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MAY
7, 2006
LAW RACES TO TWO TOP TENS AT LAGUNA SECA GRAND AMERICAN
WEEKEND
Phoenix, Arizona –—
Porsche endurance driver Darren Law wrapped up another busy weekend
of racing this past Sunday as he finished 8th overall in the Grand
American Grand Am Cup series and 5th overall in the Rolex Grand
American Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve
at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The U.S. Sports Car Invitational at
Laguna Seca marked the sixth round of the Rolex Sports Car series
2006 schedule and the third round of competition for the Grand Am
Cup this year.
Rolex Series Competition –
Keeping Out of Trouble
Law’s season-long teammate David Donohue qualified their #58
Red Bull Brumos Porsche Fabcar in 22nd position for the Rolex series
race, in a new one hour qualifying race format adopted by Grand
American officials for the 2006 schedule. The qualifying format
requires that the driver slated to finish the main endurance race
must qualify, and as such it was Law that took the start of the
250-mile race that included 28 Daytona Prototypes and 17 GT class
cars.
Although Law saw a clean start to the
2 hour 45 minute enduro, the flow of the race was eventually punctuated
by a total of seven caution periods and both Law and Donohue spent
much of their time on track staying out of trouble. Law pitted the
#58 entry on lap 37 after running as high as fourth position in
a well timed and strategic stop for fuel, tires and a driver change
that would pay dividends as the race progressed.
Taking advantage of the smart pit strategy
as well as the continued attrition that took place throughout the
race, the Red Bull Brumos Porsche would eventually lead the event
briefly before settling for a well earned fifth finishing position
at the checkered flag
Grand Am Cup - Another Top 10
Earlier in the weekend Law was teamed with Brian Cunningham in the
#50 Marcus Motorsports prepared Brumos Porsche / Autometrics Motorsports
Porsche 997 in the Grand Sports class of the Grand Am Cup street
stock endurance race.
Cunningham was charged with qualifying
duties and he deftly placed the #50 machine fifth on the grid with
a lap of 1:39.835 around the undulating and challenging 2.238 mile
natural terrain road course. Cunningham started the 200-mile endurance
race amidst a total of 68 Grand Sport and Sport Tuner class machines.
Brian maintained a strong pace throughout his stint and was running
in fifth before a miscue and contact with the #5 Blackforest Motorsports
Ford Mustang. After losing track position following the contact
Cunningham turned the car over to Law to finish the 74-lap event.
Law took over the Marcus Motorsports
and headed out on track deep in the Grand Sport field. Darren immediately
began turning competitive laps in the white Porsche 997, and avoided
trouble as he worked his way forward through the field to eventually
secure an eighth place finish at the checkered flag.
Quotes – Darren Law
We had some great pit strategy by the team (in the Rolex race),
and had a little luck go our way. Considering where we started,
I think David and I had a really good race. We still aren’t
quite at the pace of the leaders, but we’re making progress
all the time.
Brian (Cunningham) had a good run
in the (Marcus Motorsports) 997 and I think we might have been able
to finish a bit better, but the car was good and we should be able
to produce some even better results as the season goes on.
I’m really looking forward to the Phoenix race next week.
It’ll be nice to be in town with my family and friends and
be able to sleep in my own bed for a change.
Coverage
The Grand American Rolex Sports Car series presented by Crown Royal
Special Reserve U.S. Sports Car Invitational at Laguna was aired
live on the SPEED Channel and will be rebroadcast at May 8 at 12
PM EST. The Grand Am Cup race will be aired on tape delay on May
13 and 15 at 1 PM and noon EST respectively.
Upcoming Events
Darren is looking forward to the Gainsco Grand Prix the weekend
of May 11-13 as the Grand American series will head to Law’s
hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. The 1.5 mile infield roadcourse that
utilizes part of the famous Phoenix International Raceway oval promises
some close racing action and will be aired tape delayed May 14th
at 3:00 PM EST on the SPEED Channel.
Info
For more information on results of the U.S. Sports Car Invitational
or to get more detailed scheduling info for the upcoming Gainsco
Grand Prix log onto www.grand-am.com.
Check out Darren’s personal website at www.darrenlaw.com,
and be sure to surf to www.brumosracing.com
for pics of the awesome #58 and #59 Brumos Porsche Fabcar Daytona
Prototypes.
Sponsors and Supporters
Look for Darren to be wearing driving gear from CDOC, who has agreed
to support him for the 2006 season. Darren depends on CDOC’s
racing expertise for all his racing, safety and performance equipment
needs. CDOC is a world leader in the distribution of OMP, Alpinestars,
Bell and HANS brands as well as over 100 other performance lines.
View the entire line of CDOC performance and racing products at
www.cdoc.com.
In his quest to be in top physical shape,
Darren has also been maintaining a strict workout schedule as prescribed
by Carmichael Training Systems. You can find more information on
how Carmichael allows some of the world’s best drivers and
other top-flight athletes keep the competitive edge at www.trainright.com.
Release Contact:
Sylvia Proudfoot
sylvia@spurcom.ca
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