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Utah: SpeedSource race report
SpeedSource Scores Victory At Miller Motorsports Park The SpeedSource team headed west to Miller Motorsports Park, just outside of Salt Lake City, UT, for Round 11 of the Rolex Sports Car Series. The team looked to continue a string of solid ...
Edited: Oct 8, 2009, 2:27 AM
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SpeedSource Scores Victory At Miller Motorsports Park
The SpeedSource team headed west to Miller Motorsports Park, just outside of Salt Lake City, UT, for Round 11 of the Rolex Sports Car Series. The team looked to continue a string of solid performances from the #69 SpeedSource FXDD Mazda RX-8 as well as gain some much needed redemption for the #70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8. The race proved to be another exciting Rolex Series event with Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato taking the GT Class win in the closing laps.
Emil Assentato started the race from the last spot on the grid after a mechanical change forced him to lose his qualifying position. The #69 SpeedSource FXDD crew was confident in the performance of their car and Assentato steadily drove through the field of GT cars in the opening laps to catch the lead pack. With the car in a prime position to challenge for another podium finish, Jeff Segal took over driving duties and focused on reeling in his competitors.
The team decided to skip a late-race opportunity to pit under caution, instead favoring to gain from improved track position. In true 'race to the end' fashion, Segal was able to inherit the GT lead position in the closing lap of the race when contact between the race leaders sent them off-track with flat tires. The exciting race finish marks the third consecutive podium finish for the #69 SpeedSource FXDD Mazda RX-8 and second win of the season.
"I am very happy with the performance of the team," Sylvain Tremblay said. "To have two cars that are proven to be race winners is a great feeling and testament to the work of the crew."
Nick Ham earned his 4th pole position of the season for the #70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8, narrowly edging out another Mazda by just 0.007s. Ham executed the first half of the race without confrontation, knowing that a return to the podium would require an incident free stint. "The team gave me a fantastic car for qualifying, but it took till the final lap to beat my buddy Joe Foster, also in a Mazda, by a whopping 7/1000th of a second," Ham recalled. "My opening stint in the race was pretty uneventful, all the excitement came later."
With Tremblay taking over driving duties and running comfortably in the top five of GT all things pointed to a positive race result. However, contact from another car sent Tremblay's #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 into the gravel trap at the exit of Turn 19. Unable to gain traction in the loose rock the car lost valuable time. With a determination to race to the end, the #70 Mazda still managed to earn a Top 10 finish.
The conclusion of the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series season will take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 10th.
-credit: ss
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