points separate the top six.
"The reason," explains Cunningham, " is that no one driver's really had a great season so far. I had food poisoning at the first round then the alternator bracket broke at Long Beach, Hildebrand's had a black flag and a flat tyre, Saavedra had a wishbone fall out at Iowa, everyone's had their ups and downs."
This weekend's 160 km race is on Saturday (US time) with the Indycar race featuring Cunningham's fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon on Sunday. Both series then head to Toronto for a street course meeting over the July 11-12 weekend then an airfield course one at Edmonton a fortnight later.
2009 Firestone Indy Lights Championship
Points after Rnd 6 of 15
1 . J.R. Hildebrand 227 pts
2 . Mario Romancini 211 pts
3 . Wade Cunningham 205 pts
4 . Sebastian Saavedra 203 pts
5 . James Hinchcliffe 191 pts
6 . Daniel Herrington 168 pts
