KINETIC MOTORSPORTS' NIC JONSSON BACK FROM LE MANS AND BACK TO TRIPLE DUTY
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Jonsson Celebrates On the Podium at Le Mans
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Buford, Ga.
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It has been a busy month for professional driver and Kinetic Motorsports co-owner, Nic Jonsson. The 39 year old native of Sweden competes for his own racing team Kinetic Motorsports in the Grand Am KONI Challenge, Krohn Racing in the Grand Am Rolex Series as well as with Risi Ferrari in the GT2 class of the American Le Mans Series. Needless to say, there are few weekends you can't find Jonsson behind the wheel.
Jonsson recently returned from competing in one of the world's toughest and most revered races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This was the second time for the sports car veteran in the La Sarthe region of France. Jonsson drove for Krohn Racing and Petersen White Lightning in last year's event and had taken a commanding lead of four laps going into the half way point of the race in a Porsche 997. Unfortunately an on track incident ended the race for the team. This year was a bit different considering Jonsson was now behind the wheel of a Ferrari and competing with Risi Competizione.
The event started off well for Jonsson who was part of a three driver team which included Tracy Krohn and Colin Braun. The format for qualifying at Le Mans is much different than what is the norm here in the states. Every session that the cars are out on track serves as a potential qualifying opportunity as the fastest time posted throughout the week serves at the official starting position for the car. Many teams choose to run a typical race setup on the cars for most of the sessions until switching to a supposedly faster qualifying setup to achieve a higher starting position. For the No. 99 the crew elected to stay with the race setup throughout each session leading up to the fall of the Green Flag. Jonsson still managed to set a lap of 4:06.08 good enough to put them in the 5th starting position.
Throughout the duration of the race, the team elected to put Jonsson behind the wheel for 13 total hours. In an outstanding show of strategy and a bit of guts, the decision was made to stay out on slick tires in the second half of the race even though a great deal of the track was experiencing rain showers. Although Jonsson was losing 23 seconds per lap in the rain soaked sections of the track, he was able to gain 47 seconds on the rest of the field in dry conditions. Jonsson continued to add to the lead each lap by an average of 24 seconds despite the grueling changes from dry to wet.
"Staying on the slick tires was a huge risk and everything was definitely pretty tense out there for a while," commented Jonsson. "To go so slow through he turns that the car almost stalls was extremely difficult in the rain. At one point I actually lost it going through a turn until the tires were able to grip the rougher asphalt over the curb and I came away with a good save."
After staying out on slicks, Jonsson made a stop for fuel and rain tires as the conditions out on track were now extremely wet throughout the entire course. The rain became so dangerous that officials decided to throw the caution flag. Competitors drove behind the pace car for 40 minutes until released for the remaining two laps of the race. Jonsson was able to maintain his top-three position, taking the Checkered Flag second in class.
"It was a great feeling to cross the finish line and know that you are on the podium because it is such a huge accomplishment," said Jonsson. "I am also very happy for Risi and Tracy for being able to secure such a great finish. I have been fortunate to help Tracy grow as a driver and achieve his life long dream of racing at Le Mans. We are obviously very happy with the 2nd place finish but hopefully we will be back next year and take home the win."
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Jonsson and Co-Driver Ortiz Took 4th Place at Mid-Ohio
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Back at home in the United States there is no rest for the weary for Jonsson. As co-owner and driver for Kinetic Motorsports, he recently finished in the top-five at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course with co-driver Bryan Ortiz behind the wheel of the No. 79 Kinetic BMW M3 in the GS class of the KONI Challenge. The young Kinetic team has shown its potential this season in the GS class posting several top qualifying positions. With mechanical issues at several of the events, Kinetic had not been able to show its full potential until the weekend in Ohio.
"For me this season has been the culmination of my dream to help run my own team," said Jonsson. "I feel that in Ohio we were able to show that we are a team that is definitely capable of great things. Bryan drove an incredible race for us and I am pleased with the 4th place result. With that said I am hoping that we can capitalize on this momentum and continue to post top results and come away with a win."
In addition to co-owning and driving for Kinetic, Jonsson also competes with Krohn Racing in the Grand American Rolex Series in a Daytona Prototype. Having driven for Krohn for the last three years, he has posted several top qualifying and finish positions for the team based just around the corner from Kinetic in Braselton Ga.
"Driving in the Daytona prototype class with Tracy has been an incredible experience for me. Grand Am is such a good series to be a part of. The competition in the paddock is top notch and all of the drivers have a mutual respect for each other. Whether you are an up and coming driver or a seasoned professional the series provides an atmosphere for all drivers with its KONI Challenge and Rolex divisions. I am eager to get to the next event and get back in the No. 75."
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Jonsson is Back Again in the ALMS With Risi Competizione
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Jonsson is back again in the American Le Mans Series driving for Risi Competizione in the GT2 class behind the wheel of a Ferrari F430GT. At the beginning of the 2007 season he ran the historic 12 Hours of Sebring for the team with Tracy Krohn and was promptly picked up as a full time driver for Risi after the event. Thus far in the 2007 season Jonsson has reached the podium driving with the team in the inaugural ALMS event at Long Beach.
"The Ferrari is an incredible car and I am pleased to have this opportunity with Risi Competizione," said Jonsson. "I have been having a lot of fun driving for the team and being back in the American Le Mans Series again this year is quite fulfilling. It is nice to be a part of series that let me be in direct contact with Kinetic as Russell Smith, co-owner of Kinetic, also competes in the IMSA Cup Challenge which runs in conjunction with the ALMS. It really creates a great team atmosphere and lets me be a part of all that Kinetic is doing which with my schedule could be very difficult to achieve."
For more information about Kinetic Motorsports, its other divisions and Nic Jonsson, please visit www.kssmotorsports.com for frequent updates.
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