Sonoma, Calif. July 16 Round Seven of the SCCA Pro SPEED World Challenge GT race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, wasn’t kind to either Autosport Development GTO today. The GT race ran at 1:05pm today as part of the Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma Presented by Ravenswood in conjunction with the American Le Mans Series.
Hayner’s 10th place finish in the #5 GMAC Commercial Finance / Trenton Forging GTO did not reflect the car’s performance level.
“We had a good car,” said Hayner. “It actually was the best it’s been all weekend. For some reason on lap nine, the car simply shut off. I restarted it and got back underway. I passed Liddell a few laps earlier and was running in seventh.”
“I’m told the #7 car had a similar problem,” Hayner continued. “The crew is suspicious of some heat problems with the ECU. We’ll just have to dig into it and find out what’s going on.”
Paul Bonaccorsi, driving the #7 car also reported his car cutting out. Ultimately, the car retired with a failure of the power steering hose.
“The car was excellent,” said Bonaccorsi. “I was definitely starting to get comfortable in the car… except the heat. It seems I had a similar problem as Stu, the car started cutting out on me. But, I figured the way all the other cars were dropping out I could stay out there and maybe get a top 15.”
“I’m not sure exactly when it happened,” said Boniccorsi, referring to the power steering hose failure, “but I started up the hill and turned in at the apex of two and the car just came around on me. Once it stalled, in this heat it wasn’t about to restart. Fortunately, I was able to get the car off track and out of harms way.”
“It was a great time running the GTO and being back in World Challenge,” added Bonaccorsi. “You can bet we’re going to be seeking out opportunities to get Bonaccorsi racing back on the track. This was fun.”
The Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma Presented by Ravenswood schedule SPEED GT race ran Saturday at 1:05pm and the Touring Car race will run on Sunday at 2:50pm. Both races will air Sunday, July 17th on SPEED with the GT race at 1:30pm the Touring Car race at 6pm. All times are EST.
Autosport Development competes as part of the SPEED World Challenge GT Series. All events are nationally televised on SPEED channel (formerly Speedvision). In 2005 the SPEED World Challenge Series schedule will include street races in Denver and St. Petersburg, and make the traditional stops around the country at great tracks like Sebring, Road Atlanta, Lime Rock Park, Infineon, Mosport, Cleveland, Portland, Road America, Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca.
GMAC Commercial Finance, considered a leader in its segment of the financial services market, provides accounts receivable management and financing, asset-based lending, equipment finance/leasing, retail financing, structured financing, and supply chain management services to a wide variety of clients in diverse industries. Loan facilities are in the $2 million to $200 million range. With locations in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the Company is positioned to provide lending services worldwide.
Trenton Forging Company from Trenton Michigan is a leading producer of custom impression die forgings to a wide variety of industries. They have a strong reputation as a supplier of choice to many Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive/light truck suppliers. Trenton produces multiple cavity die forgings to meet customers exacting specifications and offers a wide range of high quality custom forging products with exceptional customer service.
For more information about Autosport Development visit www.GoAutosport.com
For more information about Trenton Forging, visit www.trentonforging.com
For more information about GMAC Commercial Finance, visit www.gmaccf.com
For more information about SCCA SPEED World Challenge, visit www.world-challenge.com
