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PARTNERS
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News For August 1st, 2008
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Transmission Failure Ended Race Where Rain Wasn’t Able |
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Elkhart Lake, WI – On August first, Co-op Racing competed in their second NASA Mid-America Endurance Championship at Road America.
Andy Berberich and Eric Kuhns piloted the Eurosport 944 for the three hour race. The team’s effort was ended approximately two thirds of
the way through the race. A transmission failure forced the Eurosport 944 to exit the race early. The team returned to the pits first in
class and third overall, while making gains on second overall.
Due to scheduling conflicts with the track, the three hour enduro was changed from Saturday to later afternoon on Friday. Accomplished |
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Spec 944 racer Eric Kuhns committed to sharing the Eurosport 944 with regular driver Andy Berberich. “I was excited about sharing the
car with Eric.” remarked Berberich. “He is a really good driver and our combined efforts make for a very competitive team.” Prior to
leaving for Road America, Kuhns called Berberich on Thursday with news that he had a 102 degree fever and may not be able to make it
to Road America and very unlikely to co-drive in the enduro. Kuhns said that he would get a good night’s sleep and let Berberich know
Friday morning his status.
Friday morning Berberich placed a call to Kuhns who was miraculously on his way to Road America. Still not able to commit to an hour and a half of racing, Kuhns was willing to endure as much as possible in order to alleviate Berberich from three hours of racing (who at this point had already convinced himself to race the entire three hours). The three hour race started at 3:00 pm on Friday, at approximately 3:30 rain began to fall and then fall harder. The race went to full course caution and the field stacked up behind the pace car. After about twenty minutes of rain, the pace car pulled off and the race went back to green. The rain was actually a much needed break for Kuhns as the pace was slowed and the summer heat was pushed away by the rain. At about 4:30, Kuhns brought the Eurosport 944 in for Berberich to jump in behind the wheel. As the track continued to dry, the race pace began to speed up. Berberich’s lap times were just about the same as Kuhn’s had turned prior to the rain. At about thirteen laps into Berberich’s session, the Eurosport 944 experienced a transmission failure. The catastrophic failure forced the Eurosport 944 to prematurely exit the race and also required the spare transmission to be installed for the weekend’s remaining sprint races. Kuhns had this to say about the weekend. “I enjoyed exploring the performance of a fully developed 944 platform. While we started behind the Spec Miatas, we quickly chased them down in the dry thanks to the mechanical grip of the big Hoosiers, and the aero grip provided by the front splitter. The Hoosiers that were so fun in the dry became quite a handful in the monsoon that developed a few laps into the race, allowing several Spec Miatas back by on their treaded RA-1's. I believe we ran as high as 3rd during the caution period, having gained two spots from cars spinning off the track in front of us in the rain. When things began to dry out again, I was relieved to be able to hand the car back to Andy in one piece (minus the splitter). Thanks to Co-op Racing for the opportunity!” Co-op Racing was not able to walk away with the first place finish they had hoped for. The team did however prove that a well prepared 944 is a top runner in the E2 enduro class. This is also supported in that the Eurosport 944 turned faster lap times than the top five finishers. As the track dried out even more, the team anticipated these lap times would have dropped even more. |
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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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