SRT Motorsports- Dodge Global Rallycross Race Recap - Bristol
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Contact: Matthew Simmons Adam Saal Bill Klingbeil SRT Motorsports- Dodge Global Rallycross Race Recap - Bristol July 20, 2013, BRISTOL, Tenn. - For the second consecutive race, tire issues plagued the Dodge Darts from Pastrana Racing in Global Rallycross competition. It happened at New Hampshire. It was the same story Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. It wasn’t an issue of faulty tires. The problem was identifying the correct air pressure for the tricky surface that included a mixture of gravel areas and the high-banked concrete turns. For Timur Timerzyanov, driving the No. 199 Red Bull / Discount Tire Dodge Dart, the culprit was a bump in Turn One at “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile Track” as cars transitioned from the gravel surface onto the high-banks. As the Dodge Dart made the transition onto the concrete, the slide across the bump flattened the right-rear tire. Timerzyanov finished eighth. Timerzyanov just missed making the feature in his Heat Race, losing second on the final circuit of the six-lap heat. The top two in the three heats advanced to the feature. He finished third in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) to claim the final transfer spot to the 10-lap feature. “The car was good, it was driveable,” said Timerzyanov. “That was some battle to the first turn in the feature. We got through that in pretty good shape but then had the tire issue. We had two punctures on the front this weekend and then, in the feature, it was the right rear. I think we would have had a good finish if we didn’t have the tire issue.” Teammate Bryce Menzies also looked to be on his way to the feature in his heat. He led early and was running second until giving up the transfer spot on the final lap. In the LCQ, the field tangled up in front of him in Turn One and he had to get out of the throttle, losing track position. He had no chance to recover for a transfer position in the four-lap event. While the result fell short of expectations, there were numerous positives that the team is eager to build on. The Dodge Dart had the speed to compete with the leaders. The longer wheel base proved to be a disadvantage in the sharp turns as cars transitioned from the concrete to the gravel. On a straightaway or on the high-banked turns, the Darts were competitive. “We’ve been meeting with the team the last couple of days talking about forward strategy,” said Dave Bailey, Sr. Engineer – SRT Motorsports Engineering. “One of the issues we worked on this weekend was tire pressure. Getting the pressure right for this track was critical. With too little pressure, you were cutting tires in the gravel. Too much pressure, it would roll off the bead in the turn. “We’re working with them on some steering geometry, tooling strategies and other things for the rest of the season and the future. We were happy with the performance of the cars today. The results, we certainly wanted a better finish but there are positives. Timur drove the car hard in the feature. Taking all things into consideration, it was probably the best overall performance we’ve had all year.” Toomas Heikkinen claimed his third consecutive GRC victory, taking the win over Ken Block and Brian Deegan. He increased his lead in the season point standings as well as the Sylvania SilverStar zXe Cup, a four-race challenge for a $20,000 cash bonus. Bristol was the second stop in the four-race challenge. RACE RESULTS SRT MOTORSPORTS Global Rallycross Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday, July 20, 2013 Feature Event (10 Laps) 1. Toomas Heikkinen 2. Ken Block 3. Brian Deegan 4. Sverre Isachsen 5. Patrik Sandell 6. Steve Arpin 7. Tanner Foust 8. TIMUR TIMERZYANOV 9. Liam Doran GRC Provisional Point Standings (After 5 of 9 Events) 1. Toomas Heikkinen 96 2. Brian Deegan 62 3. Tanner Foust 61 4. Patrik Sandell 60 5. Ken Block 58 6. Liam Doran 51 7. Steve Arpin 47 8. Scott Speed 45 9. Sverre Isachsen 34 10. Bucky Lasek 26 11. Mattias Ekstrom 26 12. Anton Marklund 26 13. TIMUR TIMERZYANOV 22 14. TRAVIS PASTRANA 20 15. BRYCE MENZIES 16 16. Townsend Bell 16 17. Dave Mirra 15 18. Guilherme Spinelli 14 19. Nelson Piquet Jr. 13 20. Buddy Rice 7 21. Mauricio Neves 5 22. Eduardo Marques 3 Heat 1 (6 Laps, Top 2 Advance) 1. Ken Block 2. Toomas Heikkinen 3. Brian Deegan 4. Tanner Foust 5. Bucky Lasek Heat 2 (6 Laps, Top 2 Advance) 1. Patrik Sandell 2. Liam Doran 3. TIMUR TIMERZYANOV 4. Dave Mirra Heat 3 (6 Laps, Top 2 Advance) 1. Sverre Isachsen 2. Steve Arpin 3. BRYCE MENZIES 4. Scott Speed Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) (4 Laps, Top 3 Advance) 1. Brian Deegan 2. Tanner Foust 3. TIMUR TIMERZYANOV 4. Bucky Lasek 5. BRYCE MENZIES 6. Dave Mirra 7. Scott Speed -- 30 -- -###- Additional information and news from Stellantis are available at: https://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com .