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(6/6/04 2:47 pm)
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AUBERLEN DRIVES FLAG-TO-FLAG TO WIN SCCA SPEED TOURING CAR
AUBERLEN DRIVES FLAG-TO-FLAG TO WIN SCCA SPEED TOURING CAR ROUND TWO AT LIME ROCK PARK
LAKEVILLE, Conn. (May 31, 2004) – Bill Auberlen, of Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., put on an impressive driving display from the pole position today to win Round Two of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED Touring Car Championship at Lime Rock Park, as part of the Mohegan Sun Grand Prix. Nic Jonsson, of Buford, Ga., and Peter Cunningham, of West Bend, Wis., completed the top three.
With rain in the forecast for the start of the SPEED Touring Car race, the rain stayed away just long enough to allow the race to be run under dry conditions. This meant good news for the entire field and point leader Auberlen, who had never run a SPEED Touring Car race at Lime Rock in the dry. With this in mind, Auberlen showed just how dominant he could be, as at one point in the race he had a nine second lead over second place finisher Jonsson. Driving his No. 1 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 325i, it appeared Auberlen was on cruise control as he ultimately won by 5.811-seconds at an average speed of 91.088 mph for the 43-lap event.
“The car was fantastic,” Auberlen who is perfect thus far in 2004. “I’ve never driven a Touring Car race here in the dry and wondered if I could stick it up front somehow. When you are in a car that was that good, with a team that is that good, you almost can’t lose.”
Auberlen recorded his second career SPEED Touring Car win at Lime Rock and his second win of 2004.
Riding in fourth place for the first 21 laps of the race, Jonsson passed then third place driver Matt Plumb, of Newport, R.I., after the two made contact in turn three to take over third place. Jonsson then had his sights set on second place driver Pierre Kleinubing, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., but was having difficulty chasing him down. However on lap 32, Jonsson got a break when Kleinubing spun in turn one, handing second to the No. 27 Lectric Air/Techmark Corporation BMW 325Ci.
“There was a lot of fuel spilling out the first half of the race,” Jonsson said about the cars in front of him. “It was really slippery behind those cars. Then I got by them and paced myself, trying to score as many points as possible. We had a good run. I am very happy to be on the podium for the first time in SPEED World Challenge.”
Kleinubing, who was gunning for his record fourth-consecutive SPEED Touring Car win at Lime Rock, had fuel pick up problems end his day two laps shy of the finish.
Cunningham, who started seventh on the grid, patiently and methodically knifed his way through traffic to finish third in his No. 4 NISMO/TeamRTR/Nissan Sentra SE-R.
“At Lime Rock, it is all about the traffic Gods,” Cunningham said of how difficult it is to pass here. “You hope and pray they’re going to be kind because, with that many cars, it is hard to keep them away from each other. We had pretty good luck in traffic, but it was kind a give and take. Our car ran really well.”
Justin Marks, of Chico, Calif., brought his No. 2 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 325i home in fourth, while the 2003 SPEED Touring Car rookie of the Year Plumb finished fifth in his No. 43 RealTime/SANZ/Sun MicroSystems Acura TSX.
Bob Stretch, of Dallas, won the Sunoco Hard Charger of the Race award for advancing 30 positions throughout the race. He also won the B&M Holeshot award for advancing 18 positions on the first lap of the race.
Auberlen leads the SPEED Touring Car Drivers’ Championship with 68 points, followed by Jonsson (48 points), James Sofronas (45), Marks (44) and Jeff Altenburg (41).
BMW leads the SPEED Touring Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by Racer Magazine with 18 points, followed by Acura (nine), Nissan (five) and Mazda (four).
The series next heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course June 25-27 for Round Three of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship.
Today’s race will initially air at 12:00 p.m. (EDT), June 6 on SPEED Channel.
For more information, visit www.world-challenge.com.
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LAKEVILLE, Conn. - Results from Monday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Two Race, part of the Mohegan Sun Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, class, car, laps, distance behind winner and reason out (if any).
1. (1), Bill Auberlen, Rolling Hills Est, Calif., BMW 325i, 43.
2. (4), Nic Jonsson, Buford, Ga., BMW 325Ci, 43, -5.811.
3. (7), Peter Cunningham, W. Bend, Wis., Sentra SE-R, 43, -7.33.
4. ( , Justin Marks, Chico, Calif., BMW 325i, 43, -22.605.
5. (2), Matt Plumb, Newport, R.I., Acura TSX, 43, -25.653.
6. (5), Chip Herr(R), Lititz, Pa., Mazda ProtegeES, 43, -26.733.
7. (6), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 43, -37.404.
8. (9), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda ProtegeES, 43, -45.902.
9. (14), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 43, -56.929.
10. (42), Bob Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci, 43, -1:01.8860.
11. (11), Fred Pignataro, E. Northport, N.Y., BMW 328is, 42, -1 laps.
12. (21), Shauna Marinus, Folsom, Calif., Mazda ProtegeES, 42, -1 laps.
13. (10), Phil Parlato, Commack, N.Y., BMW 325i, 42, -1 laps.
14. (13), Victor Gonzalez(R), San Juan, Puerto Rico, Acura RSX, 42, -1 laps.
15. (39), Eric Curran, S. Deerfield, Mass., BMW 325Ci, 42, -1 laps.
16. (22), Seth Thomas(R), Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 42, -1 laps.
17. (24), Nick Leverone(R), Worchester, Mass., BMW 328i, 42, -1 laps.
18. (26), Tom Stewart, Purcellville, Va., Honda Civic Si, 42, -1 laps.
19. (29), Nick Esayian(R), Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 42, -1 laps.
20. (2 , Chris Tindol(R), Gastonia, N.C., Mazda ProtegeES, 42, -1 laps.
21. (3), Pierre Kleinubing, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Acura TSX, 41, Mech.
22. (27), Scott Poirier(R), Deerfield, Fla., Mercedes C230, 41, -2 laps.
23. (16), Memo Gidley, Navato, Calif., Ford Focus, 41, -2 laps.
24. (30), Matthew Sklarz, Kent, Conn., BMW 325i, 41, -2 laps.
25. (34), Mark German, Pittsburgh, Pa., Mazda 626, 41, -2 laps.
26. (36), Kevin German(R), Greensburgh, Pa., Mazda 626, 41, -2 laps.
27. (31), Laurence Oliva, Doveer, N.H., BMW 325is, 41, -2 laps.
28. (33), Manny Matz, Somers, N.Y., BMW 328is, 40, -3 laps.
29. (15), Dino Crescentini(R), Malibu, Calif., BMW 325i, 40, -3 laps.
30. (23), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 40, -3 laps.
31. (32), Peter Lockhart, Canada, Mercedes C230, 38, Mech.
32. (17), Matt Richmond, Mooresville, N.C., BMW 325i, 34, OHeat.
33. (19), Bob Endicott, San Pedro, Calif., Acura RSX, 23, Crash.
34. (3 , Clare Greenland(R), Mamaroneck, N.Y., BMW 325Ci, 13, Susp.
35. (12), Scott Fredricksen(R), Gastonia, N.C., Mazda ProtegeES, 4, Mech.
36. (20), Scott Bradley, Mountain View, Calif., Mazda ProtegeES, 3, Engine.
37. (25), Kevin McKee, San Francisco, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 0, Mech.
38. (1 , Ryan Pilla(R), Amagansett, N.Y., Mazda ProtegeES, 0, DNS.
39. (35), Ken Payson, Worcester, Mass., Mazda ProtegeES, 0, DNS.
40. (37), Kird Azemar(R), Westbury, N.Y., BMW 325, 0, DNS.
41. (40), Scott Galaba(R), Chicago, Ill., BMW 325Ci, 0, DNS.
42. (41), Nick Vitucci, Bronx, N.Y., Integra GSR, 0, DNS.
Time of race: 43 minutes, 20.164 seconds.
Average speed: 91.088 mph
Margin of victory: 5.811 Seconds
Lap leaders: Laps 1-43, #1 Bill Auberlen
Fastest race lap: #1 Bill Auberlen, 57.546 (95.714 mph)
Fastest qualifier: #1 Bill Auberlen, 57.678 (95.495 mph)
B&M Hard Charger: #98 Bob Stretch advanced 18 positions on the first lap
Sunoco Hard Charger: #98 Bob Stretch advanced 30 positions in the race
SPEED Touring Car Point Standings
1. Bill Auberlen, BMW 325i, 68
2. Nic Jonsson, BMW 325Ci, 48
3. James Sofronas, BMW 325Ci, 45
4. Justin Marks, BMW 325i, 44
5. Jeff Altenburg, Mazda ProtegeES, 41
6. Matt Plumb, Acura TSX, 40
7. Peter Cunningham, Sentra SE-R, 38
8. Pierre Kleinubing, Acura TSX, 35
9. Shauna Marinus, Mazda ProtegeES,
10. Victor Gonzalez(R), Acura RSX 26,
Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by Racer Magazine
1. BMW 18
2. Acura 9
3. Nissan 5
4. Mazda 4
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