We checked in with Lorrie Stark who gave us this awesome play-by-play rundown.
Read on and enjoy!
Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series - Round 9
Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama
21 July, 2007
Quick Stats:
Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama
Road Course Length: 2.38 miles, 16 turns, 80 ft elevation change
2007 KONI Challenge ST Class race limits: 109 laps, 2.5 hr, 400 km / 250 mi
ST Class Lap Record: 1:40.806 (avg 82.138 mph)
Barber Motorsports Park is a unique, permanent road racing facility, home to Barber Motorsports Museum, which contains a large private collection of working motorcycles and vintage cars. Opened in 2003 by George Barber, the circuit layout was designed to be a challenging and aggressive -- yet safe -- track. Set on 740 acres of rolling, wooded hills within the city limits of Birmingham, AL, it has a park-like feel and is spectator friendly. From many points around the track, spectators have an excellent view of most of the on-track action.
More than 40,000 tickets were sold for this weekend's Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series at Barber Motorsports Park. With live timing and scoring on the Grand-Am web site, race fans everywhere could enjoy the full weekend of race action.
Beneath sunny skies and with temperatures climbing towards 95 degrees, the #01 SCADAPack Chevy headed out for a first practice on Thursday.
"Everyone on the Georgian Bay Motorsports Team is upbeat coming into this race weekend," said team owner and crew chief Mike Kuznicki. "We have high hopes!"
"After weeks of discussion, Grand-Am has removed the ST Class RPM restriction limit that's been hampering us all season." We'll get the handling dialed in ASAP and see where we compare to the rest of the field."
Team Driver Jamie Holtom piloted the #01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt SS on the first day of practice.
"This racecar gets better and better with every lap, he said." "We've changed the rear springs and the handling is outstanding!"
Team Driver Eric Curran had a very busy weekend, alternating between this race weekend at Barber and his World Challenge race at the Mid-Ohio racetrack. He traveled back and forth twice by private jet over three days, yet somehow still managed to keep his sense of humor!
Friday brought Eric's opportunity to practice and then qualify the #01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt in KONI ST Class. Everyone on the GBMS Team was gratified that their attention to detail and hard work! Eric earned pole position with the # 01 SCADAPack Cobalt in only three qualifying laps. Needless to say this was fantastic!
As a very hot noon race time approached for the #01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt SS, dark and threatening thunderheads gathered around the Barber track. Would a rainstorm add to the race dynamics? No problem as GBMS drivers are fantastic in the rain!
Dwight Woodbridge, GM Racing Program Manager for Grand-Am KONI Challenge, was optimistic.
"The weekend has gone well so far," he said. "This Barber road track suits the #01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt"s handling abilities with high-speed corners."
"Luckily we've had some overcast periods where the track has cooled down a bit allowing for quicker lap times. Jamie and Eric have done a stellar job to get on pole, they've extracted the best out of the #01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt SS! "Frankly, in the race we need to stay ahead of traffic to avoid getting behind the pace due to our lower horsepower."
A field of 20 racecars was entered in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge ST Class race. Excitement was high among the pit crews along Pit Lane, especially in the GBMS Team pit. All competitors lined up for the start and the # 01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt SS, with Eric at the helm, took up pole position on the inside front row.
After two pace laps the green starter flag waved and Eric roared off holding the inside of corner one and first place. Coming out of turn four, the #01 SCADAPack Chevy was in the lead by three car lengths, hotly pursued by the #95 BMW 330i.
By lap four, the top five competitors pulled ahead of the pack -- all within 4.4 seconds of each other. On lap 20, still in the lead, Eric reported to Mike in the pit that he had lost second gear! With Jamie contributing to the debate, all three decided this loss wouldn't hinder handling on this particular track.
The #01 SCADAPack Chevy lapped the slowest competitor on lap 36. Eric stayed out in front anywhere from 0.9 to 2.1 seconds over second place # 95 throughout his stint.
Driving hard yet saving tires and brakes, Eric led the race for 47 laps. With a near empty fuel tank, #01 pulled into the pit for the mandatory driver change, new front tires and a fill up. Itâs a fact that the GBMS Team has the quickest, most-efficient pit stops in ST Class - everyone over the pit wall knows exactly what to do and does it better than their counterparts on other teams. Time can be made up on pit stops and that is exactly what GBMS does, every time.
Now in the cockpit of the #01 SCADAPack Chevy, Jamie exited Pit Lane in second place, and BONUS! the new race leader, the #86 BMW Z4, had yet to make its pit stop. This occurred almost immediately, and Jamie regained the lead on lap 50. By lap 54, Jamie had increased the lead to over 11 seconds and was advised by Mike to ease off a bit to save the car. "Let's maintain a healthy gap of about 10 seconds," he advised.
An excellent approach for car endurance.
Over the next 37 laps, Jamie kept the pace and drove smoothly and consistently. At one point the #01 SCADAPack Chevy increased the lead to over 14 seconds. Jamie stayed in first place and lapped the slower cars steadily, keeping the #01 out of trouble. Excitement was growing in the pit with each passing lap. Could GBMS be on the way to its first victory this season?
YES ! Roaring across the finish line with a commanding lead, victory was sweet for the entire GBMS Team! A picture-perfect race for the # 01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt SS!
With the ROLEX GT Class race beginning 20 minutes after completion of the ST Class victory, Eric was already warming up the GBMS entrant during the ST Class victory celebration, so Jamie represented them both and of course the entire GBMS Team on the podium.
Check out a full gallery of photos from this exciting day in Birmingham over at flickr.
#01 SCADAPack Chevy Cobalt SS Round 9 Barber Motorsports Park:
Qualifying time:1:41.807 (Eric â pole position)
Finishing Position in ST Class: First Place
Laps completed: 86 of 86
Best Lap Time: 1:43.290 in lap 2 (Eric â quickest Cobalt in race)
Average Race Speed: 73.394 mph
GBMS Championship Standings - ST Class (after 9 races in a season of 12)
GBMS Team: 9th of 48
Driver Jamie Holtom: 12th of 84
Driver Eric Curran: 15th of 84
General Motors: 4th of 10
