Utah: RSR race report

RSR RETURNS TO FORM IN UTAH; DRISSI FINISHES ON PODIUM

EAST LANSING, Michigan (June 8, 2010) - RSR had both Jaguar XKR Trans-Am cars take the green and checkered flag in the inaugural SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series race at Miller Motorsports Park this past Sunday. Tomy Drissi returned to the podium finishing second, while teammate Daniel Ramoutarsingh put up a tough fight finishing sixth.

It was a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon, making an exceptionally grueling race. But both drivers were able to fight the heat and survive the 40-lap race around the 2.24-mile East Course.

Drissi and Ramoutarsingh qualified fourth and fifth respectively, which were reasonable results but did not demonstrate the capability the cars had this weekend. The duo put on a strong showing in the Warm-Up session by posting the top two times. Going into the race, they were confident they both had great cars for the race.

"Starting the race in fourth, I had a great start and was able to get around RJ Lopez in Turn 1," said Drissi, driver of the #5 THE A-TEAM: THERE IS NO PLAN B Jaguar XKR. "I should have put more of an attack on the leaders at the beginning as they got away from me just a little bit. But it wasn't long before I started pacing them and caught up to second (Mike Skeen). We fought hard and I was able to make the pass on him. Then with 15 laps to go I was able to pace Tony Ave. We were 6 seconds behind and I started pushing. With about 6 laps to go, I cut the gap down to 2.9 seconds, but I think Ave was saving a little bit too and we kind of leveled off. RSR did a good job this weekend, they gave me a fast car and it is good to return to the podium. I would like to thank 20th Century Fox for letting me promote THE A-TEAM: THERE IS NO PLAN B out in theaters June 11."

In commenting on his race in the #8 Trinrico Steel & Wire Products Jaguar XKR, Ramoutarsingh added, "We had a rough start and fell back in position. When I started to settle in, the car didn't feel the same as warm up. I tried to make some adjustments, but I couldn't find a comfortable balance. I had to really push in cornering and braking to keep putting up a fight. As I was fighting for position, on the front straight I felt a bump in the exit which spun me into the gravel runoff. I kept the car running and got back out there, doing all I could to come back from the incident, but the tires were going away quickly. I was able to finish in close proximity to 5th which was a reasonable after the spin. I'm happy to take the checkered flag and obtain some points. I would like thank my team, RSR, for giving me a car capable of putting up a fight. I also would like to thank Trinrico Steel and Wire Products for being so supportive of us."

Drissi remains second in the 2010 Trans-AM driver standings. He trails Utah race winner Tony Ave by 24 points, 357-333, with three of 10 races now in the books. Ramoutarsingh remains fourth in the championship standings with a total of 275 markers.

Next up for the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series is a visit to the legendary Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. as the Sunday headline event of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Bucyrus 200 weekend on June 18-20.

-source: rsr