Posted (06/06/2010) -
At the recent Round 4 of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Virginia International Raceway, Team Sahlen captured a 10th place finish out of 30 ST class cars. This finish was the top Mazda in the race.
“After Virginia, we realized that if the dream of Mazda winning the 2010 ST Class Manufacturer’s Crown was to become a reality, we needed to step up our game even further. While it was nice to be the top finishing Mazda, 10th place points are not going to get the ST crown. We were successful in being the Top Mazda twice in 2009, enroute to Mazda securing 2nd in the ST Manufacturers title. So now it’s important to be there at the end of the races as we go into the 2nd half of the season. ” – stated Jay Chapman, Team Manager
So a plan was developed to skip the Lime Rock Park event and start an intensive Testing program. This program included 3 Full Days of Testing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as well as the pre-event Test Day at Watkins Glen.
“The Testing went very well. I am very excited. We have made big headway with the MAZDASPEED3. Now it’s time to take what we have learned and apply it to the race track at the Glen.
Drivers for the #43 MAZDASPEED3 will be Joe Sahlen and Will Nonnamaker.
“This is my hometown race, with lots of friends and family at the event. So I am excited to have a good event. The competition in the ST class is amazing. So getting not only into the top 5, but even the top 10 is no easy task.” – states Joe Sahlen.
The GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event at Watkins Glen will start at 2:15 pm on June 6th. The race will be televised tape delayed on SPEEDTV at 1 pm June 13th.
The 2010 Team Sahlen GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 & GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Campaigns will be supported by Mazda, Mazdaspeed, HRPWorld.com, HAWK Performance, Cool Shirt, Racetech Seats, BBS, Racing Print Media, Alcon, Mothers Polish, EMCO, TheRaceSite.com, Grassroots Motorsports, Holliday Canopies, Alcon, CM Racing, Genesis Technologies, Endurance Karting, Bell Helmets, Castrol, Ianetti Design, and SpeedSource Engineering.
