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Rob Bunker - Trois-Rivières race |
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Monday, 07 August 2006 |
Rob Bunker found the fast line around the challenging Trois-Rivières
race track, but his preparation was forfeited when another competitor
took him out at the start of the Aug. 6 Star Mazda Championship race.
The Bridgewater, N.J., driver and the AIM Autosport crew were
especially disappointed by the outcome because their No. 18 Pro Formula
Mazda had been quick, posting the second-fastest lap time during the
race warmup.
Bunker qualified ninth on the 31-car grid with a lap of one minute
2.787 seconds on the 2.433-km (1.521-mile) Québec street circuit. He
was ready for a strong race, but didn't get past the first turn of the
first lap.
"Unfortunately, before I knew it, my weekend was over. There was
nothing I could have done. About midway through turn one, the guy next
to me just t-boned me. He said somebody else hit him and pushed him up
into me, but no matter what, I got the short end of the stick," Bunker
said.
"We put a lot of effort into the weekend. We tried to qualify better
than usual and it worked. I had a great car, a great setup. The team's
been on the road for a long time now, and I would have loved to show
how much it means to me – that they put so much effort into it – by
trying to win the event."
Bunker credited his faster lap times to a car setup that consistently maximized the traction on his Goodyear tires.
"The way the car handled this weekend is night and day to how it
handled in other events. Now it's got tons of grip going in, I go to
power and it just kind of powerslides all the way to the exit. We've
gained time by doing that," he noted. "Our setup was definitely softer
than it was before, and we think that's probably going to help us in
the long run for every track. If we can get the car freed up for every
track, we should be set to go; we can probably put it back on the
podium.
"We've got the car to go fast. We just need a little bit of luck and we'll be right there."
The next Star Mazda Championship race is scheduled for Aug. 19 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 January 2007 )
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