KINETIC SUNBELT ENGINES POSTS STRONG SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE QUALIFYING RESULTS

Sebring, Fla. – Kinetic Sunbelt Engines took the Speed World Challenge Touring Car class qualifying by storm on Thursday with four out of eight Kinetic Sunbelt cars in the top-10 at the world famous Sebring International Raceway. 

Setting the pace for the Kinetic Sunbelt teams was Seth Thomas behind the wheel of his No. 38 Bimmer World BMW 325i.  With a fastest lap time of 2:21.164 Thomas put the car into the top-five in the 4th spot.  James Clay followed his teammate in the No. 36 Bimmer World BMW with a lap time of 2:21.363 which was good enough for the 6th position.

Although the weekend had called for periods of rain in the south, the clouds managed to stay away from the track providing the drivers with perfect racing conditions.

Hinkle, who was benefiting from Kinetic support for the first time, qualified 2nd in his sprint event.  Starting off in the No. 2 spot, paved the way for him to take  2nd overall and 1st in class in the event. One of his goals for the weekend was to achieve a 1.40:00 lap time.  Hinkle managed to do so while in traffic and holding off the No. 79 competitor who had previously held the track records for his class indicating that his time would have been faster.   

“It was a great weekend and the support from Kinetic was fantastic,” said Hinkle.  “My goal for the event was to run around a 1:40 lap time which I was able to accomplish with helpful feedback from Nic and the guys.  I think I set a c-stock track record as I was running around a second and a half faster than the previous holder.  You’ve got to be happy about that.”
 
Both Gutowskis enjoyed a successful weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.  Kinetic co-owner and professional driver Nic Jonsson piloted both cars during practice sessions in order to feel the cars out and offer expert advice regarding car setup.  The time behind the wheel worked and the Kinetic crew took both Porsches to a new level.  During their sprint event, P. Gutowski finished 4th overall and second in class with K. Gutowski finishing in the 6th spot overall and taking the top of the podium in her class.

Coming in strong to qualify in the 8th position was James Safronas in the No. 29 BMW 325Ci for Tecmark Autosport sponsored by Global Motorsports Group (GMG).  GMG is one of the recent partners to join Kinetic’s Said Head Performance line of specialty racing and street application products that can be found at www.saidheadperformance.com.  Just outside of the top-10 coming in a solid 13th place in qualifying was the other Tecmark BMW 325Ci piloted by Jason Martinelli with a time of 2:22.158.  Martinelli encountered a fuel pickup issue during the run which is being corrected by the team and he is expected to move up quickly during the race tomorrow.

Charlie Putman rounded out the top-10 for Kinetic Sunbelt Engines crossing the line in the 9th position for Tindol Motorsports.  Putman was behind the wheel of the No. 96 Mazda 6, one of three Mazdas in the top-10 in qualifying.  Teammate and two-time SPEED GT Champion Michael Galati took the checkered flag in the 15th spot with a fast lap time of 2:22.542.  Placing in the 18th position for Tindol Motorsports was Mary Katharine also in a Mazda 6.  This is the first time for Katharine in a Mazda 6 at Sebring International Raceway.  Tindol’s Charles Espenlaub encountered a broken tie rod during the first lap of qualifying resulting in a 23rd position.  Espenlaub had been as high as 2nd during the first practice run of the week making him an excellent contender for both the hard charger and hole shot awards tomorrow.

“We learned a bit more after the break and we have a better stronger part already in place for the event tomorrow” said Espenlaub.  “The Kinetic Sunbelt motor is running really well. We will have a great car and we should be able to move up quite a bit during the race.”

Kinetic Sunbelt Managing Director, Jim Thompson offered his thoughts on the excellent results at Sebring.

“We are really excited to see the development show here at the track,” said Thompson.  “We are hoping to continue these results in the race tomorrow and come away with top finishes.  The Kinetic Sunbelt teams are doing very well.  We felt that Charles would have been on the pole had he not had the issue with the tie rod.  We are here to solve any problems and make our teams faster.  I know that the crew is extremely excited about the event tomorrow.”

Rob May from Kinetic Sunbelt is also on location for team track support.

“Everybody started the weekend off strong,” said May.  “We had great expectations for everyone because of the hard work we have been putting in over the off season.  From the results that we achieved in qualifying it shows the dedication that the Kinetic Sunbelt team has. A big thanks to all of the guys back at the shop for helping us achieve this and putting us in a great position for positive results on Friday.