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Race report

Automatic Racing begins season with top ten at Daytona

Rob Ecklin and Charles Espenlaub finished Daytona CTSCC race in 10th place.

#99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage: Rob Ecklin Jr.

#99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage: Rob Ecklin Jr.

Eric Gilbert

Automatic Racing began the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season with tenth at Daytona International Speedway. Rob Ecklin and Charles Espenlaub drove the No. 99 Automatic Racing/Invisible Glass Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the 2.5-hour race on Friday, January 24.

The race marked the first time that both drivers have been behind the wheel of the team’s GS-class Aston Martin. Ecklin started the race after qualifying 19th, then handed over to Espenlaub during one of the race’s many full-course cautions.

#99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage: Rob Ecklin Jr.
#99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage: Rob Ecklin Jr.

Photo by: Trevor Horn

Ecklin said, “I thought the car drove very comfortably for me, so I felt good out there on the track and we were able to run a decent pace. We got tenth, so that’s a great start to the season.”

“It’s always fun racing with Automatic, and getting a top ten makes it even nicer,” said Espenlaub. “The car ran great for us all day, and it will be exciting to see its progress over the next few rounds.”

“We’re a little down on power, but we’ve got the handling better than ever,” noted Automatic Racing’s engineer Jackson Stewart. “The car came through Daytona clean, so we can continue making progress as we head into Sebring. I think we can be a top-five car at Sebring.”

Automatic Racing will head to Sebring International Raceway for round two on Friday, March 14, with their focus on improving from a top ten at Daytona to a top five at Sebring.

Automatic Racing is sponsored by Invisible Glass, Formula 43, Rogue Engineering, Melbourne BMW, Swiftwick, and Redglare Records.

Automatic Racing

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