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Watkins Glen II: Starworks Motorsports race report

STARWORKS' FOREST AND DALZIEL SCORED 4TH AT THE CROWN ROYAL 200 AT WATKINS GLEN! After an epic race, Starworks Motorsport's drivers Mike Forest and Ryan Dalziel finished 4th in the Crown Royal 200, 10th round of the 2010 Rolex Series. The ...

STARWORKS' FOREST AND DALZIEL SCORED 4TH AT THE CROWN ROYAL 200 AT WATKINS GLEN!

After an epic race, Starworks Motorsport's drivers Mike Forest and Ryan Dalziel finished 4th in the Crown Royal 200, 10th round of the 2010 Rolex Series. The #8 Corsa Car Care Dinan-BMW Riley did not have the best race of the season but thanks to a great job from the crew and excellent drive from both drivers, the #8 managed to turn a difficult day at Watkins Glen into another top five finish. This is the seventh top five finish for the #8 Corsa Car Care co-driven by Forest and Dalziel this season including five top 5 with three podium finishes in ten races. The #7 Sonax Starworks Motorsport Dinan-BMW co-driven by Bill Lester and James Davison encountered some problems in the last session on Friday afternoon and after one lap in the race was forced to retire and finished 13th in the DP class.

After this 10th round of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, Ryan Dalziel keeps his 2nd position in the driver point standings but since the drivers of the #01 car won another race, it is going to be tough for Ryan to win this 2010 championship except if the #8 car can win the next two races and the Ganassi #01 car and its drivers don't perform at their peak. Winning the next races is a probability that the Starworks team can see happening. GRAND-AM reversed a ruling and decided that the Dinan-BMW-powered DPs will have a weight break for the final two races of 2010 after a 75 lb. penalty was imposed following the Mid-Ohio race. Beginning with the Montreal 200 on August 28, BMW-powered DPs will be restored to their original weight of 2,275 lbs. which should help the four Starworks drivers in their quest for the first win in the history of the young team.

Ryan Dalziel had to push hard all race to stay in contention with the leaders but at the end managed to save a fabulous result for him and for the entire Starworks organization. "It's a good result but I can't help but be disappointed with our weekend," said Dalziel after the race. "We struggled a little with our overall pace but as a team did a great job getting the Starworks car to the front. We will be looking forward to Montreal and getting the 75 lbs. off the Corsa Car Care machine. We know we had a great car prior to that penalty and we are not ready to give up our championship fight. Fourth was a pretty lucky day for us but we work harder than any team in the paddock so we deserved that little bit of luck today" concluded Dalziel.

Mike Forest qualified the #8 Corsa Car Care in 9th place on Friday and after a good stint handed the car to Ryan in 6th place. With this 4th place finish, Mike won another Jim Trueman Award and moved from 3rd to 2nd in the 2010 ranking of the Jim Trueman Award competition for DP and continue to be ranked 5th in the 2010 Rolex Series driver point standings with two races to go. "This was a bit of a struggle, we didn't have much for the front runners," announced Mike Forest after the Crown Royal 200. "That said, it shows how strong we are as a team to be able to pull off a 4th when things are not going our way. It was a very balanced effort from the mechanics and the pit stops to the engineering and strategy and the drivers doing what needed to be done," Forest continued. "The traffic was one of the more difficult parts of the race to manage. On the short course at Watkins Glen I just kept catching them in places where there is very little chance to pass but you still have to force your way through and take risks. A few scratches but nothing major" added Forest whose next race will be at Montreal in his native Canada.

On Friday, Bill Lester qualified the #7 Sonax Starworks Motorsport Dinan-BMW Riley 10th. Unfortunately for the #7 car, Australian James Davison, who made a promising Rolex Series debut at Watkins Glen last June, spun and hit the safer barrier during the final practice session on Friday and despite the motivation of the crew to repair the damage, the #7 Sonax car was repaired on time to take the start but had to retire after the first race lap. "The Starworks crew once again prepared a great car but misfortune reached out and grabbed us again at Watkins Glen" said Bill Lester after the even. "My new co-driver, James Davison, showed great promise but spun in the bus stop chicane early in the Friday evening practice session and sent the car into the inside safer barrier. The resulting impact caused significant damage to the front of the car. We took the green flag with the concern that the car might not be fully race ready. Our suspicions were quickly realized after I experienced vibration during the first lap of the race and we had no choice but to retire the car. While I am hugely disappointed about the outcome of this race, I look forward to better results for us in Montreal. We deserve it" stated Bill after The Glen.

Only two races remain in the 2010 Rolex Series season: the Montreal 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on August 28th, and the season-ending Utah 250 at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City on September 11th.

-source: starworks motorsport

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