Sunday Group Management

Riley Technologies Camaro Wins at Road America

Elkhart Lake, Wis (26 June 2011)— Riley Technologies was once again in Victory Lane this weekend, this time adding a new name to the list of its winning designs as the No. 9 Stevenson Auto Group Riley-built Camaro won the Road America 200. Stevenson Motorsports drivers Matt Bell and John Edwards led 27 laps to bring the Camaro its first-ever race victory in GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

Appropriately enough, it was the same team that first committed to the Riley-built Camaro program, Stevenson Motorsports, that brought the breakthrough win for the machine.

The Camaro, which is also raced in Europe, first entered GRAND-AM competition in the season-ending 2009 race at Virginia International Raceway. Stevenson drivers Bell and Jeff Bucknum scored the machine’s first podium finish at VIR in April, 2010. Bell went on to net the first ever pole position for the Camaro as he set a new track record in qualifying at Mid-Ohio before leading the first-ever laps for the machine. Read more of this post

Frisselle Finishes Ninth at Road America. Next Stop: Camp Boggy Creek

Frisselle Finishes Ninth at Road America. Next Stop: Camp Boggy Creek

ELKHART LAKE, Wis., 25 June – Brian Frisselle drove the No. 77 Office Depot Doran Racing Ford Dallara to a ninth place finish in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by VisitFlorida.com at Road America. Before heading off to the next Rolex Series round, Frisselle will spend a week at Camp Boggy Creek outside of Orlando, Fla., where he will serve as a counselor to children aged 7-16 who are afflicted with life-threatening illnesses.

An unfortunate pit lane speeding infraction by co-driver Henri Richard, who came in for his scheduled pit stop and handover to Frisselle, set the Office Depot car back on track position. He was only just over the 45 MPH limit, but that’s all it took for officials to force a drive-through penalty that was duly served by Frisselle. Read more of this post

Insight Racing Suffers Setback at Road America

Insight Racing Suffers Setback at Road America

Pole position and more laps lead before late race contact ends the day early

Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management

Media

317.908.2975

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (24 June 2011) – The Road America 200 had a sudden, early, and disappointing conclusion for Insight Racing as Nico Rondet made significant contact with a barrier while running in podium position after suffering a mechanical failure. The incident caused the final yellow flag of the 2.5-hour GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race.

Tyler McQuarrie opened the race from the point after taking a record-setting pole position in qualifying Friday morning. McQuarrie held on to the lead at the start, and went on to lead 26 laps. Despite having radio issues, the Californian made the perfectly timed call for pit service as he turned the machine over to Rondet to take to the finish.

“We really thought this track would be a weak point for us,” said McQuarrie after his stint. “But the team worked really hard on turn three and turn five to have a car that handled well, and we certainly did that. We were strong enough for the pole. I knew I had to keep those guys behind me at the start and then I had an opportunity to create a gap. We lost the radio, so it was hard to tell when we needed to come in to pit but we figured it out.”

Rondet returned to the field and commenced a strong surge forward, originally set at 23rd overall but as the strategy played out, was in top five. That soon became the top three as Rondet was set for a final battle in the last 20 minutes of the race with the leader just ahead on track. Unfortunately, the BMW suffered a problem and Rondet was immediately off-course, suffering significant damage. Fortunately, the BMW build proved to be a life saver for Rondet as he emerged from the machine safely.

“The radio wasn’t working, but I knew I was third and I saw the two cars directly in front of me,” said Rondet after being evaluated and released from the infield medical center. “I was just biding my time, and I felt like they were going to burn through their tires so I was just right there. The handling was good, and it got better as the run went on. I was just watching in front of me. I am not sure what happened but I was right off into the wall, at a bad angle. I want to thank the guys for putting such a strong car together, because it was a very big hit.”

The damage to the 8,000 lbs. concrete barrier was significant enough that GRAND-AM elected not to return to green flag action.

Insight Racing will return at Mid-Ohio.

Additional information is available at: www.insightracing.com
You can also follow the team on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insight-Racing/183845971652252

Tough Luck Day for Burt Frisselle at Road America

Tough Luck Day for Burt Frisselle at Road America

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (25 June 2011) – Burt Frisselle set out to make his Daytona Prototype debut at Road America in hopes of delivering GAMMA88 another strong result at the Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by VISIT FLORIDA.COM, but he and AIM Autosport co-driver Mark Wilkins would face several obstacles at the historic Wisconsin road course.

Frisselle marked his best starting position of the season as he opened the two-hour race from fourth place and immediately made a move forward to take over the third spot from reigning GRAND-AM champion Memo Rojas, slipping by the No. 01 in the first turn. Road America provides great drafting opportunities with its long straightaways and Rojas would utilize the draft to retake the third position on the following lap with Frisselle settling into a steady rhythm as he ran solidly in fourth place.

Just 11 minutes into the two-hour event, two GT cars made contact in a massive crash which would bring out the first full course caution. AIM Autosport made the call to bring Frisselle to pit road but a the radio transmission soon saw the No. 61 machine dart to pit lane a bit late and suffer significant damage to the nose and splitter as the BMW-Riley drove across the grass in an effort to enter the pits.
Read more of this post

Late Yellow Spells Early End to Burrows and Hopwood Charge

Late Yellow Ends Burrows and Hopwood Charge Early at Road America

Strong sixth after leading the race midway

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

Elkart Lake, Wis (24 June, 2011)– Trevor Hopwood and Adam Burrows finished Friday’s Road America 200 in sixth place after a caution period effectively ended the race 20 minutes early and cost them the chance to fight forward any shot at a podium finish.

Hopwood started the No. 12 Infinity Audio Kia Forte Koup from seventh on the grid, and worked in tandem with the sister team Kinetic Motorsports No. 10 entry as the duo were well-placed in the top five. The sister machine took the first opportunity for pit service, and returned to run to the race win.

Meanwhile, Hopwood moved to the front of the pack as the field accepted one of the five yellow flag periods. With the Kinetic crew now ready to service the No. 12, Hopwood turned the car over to Burrows to take to the finish.

“The handling on the car was great–I said this morning in qualifying that the car was as good as it has ever been, and that was true again in the race,” said Hopwood. “It was really neutral, and I was really just saving the brakes for Adam.”

Burrows returned to the pack mired in 17th position as the pit stop timing didn’t net the desired track position. But he, too, was relishing all the braking and handling that the Koup had on offer, moving all the way back to 6th with 25 minutes to go. As the 2.5 hour event hurtled toward the finish, the former series champ was well-situated to make the most of others’ fading brakes in the closing moments of the race. Unfortunately, a competitor’s significant impact with just over 20 minutes to go cost him the chance to charge further. Conversely, the long yellow flag sealed the fate of the sister No. 10 machine, which scored a second race win on the season.

“Congrats to Nic and Michael on the win tonight,” said Burrows. “Trevor and Michael ran nose to tail in the first half of the race and we were certainly hoping to do that in the second half as well. I had just a great car tonight, have to hand it to Christian and all the boys. I was comfortably reeling in the competitors ahead, and it really felt like we had a car that was better than sixth place. It is just the best we’ve ever felt in this Koup in nearly two years of racing for Kia and it’s another big step forward for this whole program to take a win. Hopefully we can do that again soon, and just help push the team to a championship any way that we can.”

SPEED will broadcast the race July 3rd at 1:00 PM ET.

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.adamburrowsmotorsport.com
You can also follow the teams progress at www.facebook.com/kiaracing.

www.Sundaymanagement.com

###

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

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

Matt Bell Takes Victory at Road America

Matt Bell Wins at Road America With Edwards

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (24 June 2011) – Matt Bell and his Stevenson Motorsports co-driver John Edwards delivered an outstanding start-to-finish performance at Road America to score his first victory of the season in his race debut at the historic Wisconsin road course. Bell and Edwards combined to run at the front of the field throughout the entire 2.5-hour race with the No. 9 Camaro GS.R leading a race-high 27 laps.

Bell delivered another dominant performance as he opened the Road America 200 with a charge to the front – making up six positions in just the first lap. Laying down consistently quick lap times, Bell methodically moved his way forward into the second position by lap seven and challenged for the lead prior to the first full course caution as the SPEED commentators raved about his car control and deep braking capabilities.

Bell set up an excellent pass to take over the point on the restart. From that point, he did not look back while growing his gap to the rest of the field with a 5.6 second lead and setting the best lap speed of the race at 100.274 mph in the process.

“It was awesome and it’s right where Stevenson Motorsports should be,” said Bell of the opening stint. “We struggled a bit in qualifying but we sat down and figured it out and our engineer Nick Eddy gave us a great set up. There was a lot of clean driving with cars running side by side without incident, so I’m happy about it. This is what GRAND-AM is all about!”
Read more of this post

Rum Bum Scores Third Place, But Rues What Might Have Been

Rum Bum Scores Third Place, But Rues What Might Have Been

ELKHART LAKE, Wis., 24 June – Rum Bum Racing scored a third place finish at the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Road America 200, but if the yellows had gone another way, they may have been celebrating their third win of the season instead.

Nick Longhi started the race from pole, but following some unintended contact with his fellow front row starter, Robert Stout, dropped down to second position after lap one. Briefly sliding as low as fifth place, Longhi soon began retaking track position, rising to third place when the first full course caution interrupted his progress 23 minutes into the race.

Despite being under the 30-minute limit to gain driver points, Longhi, ever the consummate team player, pitted early for fuel, tires and a handover to co-driver Matt Plumb.
Read more of this post

Promising Day at Road America Ends Early for Tim Bell

Promising Day at Road America Ends Early for Tim Bell

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (24 June 2011) – Tim Bell had a strong start in his race debut at Road America, but suffered a disappointing setback when contact from another competitor put the No. 14 Office Depot Doran Racing BMW 128i into the sand trap with just an hour to go as his co-driver looked to power to the finish.

Learning yet another new track in short order, Bell delivered another strong performance behind the wheel of the BMW. It was a busy race day, with qualifying setting the grid in the morning before the field took the green flag at 6:15 PM local time. Bell started Round 7 of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge from the ninth row and wasted no time in moving his way forward. In just seven laps, Bell moved into the top-15 by lap seven and continued to run a consistent pace to put the BMW into 11th place before handing the car over to co-driver BJ Zacharias.

Following quick pit work by the Doran Racing crew, Zacharias re-entered the track in the 16th position and was promptly moving forward to put the No. 14 into the top-10 prior to the contact that sent the car off-track.

“I didn’t get very many practice laps in dry conditions so I was still working on learning the track as much as I could during the race,” offered Bell. “This morning, we made some adjustments and the car was really good. We didn’t qualify as well as I thought we were going to, but we are still down on power, and on a track like this that really hurts you. Otherwise, the car was great–handling, braking, everything was dead on. It’s so much fun to drive this car. We had a fighting chance today. Unfortunately, a Honda hit BJ (Zacharias) and our race was over.”

Bell leaves Road America looking forward to the next race in two weeks at his home track of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

“We are going to have tons of people at Laguna Seca,” said Bell of the upcoming race. “I haven’t been there in a while, but I’m not worried about it that. It should be good. It’s an easy track for me, just because I’ve done all my driving schools there and BMW club racing and everything. For the first time, we are going to a track where I have experience and my co-driver doesn’t, so it’s the one advantage I have over BJ (Zacharias) this time!”

Bell currently sits fourth in the MESCO Rookie of the Year standings as he heads to his home track of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda and Round 8 of the championship July 8-9.

The Road America 200 will air at 1:00 PM (ET) July 3 on SPEED.

Matt ClearySunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

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

Burt Frisselle Puts GAMMA88 Car Fourth on Road America Grid

Burt Frisselle Puts GAMMA88 Car Fourth on Road America Grid

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (24 June 2011) – Burt Frisselle placed the No. 61 GAMMA88 AIM Autosport BMW-Riley on the outside of the second row for the Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by VISIT FLORIDAwith a time of 2:02.338 seconds. The fourth place qualifying effort marks the best start of the season for Frisselle and AIM Autosport co-driver Mark Wilkins.

Round 7 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series opened with rainy conditions throughout Thursday’s practice sessions, limiting the amount of track time Frisselle had hoped for as GRAND-AM visited Road America for the first time since 2001 and Frisselle made his first laps at the Wisconsin road course in a Daytona Prototype.
Read more of this post

Rum Bum Racing Nails Road America 250 Pole

Rum Bum Racing Nails Road America 250 Pole

Attached photo: Rum Bum Racing kept trucking with another Pole Position at Road America

ELKART LAKE, Wis., 24 June – Driver Nick Longhi scorched 4 miles of some of the finest racetrack in the United States – Road America – to qualify the No.13 Rum Bum Racing BMW M3 on the pole for this afternoon’s GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Road America 250. Longhi stood atop the time sheets for the whole of the 15-minute session with a time of 2:24.547 sec. to secure the team’s third pole of the season as they gun for their third win of the year.

“It was a pretty clean lap and I’m happy to do well. Recently we’ve had some not go well that were beyond our control and that makes life really hard on everyone, particularly the crew. So, to be in a position to lay down a very clean lap is a relief,” said Longhi. “The car is consistent on race set-up and not really set up at all for qualifying, which helps the confidence level going into the race later today.” Read more of this post