KINETIC MOTORSPORTS WINS THIER FIRST KONI CHALLENGE RACE
August 17, 2008
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Kinetic Motorsports wins their first KONI Challenge, (GS) class race at the 39th annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres in Québec. Kinetic driver Andy Lally won his second straight Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Grand Sport (GS) race Sunday and in the process gave co-driver Marc-Antoine Camirand a record-tying eighth circuit victory. The duo averaged a race record 71.910 mph.
Lally and Camirand combined to lead 74 of the 80 laps - including the final 49 - in the No. 79 Kinetic Motorsports BMW M3, with Lally winning by 0.372 seconds over James Gue. It marked the team's first ever KONI Challenge victory, Camirand's second - both coming at the 1.521-mile Trois-Rivieres temporary circuit - and Lally's fourth.
Lally came under fire from Gue late in the race when the No. 41 TRG Porsche 997 stopped on the track, causing the final of two full course cautions of the day. But Lally held his line and didn't allow the JBS Motorsports driver - who ran second for much of the event - past, and he held off a three-car train behind him.
Camirand started from the pole and led the opening 25 laps before diving into the pits for the team's only stop. When leader Joe Foster - who ran second to Camirand before pacing six laps - pitted under a full course caution on Lap 32, Lally obtained the lead and pushed the No. 79 ahead to more than a four-second advantage before the final caution.
In addition to his second KONI Challenge victory at Trois-Rivieres, it was the eighth victory for Camirand, of St. Leonard d'Aston, Quebec, on the Trois-Rivieres streets, tying Jacques Bienvenue for the most victories ever. Bienvenue set the mark in 1985.
CAMIRAND (No. 79 Kinetic Motorsports BMW M3 Driver): "It's a great event. I have eight wins up here, tying the record for the most wins at Trois-Rivieres. I couldn't have picked a better co-driver, Andy Lally. He's a great driver and everything today worked perfectly. The car was good. We did a great driver change. This was the first win for Kinetic. I have to say thank you to Nic Jonsson and Russell Smith. I'm really happy to win here.
"This one is special. We worked hard to tie the record. I was pretty close to tying it last year. This year the team worked really hard to give a good car to me and Andy. I'm happy to be on the podium and win."
LALLY (No. 79 Kinetic Motorsports BMW M3 Driver): "It's special for many reasons. This is my first-ever victory at Trois-Rivieres; many obviously for him. It's a special occasion for him and for Kinetic. This is their first victory in the series. I owe a big congratulations and thanks to everybody at Kinetic and Marc-Antoine (Camirand) for doing such a great job with the car this weekend, earning pole position and pulling away from the guys. He gave me the car in the lead and I didn't have to pass a single person. I just had to maintain but it was tough because our competition here in the Fords were on my tail chasing me. The whole weekend they were very, very strong. Every time I made a mistake they got right to me. Both cars did a really good job. I have to say thank you to our guys who have been hustling on this car and doing a ton of work behind the scenes and this is a big day for Kinetic."
SMITH (Co-Owner Kinetic Motorsports & ST Class Driver): "We are so pleased with the win today, this has been a long time coming. It has been quite a journey bringing our team to this point but we are finally here. Nic and I have made steady improvements to get this motorsports program to our standards over the last two years and I couldn't be more proud. As a team, we have certainly paid our dues and have had some struggles along the way. Today there are tears are for the right reasons...they are tears of joy! "
JONSSON (Co-Owner Kinetic Motorsports): "We hit a milestone for Kinetics today. It is our first win in our second year of racing in the KONI Challenge (GS) class. We have been close several times, having third or fourth place finishes. Our team did a fantastic job. This win just proves that our hard work of putting all the right pieces into place is starting to pay off...it is a proud, happy day!"
"In the (ST) class race, Russell (Smith) and Lee Davis did a great job. This season it is all about them gaining more experience and this was the first street course race for both of them. I am very proud of our results."
"It is very difficult for me to sit on the side lines and not race; however it has been very rewarding to work with our drivers and crew behind the scenes. I'm looking forward to continuing to build the Kinetic brand and a "first class" team."
Kinetic's next race will be the KONI Challenge on Sunday, Aug. 31 at the Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J.
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