Tuesday, September 02, 2008

As the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series traveled to their inaugural race at the New Jersey Motorsports Park, no one was sure exactly what to expect. The Thunderbolt Raceway was hosting its first professional race event, scrambling to get the facility ready for the race. As a result, no one was quite prepared for the difficulties the drivers faced on the untried course.  With construction still ongoing in many areas, dust played a significant role as the weekend unfolded, taking a heavy toll on cars and drivers alike. 

It quickly became apparent that conditions could be hazardous, as the #01 Telmex/Ganassi car driven by Scott Pruett was totally destroyed in a crash in Thursday’s test session, shutting down the track for the remainder of the day.  The dangers posed by the dust and poor visibility caused Grand-Am officials to institute a strict new policy to penalize cars going off course repeatedly.  Brumos’ drivers approached the course cautiously, avoiding serious incidents in a race that took a heavy toll, as only 10 DP cars completed the full 105 laps of the race.  Despite the challenges, both cars again delivered a top ten finish, completing the race safely. In fact, the Brumos entries were among the few to complete the race without drawing any warnings for going off course.  Our #58 car led the race in the early stages, while #59 ran in second in the closing laps, again demonstrating the consistent strong performances of both cars.

Our #58 car qualified in 8th position, but starting driver David Donohue was able to quickly move into the lead, holding that spot for 38 laps.  Donohue pitted, still in the lead, to hand the car over to Darren Law when a problem in the pit stop proved to be very costly. As Donohue explained, “We didn’t have a great car under us in practice, but it seemed to be OK in the race, and we had a good run in the beginning. Strategy got us up front and we had a good green lap average.  Unfortunately, on the pit stop for the driver change, I had so much pickup on the tires that I ended up sliding into the pit wall.  It cost us an extra 10 seconds and a ton of track positions. Darren just had an uphill battle from there.”

Law battled for position the remainder of the race, but the repeated full course cautions and hazardous conditions made it impossible to regain the lost ground.  Law held on to take the checkered flag in 10th place, marking the #58’s ninth straight top ten finish, a series best.

Our #59 started back in the pack after qualifying in 16th place.  J.C. France started the race and was also able to avoid the hazards and the first lap incidents. He drove cautiously, yet was able to move the car up near the front before bringing it in for a driver change. Joao Barbosa took over, delivering one of his most thrilling performances of the season.  He was in 2nd place in the closing laps of the race and appeared headed to the podium. On restart following the final yellow flag of the day, he held on to his position before being nearly forced off track by the #10 car driven by Max Angelleli, losing two positions and dropping #59 back to 4th place.

Barbosa voiced his frustration, saying, “We had a really good race, but I’m certainly disappointed because we were so close to the podium.  Unfortunately, the #10 almost bumped me off the track when he couldn’t overtake me, but I guess that’s racing.  J.C. did a great job in his stint, giving me the car in a good position.  It was much easier to make my way back up through the pack from there.” He went on to add, “There is still one more race and all next year to show everyone what we can do. I’m just disappointed for all the Brumos guys. They worked really hard giving us a competitive car for the race, and we were on our way to the podium.  I just wish we could have made it there, but I’m still happy for our 4th place.”

The day’s performance enabled the #58 car to hold on to their 3rd place in team point standings. While #59 remained in 4th, they closed the gap and now trail their teammates by only one point. #59’s 4th place finish was their fourth of the year, and earned them another Speed TV “Improve Your Position” Award .  Once again, both Brumos cars delivered a consistently strong performance, ending the day in good position. The skill of our drivers and the good sportsmanship they exhibited this difficult weekend has earned Brumos respect throughout the motorsports world and continues to be something of which we should all be proud.

Posted on 09/02 at 11:11 AM

Official Site of Brumos Racing
Home - Race Team - News - Schedule - Gallery - Contact - Links