Maia exceeds expectations in Atlantic test.

When the Toyota engine fired up for the first time, tension was noticeably high as 2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series champion Leo Maia prepared to take to the Sebring track for his prize drive with the equally-successful RuSPORT Toyota Atlantic team.

For the 22-year old, it was a first time in an Atlantic car and, for the RuSPORT guys, well.... it was Maia's first time in an Atlantic car! Anything could happen.

However, as the test wound down, everybody appeared happy - Maia had done a tremendous job in the car, and the team was impressed with his performance.

"Leo exceeded everyone's expectations," admitted team president Jeremy Dale, "He gave great feedback, and showed lots of speed. He really did do an exceptional job."

Over the two-day test, Maia did a lot of miles, in fact his 400-mile effort in Aaron Justus' regular Swift .014a was more than usual for a two-day test. As the comfort and confidence level grew, the lap times came down quickly and Maia began to close in on the team's previous bests at Sebring, achieved by Justus and eventual Atlantic champion AJ Allmendinger a week before the Miami season finale.

Indeed, when Allmendinger, Maia's predecessor as Barber Dodge champion and on-site as an advisor, saw that the rookie was getting very close to his times, he began to voice his desire to get back in the car. When Maia surpassed AJ's best lap, set two weeks earlier, everyone thought the champion was going to grab his helmet and jump into the car. If it had not been for the testing rules put in place by the series, he might have done just that.

"The weather is much better now than we had last week," Allmendinger he pointed out with a smile, "There were no clouds when we ran and the sun was blistering the race track. It was at least 20 degrees warmer!

"All kidding aside, Leo did an awesome job in the car. I think everyone on the RuSPORT team was impressed by his abilities, both on and off the track. I like to give him a hard time, but I am really happy for him to get this opportunity. While this was not a test for an actual ride, I remember how nerve-wracking it can be the first time you get into one of these cars."

In the end, all the RuSPORT officials were impressed by the Toyota Atlantic rookie-to-be.

"Leo is absolutely ready to drive in the Toyota Atlantic Championship," commented Burke Harrison, Allmendinger's engineer who worked with Maia on the first day of his test, "Once he got used to the Atlantic car, he really impressed with his ability to communicate back to the team and understand the changes we made on the car."

"Over the last two days, Leo is showing what we have come to expect from drivers in the Champ Car Ladder System," added Barry Waddell, who heads up RuSPORT's driver development programme, "His feedback was excellent. He was very methodical and disciplined in his approach to getting up to speed."

Chris Lerch, lead engineer on Justus' car during the 2003 season, put a final touch on the team's thoughts on Maia's performance.

"He always stayed up with the changes we made on the race car," he revealed, "He was able to let us know immediately what worked and what didn't. His feedback was accurate and fairly dead-on. When we pushed him to go deeper with his analysis and feedback, he responded very favourably. He is going to be good in these cars and in this series."

Early on, and throughout the test, Maia looked comfortable and at home behind the wheel of the Atlantic car.

"I am ready to go!" he insisted, "Okay, I would like to put in another couple thousand miles of testing first, but I really feel good about this initial run in the Atlantic car.

"There is definitely an adjustment between the driving styles of the Pro Series car and the Atlantic, car but nothing that a few laps of experimenting can't overcome. For instance, I had to switch to left foot braking to get the downshifts done in time. I have never done that in a race car before this week, only in a kart. But I made the change and it made everything so much easier.

"Working with the RuSPORT guys meant so much. Having my first experience in an Atlantic car with them is invaluable. They taught me a lot and I think this will benefit me down the road, no matter what team I drive for next season.

"I am so grateful to Champ Car, Skip Barber Racing and especially RuSPORT for making this happen. This is a great first step towards where I want to be in 2004."

Having already followed Allmendinger with a Barber Dodge Pro Series Championship of his own, the 22-year old makes no bones about wanting to continue on the path
behind - and along with - the Californian phenom.

"Everyone looks at AJ and says we want to do that too," Maia explained, "Following his Barber Dodge championship with one of my own was very meaningful. Would I like to do that in Atlantics? Absolutely, but the bigger goal for both of us is sitting at the next level - the Champ Car World Series. That's where I want to be and I think that is where he is going to be next year. Eventually, I want to be racing against him in Champ Car, and of course, beating him!"

For now, the next step for Maia is finding the right team situation in Toyota Atlantic for 2004 and then more testing. With these successful two days under his belt, Maia will look to build upon the experience. Perhaps RuSPORT president Dale most appropriately sums up the two-day test and what the future holds for Maia.

"Simply put, Leo is ready for the Toyota Atlantic Championship," he declared, "Someone needs to give him a chance for next year. With the right opportunity, he will be one of the drivers to beat in 2004 and that is saying a lot in such a competitive series."