Subaru Road
Racing Team Resolute in Quest for Championship
- Aquilante, Skavnes
share second spot in Drivers’ Championship chase despite
setback-
Phoenixville, PA – Aug. 15, 2009
A brush with the concrete barriers which line much of
the 1.521-mile temporary racing circuit in
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec threw a major obstacle into the
Subaru Road Racing Team’s (SRRT) goal of winning the
Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge race and closing in
on the Championship points leader.
Starting team driver Andrew Aquilante, during his 28-lap
stint of the 71-lap race, steadily worked his way to
second place from his sixth place start position. He was
only two-tenths of a second from the lead when called
into the pits for gas, tires, and a driver change to
teammate Kristian Skavnes.
“Our pit stop was near flawless,” said Joe Aquilante,
whose Phoenix Performance company based in Phoenixville,
Pa., prepares the team’s #111 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec.B
which the team races in the KONI series’ hotly-contended
Street Tuner class.
Skavnes returned to the track in fifth place, and was
able to quickly turn the race’s fastest lap to that
point.
But on lap 35, while overtaking a slower car, Skavnes
uncharacteristically brushed the wall with the driver’s
side of the car in the ultra-fast first turn, resulting
in a flat left rear tire. The damage prompted a return
into the pits where the SRRT crew furiously assessed and
repaired the damage.
Afterwards, Skavnes was able to turn laps as fast as the
race leaders when he returned to the track, but the pit
stop had cost the Subaru three laps, a deficit which he
was never able to make up. The #111 SRRT car eventually
finished 13th.
“Kris is a quick driver as is Andrew,” Joe Aquilante
added. “We’re fortunate to have two drivers who get on
the pace quickly and also keep the big picture in mind.
Kristian got out in the marbles going around another
car, and these things can happen on street courses lined
with concrete barriers. Had he done the same thing at
Mid-Ohio or Watkins Glen or Daytona, most likely there
would have been only minor consequences if any, but not
here.”
Despite the setback, Skavnes and Aquilante remain second
in the Driver Championship points, 25 points away from
the lead, and four ahead of their closest challenger.
Two races remain in the season. They started the
Trois-Rivieres weekend only 18 points behind.
“The team’s goal to earn the championship became a bit
more difficult after this round of the Grand-Am series,”
said James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru
of America, Inc. “But, I know that the drivers and crew
are up to the challenge; plus we’ve consistently
demonstrated the competitiveness of the Legacy 2.5GT
spec.B.”
The 10th of 11 races on the season will be Sept. 18 on
the sprawling 4.486-mile Miller Motorsports Park road
course west of Salt Lake City.
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, Rockland Standard Gear, 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
http://www.phoenixperformanceinc.com.
Fans can visit the team’s website at
www.srrtphoenix.com