Phoenixville,
PA – March 15, 2009
Subaru Road Racing Team drivers Andrew
Aquilante and Kris Skavnes enter the third
race of the Grand-Am KONI Challenge tied
with two other drivers for the series points
lead, following a fifth place finish in
Saturday’s thrilling 2h30m race at
Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.
The 30-car race featured a stirring drive by
the 21-year old Aquilante, of Phoenixville,
who started the race from the pole position,
which he earned by a minuscule 0.003 seconds
on the last lap of Friday’s qualifying
sessions.
Aquilante held the lead for five laps until
becoming involved in a collision with the
eventual race winner, who was attempting to
overtake him for the lead.
“The crash crumpled the left front fender,
knocked out the anti-lock brake system and
cut the left front tire,” said Joe Aquilante,
owner of the Phoenixville, Pa.-based Phoenix
Racing team which builds the team’s Subaru
Legacy 2.5GT spec.B race car and serves as
factory race partner for Subaru of America,
Inc.
Aquilante made a pit stop to repair the
damage and re-entered the race in 27th
place among the 30-car field, more than a
lap behind the leaders.
Thirty-eight laps later, a steady,
determined drive by Aquilante saw him again
leading the race.
“I used all the car I had to get us back
into the lead,” said Aquilante. “That
involved a lot of self-restraint. I couldn’t
let frustration and being that far back
force me into doing something rash. During
the long pit stop, the crew topped-off my
gas tank. That made a big difference because
it gave me an extra 10 minutes of running
time after most everybody else had made
their routine stop.”
Back in the lead on lap 50, Aquilante pitted
to turn the car over to his co-driver, Kris
Skavnes, Sparta, N.J.
Now in ninth place and 1m22s behind the
leader, the #111 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec.B
piloted by Skavnes, began a focused charge
toward the lead. More than a minute of track
time was made up on lap 70 when the yellow
flags flew for debris on the track, allowing
the competitors to close ranks, but 5th
place was as far as Skavnes could reasonably
achieve before the race ended.
“Today we had two drivers who saw the ‘big
picture’, a team that made terrific tactical
decisions, a pit crew that was ready for
contingencies, and an excellent, tough race
car in the Subaru Legacy,” added Joe
Aquilante.
“Both our
drivers made the most of their Legacy’s
Subaru symmetrical all-wheel drive system
and turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer engine
configuration this weekend,” said James Han,
motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of
America, Inc. “Plus, speedy pit stops by
the crew and sound race strategy helped us
achieve our 5th place finish.”
With second and fifth place finishes in the
season’s first two races, Aquilante and
Skavnes are tied with two other drivers for
the Drivers’ Championship points lead.
Subaru currently sits third in the eight
manufacturer chase for the Manufacturers’
Championship.
This is the third season for the Subaru Road
Racing Team, with its Subaru Legacy 2.5GT
spec.B in the Street Tuner class of the KONI
Sports Car Challenge series.
The team’s next race is May 1-2 at New
Jersey Motorsports Park, the closest event
of the season to SRRT, its drivers and the
corporate offices for Subaru of America,
Inc.
Sponsors for
SRRT include Subaru Of America, Inc., Subaru
Tecnica International (STI), Subaru
Performance Tuning (SPT), Subaru of Indiana
Automotive, Inc. (SIA), VAC Motorsports,
Automotive Racing Products, Hawk Brakes,
Quarter Master, Ecutek, Racing Radios, Lista,
Rotary Lifts, Cusco, Carbonetic, Mac Tools,
Hella, Perrin, and Vedalo HD.
About SRRT Phoenix Racing
SRRT Phoenix LLC
represents Subaru of America’s road racing
efforts in the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car
Challenge and is owned and managed by Joe
Aquilante of Phoenix Performance, Inc. The
team’s 32,000 sq. ft. facility is in
Phoenixville, Pa., 40 miles west of
Philadelphia, PA. Team drivers Kristian
Skavnes and Andrew Aquilante race a Subaru
Legacy 2.5 GT spec.B. in the Street Tuner
class. For more information about the team
and the cars, call Joe Aquilante at (610)
482-0141, or go to
www.phoenixperformanceinc.com.
Fans can visit the team’s website at
www.srrtphoenix.com.