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We will take the fourth place finish

Aug 9, 2010
During this weekend's Crown Royal 200 the #8 Corsa Car Care/Dynacor Media car posted their third consecutive top 5 with a hard fought 4th place finish. The finish allowed Ryan Dalziel to remain in 2nd place in the 2010 Grand Am Rolex Championship standings while Edmonton native Mike Forest moved up to 5th in the championship, 1 point out of 4th.

The team replaced the car's brake pads right before qualifying, which meant Forest had to spend the opening four laps bedding the new brake pads. Once the brakes were ready Forest had one lap before a crash between two other cars ended the qualifying session early for everyone. Forest and Dalziel started in 9th position, which ultimately wasn't all bad since it gave them the opportunity to win a bonus cheque for the most improved position.

Forest posted a quick start to the race passing for 8th on the opening lap. From there it became a battle against traffic on the notoriously difficult-to-pass 185mph (300 km/h) track.

"The biggest challenge was the GT cars. The speed difference between the two classes is always magnified at the faster tracks. With the number of corners and winding straights it can really slow you down and take you out of rhythm. You have to be very aggressive. There were some passes I had to shove in at 140+mph," Forest explained.

Forest pitted at the 45 minute mark, which is the end of the time window for the first stop; fuel, tires and driver were all changed. The well executed pit stop allowed Dalziel to take over in 6th place. Over the next 45 minutes Dalziel moved all the way up to 3rd.

"Our big moment of the race came with 20 minutes to go. That full course yellow meant we were able to perform our final fuel splash and remain on the lead lap. We were 2 laps from pitting when it came out so it was a huge break but we'll take it!" Dalziel said.

On the restart an incident occurred between the 61 and the 75 which took both cars out of the race and brought out another full course yellow. It set the stage for a final 7 minute sprint to the finish. With Dalziel in 4th the Starworks Motorsport team was hoping for a dramatic finish. It never came and Forest, Dalziel & the #8 crew found themselves 1 second short of a podium finish.

"We are still very much in the championship hunt and with 2 races to go now we are probably in better shape than before this event. Between that, the most improved bonus and Mike winning the Jim Trueman award again, this race was a success for us. It wasn't the win we were hoping for but with the weight penalty coming off for our Montreal race we are still very much alive and fighting" remarked Peter Baron, team owner.

August 28th the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series will hold their Canadian event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec.

For photo's and more information visit www.mikeforestracing.com

 

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