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June 27, 2008
Next up, Watkins Glen
27 June 2008 | Montour Falls, NY
Looking forward to Watkins Glen, we once again will be partnering with Fountain Motorsports to enter the fifth round of the KONI Challenge Series.
The crew from that team will seek to emulate the preparation level our Compass360 Racing team brings to each event.
With a reliable car that we can tune to the fast and sweeping corners of Watkins Glen International, we will have a good run.
Once again we'll also have for this event Grand Am newcomer Marko Radisic as our interim co-driver.
Watkins Glen International
As ever, updates via
Posted by YORK Group at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2008
No green flag. Disappointment at Mid-Ohio
22 June 2008 | Charlotte, NC
After the adversity of Mosport, Kevin was determined to have a good performance at Mid-Ohio.
Along with interim co-driver, Marko Radisic, Kevin worked hard in the practice sessions to tame the reluctant handling of the BMW at the tricky Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
With each change came small improvements. When it was time for qualifying, the plan was to get the car into the show and prepare for race conditions.
On race day, Marko Radisic was to drive the car briefly in the morning warm-up session.
Unfortunately, Marko was unable to select any gears within the BMW's gearbox.
This problem found the Fountain Motorsports crew faced with the tough task of diagnosis and repair prior to race time.
The crew removed the transmission and clutch assembly along with other related components in an effort to hopefully replace a culprit part.
Finishing the repair just as the cars were forming for the grid, the crew then buckled Kevin in for the reconnaissance laps.
Immediately - even before getting on track - Kevin noticed a very unusual vibration and noise.
Radioing in to the crew for recommendations, he was instructed to take the recon. laps and report back.
The vibration and noise remained.
The crew opted to have Kevin line up on the grid and take the formation laps in preparation for the race start.
Kevin never got to the green flag...
Just before the tracks famous "Carousel" corner, there was a tremendous explosion-like sound from the center of the car - the shifter assembly moved up into the car and its linkage fell down through a new, large torn hole in the floor(!)
The car no longer had any forward motion.
Kevin pulled safely off to the track's side and his day was concluded - before it really began.
On to Watkins Glen!
Posted by YORK Group at 02:29 AM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2008
Speaking Freely
"Hi, it's Kevin calling with another update from Mid Ohio. Today we qualified. Our qualifying position of 33rd was not as good as we hoped for. Interesting to note however is that there is only a two and one half second gap from the first car to us! A very competitive field. For the race we will certainly be able to watch the cars in front of us sort themselves out as we charge to the front with our Compass360 Racing BMW 330i. Marko and I are excited for a good race. Cheers and bye for now."
spoken through SpinVox
#endPosted by YORK Group at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2008
Speaking Freely
"Hello this is Kevin. I'm calling from the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course where today the Compass360 Racing BMW 330i went pretty well - but could be better. My interim co-driver Marko and I are working on set up of the suspension and hope to have a better practice and subsequent qualifying session tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates. Cheers! Kevin."
spoken through SpinVox
#endPosted by YORK Group at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2008
The Art of Overcoming Adversity
"...like Denny Swift in THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, we'll continue to fight (here at) Mid-Ohio. We'll once again have four cars, having drafted a BMW 330i from our friends at Fountain Motorsport, for Kevin and newcomer Marko Radisic to run, alongside our usual Acuras."- Karl Thomson, C360R Team Principal
Posted by YORK Group at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2008
Misfortune at Mosport
This will be a short entry for the moment...
We crashed the 75 car in Friday's practice.
A hard hit to the concrete wall on exit of Mosport's Turn One rendered the car not able to be used for the rest of the weekend.
Teammate Christian Miller took over the seat vacated by C360R team principal, Karl Thomson (what a guy!). Christian therefore joined team hot-shoe Travis Walker in the C360R 76 Acura RSX for the race. They finished in a strong sixth place - great job guys.
We'll be evaluating options for car replacement this week as we convalesce from our aches and pains.
Stay tuned here for more information as it presents.
As a side - but important - note, we had a great time entertaining friend and author Garth Stein on the weekend. With us not being in the race Saturday, we had a rare opportunity to relax with sponsors and VIPS from many of Canada's bigger booksellers and the folks from Harper Collins Canada. Additionally, Garth and Kevin had a good broadcast interview. Interest in the book, The Art of Racing in the Rain was very high!
Posted by YORK Group at 08:39 AM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2008
Mosport's this weekend!
This upcoming weekend is the beginning of a busy time for our team - in fact all the Grand Am KONI Challenge Series' teams - as we begin a whirlwind tour of North America's best sports-car road courses!
The #75 GoEnzo.com, 034 Motorsport, C360R.com ACURA TSX as seen in the Distillery District of Toronto during a Mosport media day. Photo Wes Duenkel.
Round three of the Series will be at Mosport International Raceway when Grand Am and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series return to co-headline the popular Father's Day Doubleheader event, June 13-15.
It's especially exciting for us as book publisher Harper Collins Canada will be using the event to promote our sponsor, the newly-released book The Art of Racing In the Rain, written by our friend, Garth Stein.
Already it is is one of the top fiction books on the New York Time Bestseller list (plus it's Starbuck's Book of the Month and currently No. 1 on the Taiwan charts!!).
We're glad that Garth and his peers will be able to join us and share in the excitement that is road racing at its finest!
Image - courtesy Mosport.com - hyperlinked to track's website.
Posted by YORK Group at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)