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PARTNERS
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News For May 16th, 2009
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Two More Wins and a Track Record at Putnam Park |
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Mount Meridian, IN – Co-op Racing participated in the second round of racing in the
NASA Midwest racing series. This round was held at
the very popular regional Putnam Park Road Course in
Eastern Indiana. This was the first weekend of dry weather for NASA Midwest and the team. Driver Andy Berberich
in the Eurosport 944 was consistent in his results of first place in each race. The weekend went well for the team,
but not so well for others who ended up totaling their car due to an off track incident.
The qualifying session was the first session of the year that finished with a dry track. |
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Of the five 944-Spec
drivers, Berberich qualified the Eurosport 944 third behind Angel Blasquez and Eric Kuhns. Ray Freundt and Berberich
were held up in traffic and never got a clean lap. Overall, the session did not end well for Kuhns. An off track
incident resulted in Kuhns flipping his 944-Spec race car. Kuhns, with a trip to the hospital, was uninjured.
However, his car has since been retired from racing and is in the process of being dismantled and sold for parts.
Kuhns has since repurchased his old car, which he has had a lot of success with, and will be back behind the wheel
at the next race. For the remainder of the racing weekend, Kuhns drove the Race Works/Bennington Motorsports rental
944-Spec car.
Blasquez started up front with Freundt just behind the Eurosport 944. A melee of Miatas in turn one allowed Ray to pass for second position. It took about four laps for Berberich to track down Angel and another four laps to reel in Ray. After several attempts to pass Ray, Berberich finally got a run on him into seven which resulted in good track position coming out of turn eight. At this time, the two were approaching lap traffic. The traffic forced Berberich to aggressively overtake the first place position. “Looking back, it was probably a little too early in the race to make that aggressive of a move” Berberich pondered. “Unfortunately, the pass was made with slight body contact.” Berberich held onto the lead and finished first in the five car field. Following qualifying third on Saturday, Co-op Racing was looking for opportunities pick up the pace. The team turned to Kauth & Mayeur owner and Spec Miata driver Michael Benet. The discussion involved car handling characteristics, setup options, and driving techniques. The conversation resulted in a few modifications to the car and to Berberich’s driving. The results were a first place Sunday qualification and a new 944-Spec track record of 1:24.048. Berberich broke the record by about half a second and it couldn’t have been done without the help of Benet and Kauth & Mayeur. At the start of Sunday’s sprint race, Kuhns got a good jump at the start and slipped passed Berberich into first. Berberich applied pressure to Kuhns and was waiting for his opportunity to pass. That opportunity came when an overtaking car fowled up Kuhns’ run through turn seven. Berberich experienced that same situation earlier with the same faster overtaking car. With multi-class racing, passing and “blocking” opportunities are available utilizing faster and slower cars. The multi-class format also requires racers to maintain a certain level of racing etiquette. In this scenario, the faster car broke this etiquette by interfering with two cars battling for position in class. When the overtaking car made a run on Kuhns in the outside of turn seven, Berberich tucked in and made the same pass. “It was pretty early in the race, but it was a passing opportunity that I couldn’t miss.” Berberich remarked. “Utilizing traffic is part of the fundamentals of road racing. It has hurt my outcome in the past and in this instance, and others, it has helped it.” Berberich was able to hold the position and again finish first in the five car field. The team cannot be more pleased with their performance at Putnam Park. The team is learning quite a bit about their 944 Spec car and is confident that they will continually improve and utilize its abilities. The weekend did have its dark side, but everyone is glad that Eric Kuhns was able to walk away from his unfortunate accident unharmed. Kuhns will be the first one to testify to the importance of adequate safety equipment. By the time this is published, the team will have already returned from Watkins Glen, New York. |
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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR RACING PARTNERSEurosport Racing is a premiere Midwest Porsche street and race specialist. They specialize in Porsche service, track support and transport, engine design and rebuilding, dyno tuning, and suspension setup and alignment. They also offer a full line of OEM, aftermarket, and high performance parts and accessories. More information on Eurosport Racing can be found at www.midwesteurosport.comKauth and Mayeur provides the finest import services in Peoria, IL. They offer a wide range of maintenance and repair services for import cars. Specializing in high performance streetcars. Kauth and Mayeur can be reached at (309) 673-1412 or http://www.kauthmayeur.com. |
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