KINETIC MOTORSPORTS HAS STRONG SHOWING AT WATKINS GLEN
July 8, 2008
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BUFORD, GA - It was another successful weekend for Kinetic Motorsports at the Koni Challenge race in Watkins Glen, NY. Kinetic fielded cars in both the GS and ST classes, as well as taking podium spots in both classes with Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines.
Todd Lamb and Kinetic co-owner Nic Jonsson co-drove the GS #79 Kinetic Motorsports BMW M3 to a tenth place finish after a setback on the last lap of the race while running fourth. Lamb started out the weekend near the top of the speed charts by setting the fastest lap on rain tires in the first practice session, while Jonsson was busy in Daytona racing to a third place finish in the Rolex Daytona Prototype class. Lamb qualified the Kinetic BMW in sixth and led several laps in the race before Jonsson began his rapid climb up the standings after the mid-race driver change. Jonsson had an impressive run from 26th to fourth while turning very quick laps in the Kinetic-Sunbelt powered M3.
Kendall Smith and Russell Walker teamed up in the GS #80 Maxwell Paper Products/PaveCon/Kinetic-Sunbelt BMW M3. Both drivers have experience in the ST class, but this was their first race in the faster GS class. Smith executed the start and subsequent restarts flawlessly to move up several spots and avoid contact in the mid-pack frenzy, handing over the car in perfect condition to Walker at the halfway point of the race. Walker charged back through the pack turning very competitive laps and by the end of the race was 16th.
Lee Davis and Kinetic co-owner Russell Smith returned to the ST field in their #33 Luna-C Racing/Kinetic Motorsports BMW 330i. They tied their season-best finish of 16th from Mid Ohio, and made significant headway in working with engineer Mark Schomann to find a good setup for their car. Both Davis and Smith are series rookies and continue to progress rapidly in their driving performance.
Todd Lamb: "This was my first GS race in a competitive car; the Kinetic guys really know how to get a car to the front. It seemed like I had the easiest job on the whole team - with the support of the crew, engineers, Sunbelt, data analysis, and of course my co-driver Nic - all I had to do was listen and learn, then execute. Our pit stop was simply amazing, and the race strategy worked out perfectly. I have to thank Russell and Nic for the opportunity and I'm looking forward to Barber."
Kendall Smith: "Running my first Grand-Am Koni GS race, I felt a bit overwhelmed. However, Kinetic helped me feel at home; Russell Smith and Nic Jonsson run a top-notch team and the crew is as professional as they come. They prepared a great car and went out of their way to explain setup changes which continued to make the car better each session. Russell Walker and I drove as hard as we could to produce a good result and worked up to as high as 7th place. We were pleased to finish 16th in our first ever GS race and look forward to future races with Kinetic. I would like to thank Maxwell Paper Products for making it possible to run this event."
"We had a great weekend and the crew continues to get better and better, but it is now time to focus on Barber," commented Ed Hall, Kinetic Team Manager. "With the competition level so high in Koni Challenge this year, we cannot let up. The entire team is already focused, and working, on the cars and equipment preparing for Barber, as we plan to continue the race to our first Koni Challenge podium finish".
Overall, Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines powered drivers to podium finishes in both classes with both BMW and Mazda motors. The MX-5's of Freedom Autosport qualified second in ST and finished third, while the Turner Motorsports BMW M3 finished second in GS.
Kinetic Motorsports returns to action at Barber Motorsports Park on July 18-20 near Birmingham, AL for the next round of the Koni Challenge series. In the meantime, development on the team's new Koni Challenge cars for 2009 continues in both the wind tunnel and on the dyno.
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