P1 Groupe Drivers Make Strong Showing At Barber

ATLANTA, GA, April 16, 2011 (Press-News.org) Memo Gidley, in the #42 Team Sahlens Mazda RX-8 with co-driver Wayne Nonnamaker, started the weekend in Birmingham's picturesque Barber Motorsports Park in strong fashion. Gidley would run third in the final practice session of this past weekends' Porsche 250 before his co-driver would qualify the car in a very strong fourth starting position for the race. Nonnamaker would hold onto his Top-5 position for much of his stint before turning the wheel over to driving talents of Gidley. The tandem would encounter some mid race issues that forced them to finish outside of the Top-10 in the final results, in 11th position, for the first time in the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season. They are currently in a three-way tie for seventh place in the overall Grand Touring Class Team Championship standings.

The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series Grand Sport Class would boast a number of drivers under the P1 Groupe umbrella of management, and would be a strong outing for all. Jeff Bucknum would again be in his #6 Mitchum Motorsports Chevy Camaro GS.R, although he qualified at the front end of the pack in fourth position, would have to fight his way from the rear of the pack at the start due to a post qualifying infraction. Bucknum would pass most of the field before turning the car over to his teammate Robert Stout. In a strategy decision Bucknum would get back in their car to finish out the race, but again would have ground to make up to get the results the team desperately needed to stay in the championship hunt. Bucknum mentions; "During the race weekend I was able to qualify the car in 4th place but had to start 28th in last place.   I worked my way up to 3rd before we pitted and my teammate Robert got in the car.  Unfortunately our car had radio communication problems, so we did not pit at the correct time which cause us to fall back to last place again before Robert got in the car. 

Bucknum would bring his #6 machine home in 10th position in a very long hard fought day; it would be his second Top-10 of the season. "We had a very up and down race weekend with a variety of crazy things happen before and during the race.  I do want to thank everyone at Mitchum Motorsports for all the hard work that has gone into our racing this year.  With everyone's hard work and avoiding some big crashes we did manage to work our way back up through the field twice during the race and finish 10th.   I feel very confident we have a race winning combination with Camaro, Mitchum, my teammate Robert Stout and me" states Bucknum.

Mike Sweeney and his AM Performance team would unveil and debut their new 2011 Nissan 370Z this weekend. The white, red and black #04 machine would be the talk of the paddock as it rolled onto the starting grid for the Barber 200 race. Sweeney would start the race in a solid 16th starting position, which had everyone on the team buzzing with enthusiasm since the team had zero testing time before the official launch of the program. It's always harder to do your development testing amongst your competition, but AM Performance was up to the task. "I can't believe a brand new car was this good! It's a testament to all the long nights and hard work the crew put in at the shop and it's an honor to drive a car that has been put together by such talented hands" states an excited Mike Sweeney.

Sweeney would start the race strong, picking up a few spots on the field in the first eight laps of the race before coming on the radio to report issues with the power of the car. On lap nine the car would stop on course and would have to be towed back to the paddock. The team would retire the car from the race to diagnose the problems, but in all was deemed a very successful debut. Sweeney adds; "This was a tough weekend but a good weekend. Our NISMO 370Z was fast in race trim, really took care of its tires, and was just plain good to drive, which really shows that Nissan has given us a great platform to start with. Unfortunately, we had some issues that forced us out of the race early, which is just part of developing a new car. It was also great to get out and represent the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in front of the great crowd at Barber Motorsports Park; I can't wait to raise more funding for them at VIR!"

Rounding out the GS Class for P1 was Bret Spaude in the #35 Subaru Road Racing Team, who would lead seven laps in the race after starting in sixth position for his first laps led on the season before the car ultimately retired and Matt Bell in the #9 Stevenson Motorsports Chevy Camaro GS.R. Bell would again show his ability to qualify the car well by putting his machine on the front row, just one tenth of a second off pole position. Bell would run strong on the day, turning his car over to his co-driver in the Top-5. After restarting back in the field by pitting out of sequence with the others in the lead pack, his co-driver John Edwards would fight his way through the field for a strong Top-5 finish for the pairing. They currently are 12th in the Team Championship standings after the teams' first Top-5 of the season, but appear poised to make a strong run over the long haul of the season.

The Street Tuner Class would feature drivers Tim Bell in the #14 Doran Racing BMW 128i and Owen Trinkler in the #198 RSR Motorsports Mini Cooper S. Bell, who was balked on his fast lap in qualifying only to muster a 19th starting position, would be very strong in his opening stanza behind the wheel to turn over the car to his co-driver BJ Zacharias well within the Top-10. Zacharias would go on to battle for the lead at the end, and the tandem finished with the first ever podium finish in second place for Bell, the new BMW 128i and Doran Racing in this series. It was a great start for the season for the Doran Racing #14 team which now has its drivers in sixth in the Drivers Championship and fourth in the Team Championship. Bell is currently second in the Rookie of the Year standings.

For Trinkler, his co-driver Sarah Cattaneo would qualify the car in eighth position, but would have to start from the rear of the 32-car field for failing post qualifying inspection. Cattaneo would run very strong through the field to turn the car over to Trinkler in position to make a push to the front. Trinkler would lead 10 laps on the day, but a late stop for fuel under yellow would put him back in the pack for the restart. He would make a strong push to the end to come across the stripe in 11th position. The pair is currently fourth in the ST class Driver Championship and third in the Team Championship, ready to make a push for the lead in both categories.

Next up for the GRAND-AM drivers is the very technical Virginia International Raceway on May 14th.

Additional information may be obtained at http://www.p1groupe.com.