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GRAND-AM Test Notebook: Indianapolis Driver Eager For Home Race

July 7, 2012 Leave a comment

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For Immediate Release

INDIANAPOLIS DRIVER EAGER FOR HOME RACE IN GRAND-AM
More than 100 cars prepare for Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard at IMS test

INDIANAPOLIS, Friday, July 6, 2012 – Ian Baas thinks he might have an advantage on some of his competitors when he races in the inaugural GRAND-AM Road Racing event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, July 27.

It won’t be his first time racing at triple-digit speed at IMS.

Baas, from nearby Noblesville, Ind., competed in Porsche Supercup support series events during the United States Grand Prix Formula One race in 2006 at IMS, finishing third in one race. He tested the No. 51 APR Motorsport Audi R8 – which competes in the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class – in 100-degree heat at IMS along with nearly 105 other GRAND-AM cars Friday at IMS.

"It’s nice; I always love coming here," Baas said. "Coming back here, I think I’m going to have a bit of an upper hand on some of the drivers from having the experience of racing here, so I’m really looking forward to this test and making the car better."

Testing for the Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge continues from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4:45 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Public viewing areas include the Turn 2 Viewing Mounds, the South Terrace grandstands located in front of the IMS Hall of Fame Museum, the IMS Hall of Fame Museum East parking lot and a designated area along Fifth Street behind the Hall of Fame Museum.

The versatile Baas finished third in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ST class points in 2011, including consecutive class victories in the early season at Daytona and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Other career highlights include winning the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class race at the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2006 with teammates Randy Pobst, Spencer Pumpelly and Michael Levitas and competing full time that season in Germany in the Porsche Carrera Cup.

He started his racing career in open-wheel Formula Ford after encouragement from his grandfather, who owned a race shop in Indianapolis.

But when at IMS, his memories drift back to that day in 2006 when he finished third against some of the world’s best GT drivers in the Porsche Supercup race. Even if the course has changed a bit from that layout, with faster, more open turns behind the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.

"The track layout is slightly different," Baas said. "This one is a bit more free and open, and I think it’s going to make for better passing opportunities. Of course, I’m really glad that we get to enter on to the Speedway and hit Indy (oval) Turn 1 backward, pretty much full-bore fifth and sixth gear. It’s always fun to experience that.

"I think that run into Turn 1 (of the road course) and that really heavy braking zone, that’s an ideal place to pass, and I think we’ll see a lot of action there. Also into that backstretch in the infield, it’s extremely wide. It’s nice and there are no curves out there, so you get to run pretty much as wide as you can so you can carry a ton of speed on there, and I’m sure we’re going to see some three-wide racing coming in off the back straight, as well."

GRAND-AM will race clockwise – the opposite of the oval and the MotoGP road course – for its races on the 13-turn, 2.534-mile Grand Prix course for Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype and GT cars and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) classes.

Racing will return to the 2.5-mile IMS oval for the inaugural Indiana 250 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Saturday, July 28 and the Crown Royal Presents the "Your Hero’s Name Here" 400 at the Brickyard for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday, July 29.

***

Indy 500 veteran Salazar back at IMS: Six-time Indianapolis 500 veteran Eliseo Salazar is returning to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27 to compete in the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class during the Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard.
Salazar, from Chile, recorded a best "500" finish of third in 2000 and is a two-time front-row starter.

He was eager to write another chapter of his IMS career after testing Friday in the No. 64 TRG Porsche GT3 with teammate and countryman Eduardo Costabel, despite 100-degree heat and track temperatures approaching 150 degrees.

"After starting on the front row and finishing third, fourth, sixth (in the Indianapolis 500), it’s a challenge, and I’ll be one of the few to have driven on the oval and the road course, so I’m looking forward to that, and it’s great to be here," Salazar said. "I wish it was a little cooler than it is, but it’s been 10 years since I last was here on the oval, and I never expected when I did GRAND-AM that we were going to end up driving on the road course."

Coming back to Indianapolis has inspired Salazar to reminiscence about all great times he had racing six times in the "500" between 1995 and 2001.

"There are so many memories," he said. "My son was born here when we were living here in the month of May in between qualifying and the race. I would also say starting in the front row twice and finishing third and fourth behind (Juan Pablo) Montoya and (Jacques) Villeneuve and people like that. There are just so many memories, and we also have bad memories, but this place is so special that your mind always selects the good ones."

Testing Friday was Salazar’s first time driving on the IMS road course, and it didn’t take him long to pick a favorite spot.

"I enjoy the most, by far, Turn 1 (of the oval) backward," he said. "I had never done Turn 1 backward, and it’s cool. It’s fairly flat out on this GRAND-AM car, and it takes a lot of effort to do it properly. The track is greasy because of the heat, but it will obviously change for race weekend. I’m just learning the track and getting used to the feel."

Part of the adjustment will be navigating more cars in traffic than in the Indianapolis 500. The Rolex Series grid will exceed the 33 that annually start in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

"I think it’s going to be perfect," Salazar said. "I don’t think there’s any problem with the DP cars passing the GT cars because there’s plenty of room. Obviously, there will be some people touching each other because that’s the nature of racing, but I think we’ll be OK in traffic, and the track is really good."

Besides racing in GRAND-AM at IMS, Salazar stays involved with Formula One, in which he raced from 1981-83.

"I’m going to be the Formula One steward for the drivers for Belgium (Sept. 2)," he said. "I was in Montreal learning the ropes, and I’m pretty connected with my old Formula One era, and it will be good to be involved with the Formula One circuit."

Salazar was one of three Indianapolis 500 veterans testing Friday at IMS. Scott Pruett and Paul Tracy also tested in the premier Daytona Prototype class of the Rolex Sports Car Series. Pruett and Memo Rojas are the two-time reigning Daytona Prototype champions, driving for TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

The list of Indianapolis 500 veterans testing at IMS will grow to four Monday, July 9. 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and 2010 Brickyard 400 winner Jamie McMurray will turn laps in the No. 2 Chevron Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW/Riley in which they’ll drive Friday, July 27 in the GRAND-AM race at IMS.

***

Continental builds GRAND-AM tires in Indiana: All tires used in both GRAND-AM Road Racing series – the Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge – are produced in Indiana.
Continental has approximately 30 employees on hand to service the race teams by mounting and dismounting tires during the two-day test at IMS.

"We brought about 3,500 tires this weekend for this test, and surely we’ll not going to go through all of those, but we have to bring more than enough to make sure everybody has what they need," said Bruce Foss, product manager for Continental Tire motorsports for GRAND-AM. "We’ll probably go through somewhere around 1,600, I’m guessing, by the end of the weekend. We got almost 100 cars here, and that’s really not that many tires when you think about 16 tires per car."

With air temperatures as high as 103 degrees and track temperatures approaching 150 degrees Friday at IMS, Foss is pleased about the performance of Continental tires after one day of testing.

"Everything is coming together and the track is taking rubber as we anticipated, and the lap times are coming down even in this heat as the lap times are getting faster and faster," Foss said. "We’re still not quite as fast as when we tested in September last year, but it wasn’t 105 degrees, and we think that might have something to do with it. This is the ultimate test, and if we can survive this weekend, then we’re not worried about anything."

***

Gurney fastest in DP: Alex Gurney, son of Indianapolis 500 legend Dan Gurney, turned the fastest Daytona Prototype time Friday with his blistering lap of 1 minute, 24.833 seconds, 107.534 mph in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Bob Stallings Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype that he shares with Jon Fogarty.

The No. 88 Autohaus Chevrolet Camaro of Jordan Taylor and Bill Lester led the GT class at 1:31.690, 99.492.

The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge sessions were led – in the Grand Sport class and overall – by the No. 61 Roush Performance Mustang co-driven by Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. Their best lap was 1:37.399, 93.660. The Street Tuner class’ fast lap was turned by Chad McCumbee and Jason Saini, 1:43.450, 88.182, in the No. 03 CJ Wilson Racing Mazda MX-5.

***

Super Weekend tickets: Tickets are on sale now for the Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard on July 26-29 at IMS.

All ticket orders can be made at www.imstix.com and through the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday. For more information, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area.

Children 12 and under will receive free general admission when accompanied by an adult with a Kroger Super Weekend ticket or general admission ticket.

Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.

…SW2012-008…

Media Contacts: J. Douglas Boles, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, dboles
Tom Surber, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tsurber

Media Website: media.indianapolismotorspeedway.com

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Allmendinger Racer Kyle Kirkwood Back in Action This Weekend

July 6, 2012 Leave a comment

Allmendinger Racer Kyle Kirkwood Back in Action This Weekend

Walldinger Racing Media Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
Media

Davidson, NC (6 July 2012) – Walldinger Racing karter Kyle Kirkwood returns to WKA Manufacturers Cup competition this weekend as the series travels to Michiana Raceway Park in South Bend, Indiana for the MKP Nationals and Round 4 of the 2012 championship.

Kirkwood, the recipient of the Shell-sponsored AJ Allmendinger Karting Scholarship, will look to continue his string of strong results so far this season having already claimed six podium finishes in just two WKA Manufacturers Cup race outings – including a victory in his debut at Carolina Motorsports Park.

Driving the No. 29 Arrow in the Komet Jr. Heavy and Yamaha Jr. Lite classes on Saturday, and the Komet Jr. Lite and Yamaha Jr. Heavy categories on Sunday, Kirkwood has another busy weekend ahead of him and hopes to carry over the positive momentum from his two previous WKA events as he targets a return to the podium in the MKP Nationals.

Following the previous WKA Manufacturers Cup weekend, Kirkwood traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina at the end of May to participate in the annual King’s Cup – an indoor karting charity event that benefits the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The race saw Kirkwood compete against Allmendinger for the first time as he competed as part of the Walldinger Racing team while Allmendinger represented the Shell Racing team.

Allmendinger’s Penske Racing Sprint Cup teammate Brad Keselowski also took part as well as several other NASCAR stars.

“Racing at the King’s Cup was really fun and it was great to meet some of the people with PVA,” said Kirkwood. “The organization is something that AJ is really dedicated to, so I was happy he invited me to be a part of it! Looking ahead to the weekend, I’m really looking forward to South Bend because I’ve raced there before and I think it should be a good track for the Arrow chassis. Hopefully we can add some more good results for AJ!”

Currently fourth in the Komet Jr. Heavy and sixth in the Yamaha Junior Heavy championships, Kirkwood will aim to score the maximum valuable points needed toward the championship in the very competitive national categories.

The MKP Nationals kick off with a full day of official practice on Friday, July 6 from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM. Kirkwood will race Komet Jr. Heavy and Yamaha Jr. Lite on Saturday followed by Komet Jr. Lite and Yamaha Jr. Heavy on Sunday.

Each race day will see a format of morning practice followed by qualifying, a Pre-Final and Final.

About Shell-Pennzoil:
Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with 93,000 employees in more than 90 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states and employs nearly 20,000 people using technology and innovation to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future. The Shell downstream organization manages a portfolio of top-quality brands, including the No. 1 selling gasoline and premium gasoline brand[i] and Pennzoil®, the most trusted motor oil brand in America*. Shell’s motorsports technical alliances around the world provide a testing ground for fuel and lubricant technologies and products in demanding road conditions. The knowledge Shell and Pennzoil gain through these alliances help address tomorrow’s world mobility energy challenge with efficient solutions that power and protect motorists around the globe.

http://www.pennzoil.com/

Walldinger Racing

About Walldinger Racing, Inc.: Walldinger Racing was formed in 2006 to support AJ Allmendinger’s motorsports career by developing commercial opportunities and partnership programs.

About KartSport
Formed in August 2010, KartSport is the exclusive North American importer of Arrow Racing Karts. Owned and operated by professional karting and racing veterans Justin Marks and Eric Jones, and operating out of a state-of-the-art facility in Mooresville, North Carolina, KartSport delivers to the karting industry a number of quality products and services. KartSport also designs and manufacturers it’s own line of karting tools and components.

About Sparco
Founded in 1977 Sparco is the world leader in motor sports safety equipment. More than 35 years later, Sparco’s ambition for producing the safest and innovative driving equipment possible, is still the number one priority for the company. At speeds of more than 200 mph, and temperatures above 120 degrees, a driver must be 100% confident in their safety equipment. Therefore, the world’s top professional drivers choose Sparco, more than any other brand.

About Sunday Group Management
Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm with clients in NASCAR, IndyCar, GRAND-AM, and ALMS. www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or www.twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
mediawww.sundaymanagement.com
youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm. Clients include Penske Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Rolex 24 at Daytona Champions Michael Shank Racing, Riley Technologies, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

AJ-SBEND-Karting-preview.pdf

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Marsal Returns to Prototype Action with Dyson Racing at Lime Rock Park

July 5, 2012 Leave a comment

Marsal Returns to Prototype Action with Dyson Racing at Lime Rock Park

Lakeville, CT (5 July 2012) – Michael Marsal’s busy summer of racing continues this weekend as the young driver is set to contest his fourth race in five weeks.

Competing in three GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge events while driving for Turner Motorsport over the last month, Marsal now makes the transition to American Le Mans Series competition as he returns to Dyson Racing in the No. 20 Mazda B11/66 Lola for the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.

Racing a select set of races on the ALMS schedule this year, Marsal made his series debut at the prestigious Long Beach Grand Prix in April.

Although it was his first start in the higher horsepower, higher downforce Prototype machine, Marsal posted an impressive debut performance as he and Dyson Racing co-driver Eric Lux drove to a third place result to score the podium champagne as part of the huge Southern California event.

As he moves from touring car action to the high-strung, high-speed and high-downforce LM P1 environment, Marsal will look to put his extensive experience at the quick seven-turn, 1.53-mile natural terrain “bullring” road course having seen much success in GRAND-AM competition.

He claimed victory in his debut at the facility in 2010 while co-driving the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 with Joey Hand. The duo followed up that effort with a fifth place result at the circuit the following year. While the laps aboard the Lola machine will be his first at Lime Rock Park, he at least also has some recent experience to tap into after having put the Caterham SP/300R machine through its paces at the track earlier this week.

“I’m really looking forward to the Lime Rock race–it’s a bit of a home event for me and especially for Dyson Racing,” said Marsal. “When we went out to Long Beach-there were so many unknowns—I’d never been in an ALMS race, or driven the Prototype on a street circuit, or even really lapped the track until the race really started. So having gained all that experience, I am hoping that’s going to pay off this weekend because now, I’ve got experience with the car and we are going to a track that I’ve got a lot of experience on so I’m feeling good about the weekend and just can’t wait to get going on Friday.”

Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.alms.com. ESPN3 will have live video streaming of Friday’s qualifying at 3:05 PM (ET) as well as Saturday’s race beginning at 2:45 PM (ET).

The American Le Man Series Northeast Grand Prix will be televised via tape delay on ESPN2 at 4:00 PM (ET).

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
mediawww.sundaymanagement.com
youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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Brian Frisselle Returns to Rolex Series with Solid Watkins Glen Run for Doran Racing

July 1, 2012 Leave a comment

Brian Frisselle Returns to Rolex Series with Solid Watkins Glen Run for Doran Racing

Media Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media
www.twitter.com/sundaygroup

Watkins Glen, NY (1 July 2012) – Brian Frisselle returned to GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series action for the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen held at historic Watkins Glen International after he was called up by Doran Racing to compete in the prestigious event along with co-drivers Jim Lowe and Paul Tracy in the No. 77 Combos Ford-Dallara.

The race marked Frisselle’s second event with the team this year as Doran Racing is competing in a select portion of the 2012 GRAND-AM schedule which includes the three races in GRAND-AM’s new North American Endurance Championship (NAEC). The NAEC began at the Rolex 24 and ends with the three-hour event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 27.

Frisselle placed seventh in the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona with the Doran team while co-driving the No. 77 with Lowe, Tracy, and brother Burt, and he had hoped for another solid result for Doran Racing on Sunday – knowing it would be an even tougher race for the team since Doran runs the second-generation Daytona Prototype.

Qualifying the team on the fifth row, Frisselle opened the event from the 10th position. Running with the DP2 (previous generation Daytona Prototype), Frisselle and co were effectively fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. But with the endurance format, anything can happen so the group focused on consistent pace, quick pit stops, and a clean run of clicking off the laps.

“We knew that we were facing a majorly uphill battle and it was as expected but the car performed pretty darn well,” said Frisselle. “Jim (Lowe) drove some great laps and drove his fastest laps of the weekend during the race so I’m really proud of him. He did a great job. There is only so much the team can do to take an inferior piece of equipment and make it competitive so overall great job by the team – really great pit stops by the guys during the race and hopefully in the future we can have something we can fight with.”

Despite the disadvantage of racing the second-generation Daytona Prototype against the newer, sleeker DPG3 entries that filled the rest of the DP grid, the trio made the most of the six-hour event with Frisselle utilizing his years of experience at the legendary Watkins Glen road course to fight to 10th at the finish.

“It was fun to be back and good to be with the team again,” said Frisselle, who has won on the short course and podiumed in the six hour event. It was great to be with Jim (Lowe) and Paul (Tracy) again. I wish we had something that we could go out there and fight those guys with. It’s frustrating to watch a race go on and be more of an observer of it, but none the less it’s great to be back and I’m very appreciative of the Doran team for picking me to get back in the car and I hope to be back out in GRAND-AM again soon.”

-30-

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
mediawww.sundaymanagement.com
youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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Burrows Fights to Fifth at Watkins Glen

July 1, 2012 Leave a comment

Burrows Fights to Fifth at Watkins Glen

Positive Championship Momentum as GRAND-AM looks ahead to Indy

Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media
(317) 908-2975-Mobile

Watkins Glen, New York (30 June 2012)– Adam Burrows and co-driver Andrew Novich finished fifth in the No. 74 Dr. Kimberly Henry/ Speed Secrets Honda Civic Si for Compass360 Racing (C360R) in the Continental Tire 150 on Saturday as the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge returned to Watkins Glen International.

The result is the second top-five finish in the last three races for the duo, and moved the No. 74 C360R entry up to fifth in the provisional team championship standings with three rounds of racing remaining in the 2012 season.

Novich delivered another stout performance in qualifying to net the sixth spot on the 65-car combined-class grid on Friday. That was well-converted into a run in the top-10 in the opening segments of the 2.5-hour race.

The event, held as part of the Rolex Sports Car Series Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen weekend, was the second consecutive Continental Tire Challenge race to produce an impressive seven caution periods.

That gave the field–those not caught up in the crashing–a wide range of options from the pit strategy perspective. The C360R squad, which has won the last three GRAND-AM Championships, had Burrows fueled to the finish as he raced in the top five for the final half of the race distance.

While the caution periods were good news for local body shops and insurance agents, the slow-speed running meant that some of the cars ahead of Burrows, who won the Watkins Glen race in 2008 with Trevor Hopwood, were able to make it to the finish after they were able to save fuel during all the caution laps.

Even though the race didn’t net a return to the podium for Burrows and Novich, it was still another strong outing for the two Honda racers and something to build on as the 2012 season continues to rapidly click off the races.

“The car was awesome once again, so a big thanks to the Compass 360R guys,” said Burrows. “I certainly had some worn out Continental Tires by the end, but we were able to hold our ground in fifth. There was a big question about how much fuel the guys ahead of us had, but with the yellows it didn’t play out for us to take advantage. But it was a very solid weekend with Andrew and for us to be racing in the lead pack all day long–if you can do that week in and week out in a series that is this competitive, the points will come with it. So I’m really happy about the weekend, and now I can’t wait to get to Indianapolis.”

PR inquiries about Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood should be directed to Matt Cleary at Sunday Group Management; 317.908.2975 (mobile) or media@ sundaymanagement.com

For additional information:
www.trevorhopwood.com
www.sundaymanagement.com
www.adamburrowsmotorsport.com

@trevorhopwood
@a_burrows
@sundaygroup

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Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
mediawww.sundaymanagement.com
youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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Marsal Leads Watkins Glen Race on Way to Top Ten Finish

July 1, 2012 Leave a comment

Marsal Leads Watkins Glen Race on Way to Top Ten Finish

TV: The Continental Tire 150 will be broadcast on SPEED July 14, 1:00 ET.

(Photo GRAND-AM COMMUNICATIONS)

Watkins Glen, NY (30 June 2012) – Michael Marsal added another significant lesson to his racing notebook when he led his first-ever laps in GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition in Saturday’s Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen.

Teaming with Boris Said, Marsal scored his fourth top-10 result of season with the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 as Marsal continued to charge through a busy summer of racing.

Marsal opened the 2.5-hour race at the legendary Watkins Glen circuit from 10th on the grid and carried out a great start as he immediately began to move forward to run seventh at the end of the first lap – defending against the championship-leading and race-winning No. 13 machine. After the first restart, Marsal would continue his forward progress and take the point for the first time in his GRAND-AM career on Lap 16 as a variety of pit strategies began to play out.

With several in the field equipped with fresh Continental Tires having already pitted, Marsal led the field to the green for the second race restart and put the lessons he has learned to good use, holding the lead and opening up a gap to the 65-car field.

That hard work was thrown out when another caution period slowed the race and erased Marsal’s lead.

A third restart saw Marsal eventually forced to relinquish the lead, but he held on to run among the top-three as he ran nearly to the halfway point of the race before turning the car over to Said under green flag conditions.

“That was a good start and I had fun leading the race,” enthused Marsal after the pit exchange. “I was just flat out when they dropped the flag and flat-shifted up the gears. It was cool to be up front but some of the guys had newer tires than I did, so I tried to hold them off as long as I could but eventually had to slot into third. It was a good run and the car was solid.”

Following the green flag pit stop, Said returned to the track deep in the order, but raced back through the field to run 14th when the team brought the No. 97 in for a final pit stop under a full course caution with about 50 minutes remaining. An unfortunate pit road miscue saw the No. 97 restart 20th, but the experienced road racer battled back to improve 10 positions in the final 40 minutes to bring the team another top-10 finish.

“It was fun and I ran a good race but I’m just bummed about everybody wrecking,” said Marsal of the race that saw seven caution periods. “I think they need to do something to make it so that people aren’t doing dumb stuff. It’s just dumb wrecks and I don’t think it’s fun for anybody when we have seven cautions in a race. We could have had a great finish. We were on the right strategy and I didn’t do anything wrong during my stint. We had a great car and it’s just ridiculous that it always winds up this way.”

While the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series will have a few weeks off before Round 8 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27, Marsal will be back in race action next weekend driving the No. 20 Dyson Racing Mazda B11/66 Lola as he returns to American Le Mans Series competition at Lime Rock Park.

The Continental Tire 150 will be televised July 14 at 1:00 PM (ET) on SPEED.

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Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
mediawww.sundaymanagement.com
youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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Fastest Lap of the Weekend Comes Just in Time for Brian Frisselle at Watkins Glen

June 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Fastest Lap of the Weekend Comes Just in Time for Brian Frisselle at Watkins Glen

www.twitter.com/frisselleracing

Photo courtesy: Grand-Am Communications

Watkins Glen, New York (30 June 2012) – Brian Frisselle posted a fast lap time of 1:43.624-seconds in the No. 77 Ford-powered Dallara in qualifying for Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen as he clocked the car’s fastest time of the weekend so far with the Combos-liveried DP. The time will net him a spot on the fifth row in the 32-car combined GT and DP Class field.

The lap time is the fastest of the weekend for the older-generation Daytona Prototype, which Frisselle will share with co-drivers Jim Lowe and Paul Tracy as the Doran Racing squad returns to Rolex Series action for round two of the 2012 North American Endurance Championship presented by VISITFLORIDA.com.

“I was hoping we were going to be able to get into the high (one-minute) 43’s, and we were more than able to do that–it was a full second quicker than we’ve been so far this weekend,” said Frisselle, who has a podium result in the famed 6 Hour already on his lengthy racing resume. “Compared to the newer generation cars, that’s not where we want to be but compared to where we’ve been, it is some good progress. So I’m happy with qualifying, and hopefully we can have a solid race and just see where we are in the last hour to try to race for a result.”

Sunday’s race will air LIVE in its entirety on SPEED starting at 11:00 AM.

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
mediawww.sundaymanagement.com
youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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A Little Patience Helps Michael Marsal Lead BMW Brigade At Watkins Glen

June 29, 2012 Leave a comment

A Little Patience Helps Michael Marsal Lead BMW Brigade At Watkins Glen

Michael Marsal Media Contact: Matt Cleary
Media@sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)

http://www.marsalracing.com/
www.twitter.com/michaelmarsal

Photo courtesy Wes Duenkel Photography–Marsal Will Be Ready to Go on Saturday

Watkins Glen, New York (29 June 2012) – Michael Marsal used just the right mix of patience with a little bit of aggression at Watkins Glen International to score his second consecutive top-ten qualifying position with the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 on Friday.

Marsal’s fast lap time of 2:03.849-seconds around the 3.4-mile natural terrain road circuit will see him start from 10th on the 65-car combined-class grid for Saturday’s 2.5-hour enduro (SPEED, July 14 1:00 PM ET). The fifth-row starting position is the best qualifying performance from any of the BMW teams entered, marking the second consecutive week that Marsal has carried the torch for the Roundel in qualifying.

Despite being one of the longer tracks on the GRAND-AM calendar, traffic can still play havoc as the teams and drivers look to clock a “flier lap” to set the grid. But Marsal played the smart card, leaving as much of a gap as he could before dropping the hammer to set successive fast lap times before a caution flag cut the qualifying short of the full 15-minute timeline.

“The past couple qualifying sessions I’ve had have been decent. In the past, I was so anxious to get the fast lap in as quickly as possible,” said Marsal. “It’s important because we have yellows in our qualifying and it’s definitely important to get a first lap. But I think having the patience to give some space and go towards the end or wait a little bit sometimes works out better. At these longer tracks that’s definitely the strategy and it has just been working for me. Every time I’ve tried it guaranteed I’ve got a clean lap.”

After a successful test at Watkins Glen earlier in the season, Turner Motorsport has repeatedly shown strong pace through the race weekends that followed, only to suffer from a range of racing misfortune.

“We’ve had good cars, and I feel like I’ve been driving well but the results unfortunately just don’t show that,” said Marsal. “So it is good to qualify close to the front, with a car that I think is going to be quick over the long stint. We just have to avoid some of the bad luck we’ve had with people hitting us early in the race and hopefully we can convert this into a solid result tomorrow.”

Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.grand-am.com. The race will be televised on SPEED Sunday, July 14 at 12:00 PM (ET).

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
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youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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Brian Frisselle Back in Rolex Series Action at Watkins Glen

June 28, 2012 Leave a comment

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Brian Frisselle Back in Rolex Series Action at Watkins Glen

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Attached photo courtesy Rick Dole Photography

Watkins Glen, New York (28 June 2012) – The Frisselle family will look to add another win to the trophy case as Brian Frisselle got the last-minute call up to rejoin the Doran Racing squad this weekend in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

Frisselle will join two of his Rolex 24 At Daytona co-drivers Jim Lowe and Paul Tracy for the Rolex Sports Car Series race, which also serves as round two of the 2012 North American Endurance Championship presented by VISITFLORIDA.com.

The trio will look to make the most of the No. 77 Ford-powered Dallara, which carries the Combos colors as the second-generation Daytona Prototype looks to take the fight to the newer, sleeker DPG3 entries that dominate the Rolex Series grid. Fortunately, Frisselle has a huge reserve of experience at the 3.4-mile track to tap into.

Having shared the driving duties in the Glen 6 with drivers as varied as Al Unser Jr. and Richard Antinucci, getting to share the car with another big name in Tracy–who like Unser had the chance to race the Frissbee Can-Am car that Frisselle’s father designed–is yet another new line on his proven racing record.

With seven starts in the 6-Hour race to his credit and a best finish of second (2010) as well as a Rolex Series victory on the short course, Watkins Glen is one of Frisselle’s favorites.

“It’s a good thing I already had my helmet packed!” joked Frisselle, who was already committed to the race weekend to provide the thrill of a lifetime for Continental Tire guests, media, and VIP’s in the Daytona Prototype 2-seater with Michael Shank Racing on Thursday. “You never know when you are going to get drafted in to race so I’m really happy that Doran Racing asked me to join the team again this weekend. We are fighting an uphill battle a little bit with the newer Daytona Prototypes that we are racing against but this is a long race and anything can happen. It was a shame the way things ended at the Rolex 24, so hopefully we can have a better finish here on Sunday.”

In addition to looking for a return to the Watkins Glen podium, Brian will also target gaining some momentum in his sibling rivalry with older brother Burt, who made an impressive debut at Sebring earlier this year to score a victory in LMPC competition.

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
mediawww.sundaymanagement.com
youtube.com/sundaymanagement
317.908.2975 (m)

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

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Michael Marsal Targets Strong Run at Watkins Glen

June 27, 2012 Leave a comment

Michael Marsal Targets Strong Run at Watkins Glen

Michael Marsal Media Contact: Matt Cleary

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http://www.marsalracing.com/

Watkins Glen, NY (27 June 2012) – After a promising run was cut short by some inexplicable driving by a competitor, Michael Marsal is ready to rebound this weekend as the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series travels to upstate New York for the Continental Tire 150 and Round 7 of the 10-race championship at historic Watkins Glen International.

Marsal is hoping for a strong run at the prestigious New York facility after he faced a frustrating result only days ago in the previous round of Mid-Ohio in which he was knocked out of contention just 10 laps into the race when another competitor hit the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 from behind. The car sustained race-ending damage and the result was all the more disappointing for Marsal as he had earned his GRAND-AM career-best start of seventh and was set for a strong finish at the front before his day ended early.

Having teamed with Ben Clucas at Mid-Ohio, who was subbing for Marsal’s regular teammate Boris Said who was competing in the Sonoma NASCAR Sprint Cup event, Marsal and Said will again team up in the No. 97 BMW at the legendary New York road course as the Turner duo look for a solid showing.

Marsal stood on the podium in his Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge debut at the track when he and co-driver Joey Hand drove to the runner-up spot in the 2010 event. He would like nothing more than to make a rebound from his Mid-Ohio misfortune with a return trip to the Watkins Glen podium on Saturday.

“I was really bummed about what happened at Mid-Ohio,” said Marsal. “Not just because we didn’t get to finish, but also because we had a great car from Turner once again, but didn’t get the chance to really even race it. Hopefully we can turn our luck around this weekend at the Glen. We tested at the track at the end of May and it was really successful. The car was really strong and super consistent throughout the stints. We unlocked some speed in the car at that test, and it’s showed the last few races even though the results don’t reflect it. The Turner guys have worked hard to get the BMW back in prime condition in the very short time between races this week, so hopefully all that work they put in will come back with a big finish this weekend.”

The weekend kicks off with a promoter test day on Thursday followed by official practice and qualifying on Friday. The Continental Tire 150 is set for a 3:00 PM (ET) green flag on Saturday.

Live timing and scoring can be followed at www.grand-am.com. SPEED will televise the event Saturday, July 14 at 1:00 PM (ET).