Sunday Group Management

Richie Morris Racing Sacramento Mile Race Wrap

Richie Morris Racing Sacramento Mile Race Wrap

Sacramento, Calif. (23 May 2016) – Richie Morris Racing returned to the fabled Sacramento Mile at Cal Expo this weekend with rider Shayna Texter looking forward to Round 5 of the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track Racing championship.

Working through the practice and qualifying sessions ahead of the Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines main event, Saturday’s outing proved to be a frustrating one for the RMR squad as the team continued to look for suspension solutions for the in-house built chassis.

Texter, who arrived at the one-mile oval with the confidence that being a two-time winner in AMA Pro Flat Track GNC2 competition at the track brings, was hoping to build some momentum with the RMR entry that sports backing from McElroy Packaging, Tucker Rocky Distributing and Roland Sands Designs. Texter and the RMR squad worked to build speed with the entry, posting improved times through the first practice, second qualifying, and into the Semi. Despite posting lap speeds that were nearly 1.5 seconds faster than the initial practice outings, a run to seventh in the Semi 2 closed out the day for the team.

“We are getting a wobble in high-speed conditions, so we are working on a solution to that problem,” said team owner Richie Morris.

The swing through Arizona and California for the two most recent rounds of AMA Pro Flat Track action will be followed this weekend by a return to the fabled Springfield Mile. The busy stretch of races, compounded by the wide reach of geography, has added an extra challenge as RMR looks to unlock speed out of the newly deployed in-house design.

“We all knew there would be growing pains as we work to build this program,” said Morris. “However, we were completely blindsided by this particular problem. Compounded by the fact that we have been unable to return to our shop for modifications because of the travel required, we have found ourselves scrambling to make adjustments on the road. We were able to run a test on a mile track on Sunday the day after our race in Sacramento, we learned a lot and are gaining confidence in our setup plan for Springfield.”

https://www.facebook.com/RichieMorrisRacing/

About Richie Morris Racing

Richie Morris Racing is a professional motorcycle race team. Having competed at the highest level in different genres of motorcycle racing, RMR has won four national championships in AMA Pro Road Racing. The team has scored numerous wins and podium finishes with many different professional riders. We believe in building a solid platform to win races and championships. In doing so, our mission being that of delivering value to our riders and partners.

2016 AMA Pro Flat Track Schedule

May 29: Springfield Mile I – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
June 18: Oklahoma City Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Okla.
June 25: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio
July 30: Charlotte Half-Mile – Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, N.C.
August 9: Sturgis Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, S.D.
August 14: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, Ill.
August 20: TBA, New York State
September 4: Springfield Mile II – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
September 25: Santa Rosa Mile, California

Richie Morris Racing Ready for Sacramento’s One Mile on Saturday

Richie Morris Racing Ready for Sacramento’s One Mile on Saturday

Pasadena, Calif. (21 May 2016) – Richie Morris Racing rider Shayna Texter will be back in AMA Pro Flat Track Racing action as the young racer looks forward to the Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines on the Sacramento Mile at Cal Expo this Saturday in the McElroy Packaging, Tucker Rocky Distributing and Roland Sands Designs-backed machine.

The track is one that Texter has fond memories of, having scored two GNC2 victories on the one-mile oval on her way up the AMA Pro Flat Track Racing ranks. Now doing battle in the top GNC1 class, Texter is looking for a productive weekend out west once again as RMR continues to develop its new in-house chassis for AMA Pro competition.

Sacramento has a long and rich history of AMA Pro Flat Track events, and Saturday’s race will mark the 51st running at the Cal Expo in Sacramento.

Last weekend’s round of AMA Pro Flat Track action on the one-miler in Phoenix saw Texter and the RMR squad not making the progress on the timesheets that they were looking for. But the weekend did give the team another new round of notes as the event was the first in AMA Pro competition for the group with their in-house built chassis in the one-mile configuration.

While the Sacramento Mile event sees RMR starting with an empty notebook on the engineering side, the effort will have the race-winning experience of Texter and team principal Richie Morris to lean on.

At one mile long, the track is one of seven on the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track schedule and the high speeds make for both a fan and rider favorite.

“Arizona was a tough weekend for us-we just didn’t get the handling dialed in and it really hurt our runs with Shayna,” said RMR’s Richie Morris. “We struggled a bit on the suspension side, but we’ve been working on some things that will hopefully help us out this weekend at Sacramento. It is just our second time to run this bike on a one-mile and we’ve been picking up more every time out, just learning as we go. This will be another weekend of starting with an empty notebook, but Shayna has run well here in the past with a couple of wins and hopefully we can continue to pick up speed this weekend.”

This weekend’s Sacramento Mile is the second of four consecutive Mile events on the 2016 AMA Flat Track schedule net , as the series rolls into Illinois for the legendary Springfield Mile and then Remington Park for the Oklahoma City Mile for rounds six and seven.

Results will be posted here: http://www.amaproracing.com/flat-track/events/default/view/638/results

Fans can keep up all weekend via http://www.fanschoice.tv/watch-live/ama/flat-track

Schedule, May 21, 2016:

2:30pm – 4:30pm Timed Practice
6:30pm Opening Ceremonies

7:24pm – 7:32pm GNC1 Heat 1 16 Riders 8 Laps (1-4 to Main) (5-16 to Semi)
7:32pm – 7:40pm GNC1 Heat 2 16 Riders 8 Laps (1-4 to Main) (5-16 to Semi)
7:40pm – 7:48pm GNC1 Heat 3 16 Riders 8 Laps (1-4 to Main) (5-16 to Semi)

7:56pm – 8:06pm Intermission

8:22pm – 8:30pm GNC1 Semi 1 18 Riders 8 Laps (1-3 to Main)
8:30pm – 8:38pm GNC1 Semi 2 18 Riders 8 Laps (1-3 to Main)

8:38pm – 8:46pm Intermission

8:46pm – 8:56pm GNC2 Main Intro
8:56pm – 9:10pm GNC2 Main Event 18 Riders 12 Laps
9:10pm – 9:20pm GNC1 Main Intro
9:20pm – 9:40pm GNC1 Main Event 18 Riders 25 Laps

About Richie Morris Racing

Richie Morris Racing is a professional motorcycle race team. Having competed at the highest level in different genres of motorcycle racing, RMR has won four national championships in AMA Pro Road Racing. The team has scored numerous wins and podium finishes with many different professional riders. We believe in building a solid platform to win races and championships. In doing so, our mission being that of delivering value to our riders and partners.

2016 AMA Pro Flat Track Schedule

May 21: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo Fair, Sacramento, Calif.
May 29: Springfield Mile I – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
June 18: Oklahoma City Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Okla.
June 25: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio
July 30: Charlotte Half-Mile – Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, N.C.
August 9: Sturgis Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, S.D.
August 14: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, Ill.
August 20: TBA, New York State
September 4: Springfield Mile II – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
September 25: Santa Rosa Mile, California

Richie Morris Racing Ready for Law Tigers Arizona Mile

Richie Morris Racing Ready for Law Tigers Arizona Mile

Phoenix, Arizona (14 May 2016) – This weekend, Richie Morris Racing is ready to kick off a busy month of May that will feature three rounds of AMA Pro Flat Track competition starting with the Law Tigers Arizona Mile.

Richie Morris Racing rider Shayna Texter will look to make the month a momentum building one starting with Saturday’s visit to the Arizona facility, which marks the first of six one-mile events on the 2016 AMA schedule.

The Arizona one-miler outing follows the Circuit of the America’s debut for the team’s in-house built chassis in the most recent round of AMA Flat Track Racing.

The Texas race outing turned into a frustrating one as Texter’s weekend was set back early following first-lap contact that caused a low-side fall in an early heat race. The lost ground saw Texter forced to start the GNC1 semi from the back as her weekend ended earlier than she had hoped on the McElroy Packaging, Tucker Rocky Distributing and Roland Sands Designs-backed machine.

But working through the prodigious challenge of developing a custom, in-house built chassis in the heat of competition, Texter and her Richie Morris Racing squad were still able to add a lot of notes and data during the Texas outing to continue to learn the new chassis and build speed with the entry, which is exactly what the plan is for Saturday’s race outing.

“We learned much at Austin with our newly developed chassis,” said Morris, . Shayna likes the mile tracks, so Im looking forward to see her move in the right direction this weekend. I also want to send a shout out to American Honda. Our bikes are custom designed and American Honda is always there for us making sure we have quality parts! We are a new team, so I have to remind myself often that AMA Pro Flat Track is a new and exciting thing for RMR. However, it is not easy, these teams and riders have been working hard for years and they are hard to beat.

“The team has worked non stop since Austin,” said Texter. “We have two new bikes and I am so excited to have three mile tracks in a row. I feel confident we will be moving towards the front.”

For those fans that can’t make it to Phoenix for the event, every session of the Law Tigers Arizona Mile will be live streamed free of charge and in high definition on FansChoice.tv.

Fans are invited to tune in for practice and qualifying at 2:15 p.m. ET (11:15 a.m. PT), followed by the pre-race show at 4:15 p.m. ET (1:15 p.m. PT). Opening ceremonies will lead into the heat races at 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT) with the mains scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT). Watch AMA Pro Flat Track live on FansChoice.tv at http://www.fanschoice.tv/watch-live/ama/flat-track.

About Richie Morris Racing:

Richie Morris Racing is a professional motorcycle race team. Having competed at the highest level in different genres of motorcycle racing, RMR has won four national championships in AMA Pro Road Racing. The team has scored numerous wins and podium finishes with many different professional riders. We believe in building a solid platform to win races and championships. In doing so, our mission being that of delivering value to our riders and partners.

2016 AMA Pro Flat Track Schedule

May 14: Arizona Mile – Turf Paradise, Phoenix, Ariz.

May 21: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo Fair, Sacramento, Calif.

May 29: Springfield Mile I – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.

June 18: Oklahoma City Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Okla.

June 25: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio

July 30: Charlotte Half-Mile – Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, N.C.

August 9: Sturgis Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, S.D.

August 14: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, Ill.

August 20: TBA, New York State

September 4: Springfield Mile II – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.

September 17: TBA, Southern California

Early October: TBA, Northern California

IMSA News Roundup: May 11, 2016

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

IMSA News Roundup: May 11, 2016

Notebook Items Include: Ford Ganassi Drivers Pleased With Watkins Glen Repaving; Palttala Pleased With Progress Of BMW M6; Freedom Autosport Extends Record Winning Streak

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 11, 2016) – A number of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams took advantage of a break between races to test the newly repaved Watkins Glen International, which will host the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 3.

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing tested its new Ford GT for the first time at the historic 3.4-mile circuit, joined by fellow GT Le Mans (GTLM) competitor BMW Team RLL, and GT Daytona (GTD) entrants Stevenson Motorsports and Turner Motorsport.

“This is one of my favorite race tracks in the world, and we’re lucky to have such great race tracks built on the topography of the land,” said Joey Hand, who tested the Ford GT with Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and Dirk Muller. “You go around the world and not many race tracks like this are being built – especially the new ones. The fact that they put all this money into the repave is awesome, so we can keep coming back here for years to come.

“The new asphalt is flawless, and it’s going to make for some great racing. This track has always been great for racing, but now it will be better than normal for here. When it’s still rubbering in, you might have two grooves in some corners, and guys will be able to hang on the outside a little bit more when they’re dogfighting for position. I think you’re going to have more spectacular racing here at Watkins Glen.”

Briscoe brings plenty of IndyCar and sports car success to The Glen. He won a pair of IndyCar poles for Penske Racing in 2008 and 2009, finishing second for the team in 2009 and 2010 in addition to taking third for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2006. He raced twice for Wayne Taylor SunTrust Racing in 2006, placing second and third in a Pontiac Riley co-driven by Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli.

“This has always been my favorite race track to go to,” Briscoe said. “It’s so fast and rewarding; exhilarating. I love the high-speed corners. It’s so smooth, it’s got the new surface all the way around – you don’t have the concrete patches anymore. It’s going to have a high level of grip, and I think you’ll probably see some new track records.”

Westbrook is seeking his third consecutive victory at The Glen, having won overall in both 2014 and 2015 in Visit Florida Racing’s No. 90 Corvette DP.

“This will be very different,” Westbrook said. “I’ve had two very good years here with Visit Florida Racing. I’m in a different class and a completely different car, and the track here is a lot different now. I had a few laps, and it’s quick – really quick. When people get here for the first time on race weekend, it’s going to raise some eyebrows when they go out for their first lap. They’ve done an incredible job. Everybody loves this track, but everyone is going to love it a bit more now.”

Turner Motorsport Looks To Improve On Solid WGI Resume

Turner Motorsport won the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in 2014 with Markus Palttala and Dane Cameron sharing the team’s No. 94 BMW Z4. Last year, Palttala and Michael Marsal led the race before it started raining. The team took both of its new-for-2016 BMW MG GT3 cars to Monday’s private test at the circuit, with Palttala and Marsal in the No. 97 Alvarez & Marsal/IHG Rewards Club entry, and the team feels it can built on that success with the new car.

“It was a very useful day and we made good progress,” Palttala said. “The biggest difference is the added grip of the new tarmac. Our M6 liked it and handled better than in the previous rounds. We’ve had great success at Watkins Glen before. I loved the track to start with – it’s a very cool layout and has a great rhythm – but now with the new surface, it’s simply awesome.”

Freedom Autosport Extends Record Continental Tire Challenge Winning Streak

Freedom Autosport set the record for consecutive IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge victories at a single venue back in 2014, when Andrew Carbonell and Randy Pobst gave the team its fourth straight triumph at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The team has continued to make winning a habit at Mazda’s namesake track. Carbonell took his third straight at the circuit in 2015, when he won with Liam Dwyer in the No. 26 SemperFiFund.org Mazda MX-5.

Carbonell’s personal winning streak came to an end with a second place-finish in the recent event, but Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer won in the team’s No. 25 ModSpace Mazda MX-5 to extend the record to six consecutive victories.

“We’ve been fighting with Freedom Autosport the last three years to get a win at Mazda Raceway, so when we joined Freedom, we knew they had strong cars,” said McAleer, who shared the 2015 ST championship with McCumbee for CJ Wilson Racing in 2015. “Winning here is a very special moment for us. Freedom did an amazing job getting the car where it needed to be.”

For Carbonell, it was his sixth consecutive podium finish for Freedom Autosport at Mazda Raceway with a season-best second-place showing with Dwyer.

“The winning streak continued for Freedom, and the podium streak continued for me,” said Carbonell. “It was a great race – Freedom Autosport always gives us such a great car. This was actually a new car, and to get it together in only two 45-minute practice sessions was pretty impressive.”

End Quote:

Mike Hull, Team Manager, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing: “What Watkins Glen has done to improve the racing with the repave is terrific. It enhances the value to the fans, the teams, and the drivers. Both our 66 and 67 Ford GTs ran throughout the day with a concentration of being ready to compete on the Fourth of July weekend. Being able to test in advance of the Sahlen’s Six Hour event was important to the measured progress of our Ford GT effort. In addition, being able to include historically significant places like The Glen represents the past, present, and future of the North American IMSA series.”

USWAG releases Justin Wilson sock to benefit Dyslexia Institute of Indiana

www.IMS.com Indianapolis Motor Speedway Press Release For Immediate Release USWAG releases Justin Wilson sock to benefit Dyslexia Institute of Indiana INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, May 9, 2016 — Verizon IndyCar Series fans can now commemorate Justin Wilson while also raising funds for a cause that was very important to him. USWAG, a performance athletic sock company that was founded by the late IndyCar driver Wilson and Michael Waddell, has released the custom Justin Wilson-inspired sock design, with a majority of the proceeds going to the Dyslexic Institute of Indiana (dii). Wilson, who worked hard to support Dyslexia awareness and encourage early diagnosis, was a spokesperson for the Indianapolis-based dii. Wilson and his message that "Dyslexia Doesn’t Stop Me" was carried across a range of media and advertising campaigns featuring the fan-friendly driver. "Dii was very important to Justin and he wanted to help get the message out there to everyone," said Julia Wilson. "He loved working with the kids, telling them to follow their dreams and to never give up. Making a Justin Wilson sock is a great way to continue his legacy to make people aware Dyslexia is out there. The proceeds go to help the Dii. It’s a pretty cool looking sock and I can’t wait to see people wearing them." "We’re thrilled Justin’s family, friends and fellow drivers believe in dii and agreed to help us share Justin’s message and celebrate his life," said dii CEO Nichole Freije. "From the helmet colors to the Union Jack flag, the sock is a great reminder of Justin and his work on and off the track. We can’t thank Julia (Wilson), Stefan (Wilson), Scott (Dixon) and Michael (Waddell) enough. They’re writing an empowering story, and that’s exactly what Justin did for individuals with dyslexia." In addition to the Justin Wilson design, USWAG has teamed to make custom designs for fans of Ryan Hunter Reay, Will Power, Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ed Carpenter Racing, Graham Rahal, James Hinchcliffe, Conor Daly and Marco Andretti. With all of the offerings being made in the USA, USWAG has also generated designs that feature the commemorative 100th Running Logo, the fabled "Wings and Wheels" logo, as well as a design that features the Verizon IndyCar Series logo. "Michael (Waddell) and Justin both had a vision, and they worked hard to start the company," said Julia Wilson. "I am very lucky and honored to try and carry that on for Justin. Emotionally it’s been tough for Michael and I, with USWAG we want to make Justin proud by succeeding. I admire Michael for all his achievements so far." With several of the designs already available on www.ims.com, museum gift shops, airport gift shop and trackside at all races, all of the products are available for sale in May. Dyslexia Institute of Indiana Believing that all people are entitled to fulfil their potential, the Dyslexia Institute of Indiana exists to help children, adolescents and adults with dyslexia. The Dyslexia Institute of Indiana is a 501c3 organization and donations are tax deductible. diin.org *** Tickets are now on sale for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational, Lilly Diabetes 250, the Crown Royal Presents the "Your Hero’s Name Here" 400 at the Brickyard and the Red Bull Air Race. Fans have three quick, convenient methods to buy tickets: Online: Visit www.ims.com/tickets. Tickets are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Phone: Call 800-822-INDY or 317-492-6700 between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday. In Person: Visit the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building east of the 16th Street roundabout and outside Turn 1 of the oval between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are available. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at 866-221-8775 for more information. Information on parking and camping at IMS events is available at www.ims.com/tickets. Media contacts Alex Damron, IMS Director of Communications adamron Suzi Elliott, Manager of Media Relations selliott John Schwarb, Senior Manager of Communications jschwarb Wesley Johnson, Communications Coordinator wjohnson

IMSA News Roundup: May 4, 2016

IMSA News Roundup: May 4, 2016

Notebook Items Include Doonan Pleased With Mazda’s Breakthrough Weekend; Performance Tech Edged Out For Pole, Podium; C.J. Wilson Watches Team Score Double Podium

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 4, 2016) – While the finish didn’t quite fit the storyline, Mazda Motorsports had a breakthrough weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Showing the strength of the new gasoline-powered MZ-2.0T that replaced the diesel engines from the past two seasons beginning with the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the team ran 1-2 in all three IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice sessions for the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda; won its first TOTAL Pole Award while sweeping the front row in qualifying; and then ran 1-2 throughout the opening 30 minutes of the race.

“Since we started this new engine program, we’ve talked about coming to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and being strong,” said John Doonan, Director of Mazda Motorsports North America. “From the opening practice, to the second practice to third practice and into qualifying, we were exactly that. For the first part of the race, we did exactly as we had hoped. Then, things didn’t go our way on the pit stop sequence and the No. 70 car had an oil pump failure which we hadn’t seen before. It was quite a disappointment there and it didn’t get the result we wanted.”

Pole winner Tristan Nunez and Jonathan Bomarito finished fourth – matching the team’s best Prototype result from Long Beach, scored by Tom Long and Joel Miller.

“I think we can take away positives, we certainly can run up front and we have great pace,” Doonan said. “Now we head on to Detroit and see what we can do there. It’s a tough street circuit.”

Performance Tech Edged Out For Pole, Podium

Performance Tech Motorsports had a weekend of near misses, coming up short on both the TOTAL Pole Award and the podium in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class.

James French made a habit of winning poles in 2015, earning three TOTAL Pole Awards on last-lap charges. This time, his car was atop the standings only to be edged out by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports driver Robert Alon on the final lap.

French led 34 minutes in the No. 8 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09 after passing Alon for the lead on lap four. Co-driver Kyle Marcelli ran third throughout most of his stint, prevailing in a battle with JDC-Miller Motorsports driver Stephen Simpson only to lose third late in the race on a three-wide pass by Colin Braun.

“I don’t like leaving anything on the table and this time I think we did,” Marcelli said. “I think we had a podium-capable car but some things didn’t go our way. We had an issue in the pit stop and the car stalled so that put us two positions behind. Though there are only seven cars in the PC class it’s still competitive. The competition is very close and I think we’re a team people should look out for.”

C.J. Wilson Watches Team Score Double Podium

Major League baseball pitcher C.J. Wilson took a few hours away from his Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to watch his Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge team in action on Saturday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

He liked what he saw. Daniel Burkett gave his team its first Grand Sport (GS) TOTAL Pole Award and finished second with Marc Miller in the CJ Wilson Racing No. 33 ONE Capital Management/Motor Oil Matters Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, one position ahead of Till Bechtolscheimer and Tyler McQuarrie in the team’s No. 35 Cayman.

“Any time you can walk away with two cars on the podium is obviously a big deal,” Wilson said. “We’re really happy, especially with the way Till drove. He drove fantastic all week. We expect a lot out of Danny, because of his fast start, and Till’s really improving. Obviously, Tyler and Marc are pros and they really closed the gap really well for us at the end.”

Miller took the checkered flag only 0.510 seconds behind Bodymotion Racing’s race-winning No. 12 Porsche of Trent Hindman – a stat not lost on Wilson.

“We had a little bad luck in the pits,’ Wilson said. “We had a couple of lug nuts come loose as we were putting one of the wheels on, and it probably cost us a couple seconds. At the end of the day, we lost by half a second, and sometimes that’s all the margin that you’re able to make up in the pits. I think we’re in a good position in the championship, being able to get an extra car in front of Billy Johnson today.”

Johnson finished fourth with co-driver Scott Maxwell in the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsport Ford Shelby GT350R-C. Burkett and Miller moved up to second in the standings, trailing by nine points (95-86) entering the Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen International on July 2.

Cattaneo, Trinkler Fall From First To Fifth In ST Standings

“It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack,” Owen Trinkler said of the weekend for the No. 44 CRG-I Do Borrow Honda Civic Si co-driven by Sarah Cattaneo.

The team came into Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca coming off an impressive victory at Sebring, which propelled them to the points lead. But a 17th-place finish dropped them to fifth in the standings, eight points behind new leader Chad Gilsinger (82-74).

“We were fighting electrical gremlins the whole race – actually the entire weekend,” Trinkler said. “We tried everything we could. We identified several small problems, which we corrected, but we couldn’t seem to find the main problem. At least we finished the best we could and minimized the damage. Now we can’t wait to get to Watkins Glen.”

End Quote:

Richard Westbrook, GTLM winner at Mazda Raceway in the No. 67 Ford GT after winning the 2015 event overall in the Visit Florida Racing Corvette DP: “I love this place. I’ve now got three wins here – it’s been great for me. I’ve always felt comfortable here. This weekend, Ryan (Briscoe) did an incredible job putting the car on the front row – he just missed out on pole – and what strategy from Chip Ganassi. I didn’t think it was possible, but we did it.”

Mazda Motorsports, Bomarito Looking For Home Track Advantage In Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix At Mazda Raceway

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

Mazda Motorsports, Bomarito Looking For Home Track Advantage

In Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix At Mazda Raceway

JDC/Miller Motorsport Looks For Third PC Victory Of 2016

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 25, 2016) – There’s no place like home for Jonathan Bomarito. The native of Monterey, California will be looking to carry Mazda Motorsports’ momentum from the recent race at Long Beach to a strong finish in Sunday’s Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Coming off his best career finish in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype (P) class competition, Bomarito will join Tristan Nunez driving the No. 55 Mazda Prototype. The team finished fifth in the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach on April 16, one position behind teammates Joel Miller and Tom Long in the No. 70 Mazda Prototype.

The Prototype (P) and GT Le Mans (GTLM) classes will hold a two-hour race on the challenging 2.238-mile circuit at 11:15 a.m. PT on Sunday (live, FS1, 2 p.m. ET). The Prototype Challenge (PC) and GT Daytona (GTD) competitors then will take the green flag at 4:45 p.m. PT (live, FS2, 6:30 p.m. ET).

“It all matches up for this weekend,” said Bomarito, who attended Palma High School in nearby Salinas and was a driving instructor at Mazda Raceway for 10 years early in his career. “I love driving at Mazda Raceway – it’s a fun, flowing race track and very enjoyable from a driving perspective. Placing the Monterey Peninsula in the mix – it’s a beautiful place. Plus, I’ll have all my family and friends there watching. It all adds up to make it pretty special. Race car driving is a unique profession, and it’s fun to share that with everybody.”

The Mazda Prototypes face strong challenges from four Corvette DPs, a Honda-powered Ligier and the DeltaWing coupe.

Visit Florida Racing returns as defending race champions, albeit with a new driver lineup for 2016. Ryan Dalziel and Marc Goossens will share the No. 90 Corvette DP that won last year’s event. Ricky and Jordan Taylor are coming off a victory at Long Beach in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. Action Express Racing returns with the same drivers in a two-car lineup, with 2014-15 Prototype champions Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa driving the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP, while Dane Cameron and Eric Curran share the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP.

Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian fields the No. 60 Honda Ligier JS P2 for Ozz Negri and John Pew, while Sean Rayhall returns to join Katherine Legge in the No. 0 Panoz DeltaWing Racing coupe.

JDC/Miller Motorsports Looks For Third Victory Of 2016

JDC/Miller Motorsports takes confidence and momentum into Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. After opening the season by winning the Prototype Challenge (PC) class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Misha Goikhberg and Stephen Simpson won at Long Beach in the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Hi-Tide Boat Lifts/Red Line Oil ORECA FLM09 to take an eight-point lead in the championship standings.

“Right now, I think we are fairly confident,” Goikhberg said. “Confidence is a very finicky thing, and right now we have lots of it. I think our team has a strong believe that no matter what happens we’re going to figure it out in time. When it’s time to go, we’re going to be there ready to go into battle.”

Alex Popow and Renger van der Zande are second in the standings, 101-93, and are counting down consecutive finishes of fourth, third and second in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport entry. Van der Zande scored his first of five career PC victories for the team at Mazda Raceway in 2014. Starworks also fields the No. 88 Popcorn Sutton ORECA for Ashley Freiberg and Mark Kvamme.

Sebring winners Colin Braun and Jon Bennett co-drive the No. 54 Flex-Box/Composite ORECA FLM09. They are looking to give CORE autosport its sixth consecutive PC team championship in combined WeatherTech Championship and ALMS competition.

Other PC entries include Tom Kimber-Smith and Robert Alon, who co-drive the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA FLM09 for the Fresno, California-based team, the No. 20 BAR1 Motorsports Top 1 Oil ORECA of Matt McMurry and Johnny Mowlem, and the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports entry of James French and Kyle Marcelli.

Practice for the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda begins at 8:45 a.m. PT on Friday, April 29, with qualifying on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT. The event also features the IMSA Continental SportsCar Challenge, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo.

Contact:
Nate Siebens
Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens