Tuesday, October 15, 2002
The last two weekends have been busy for teams racing Saleens.
Over the October 4-6 weekend in Miami, Graham Nash Motorsports S7R qualified sixth and finished sixth after brake problems caused by a sticking throttle cable during the race. The second GNM S7R crashed during practice and could not make repairs in time for the race. Konrad Motorsports S7Rs qualified on the pole with the #26 car and did not make qualifying with the #25 car as it was damaged during practice when it hit the wall. The #26 car finished 8th in the race with a failed clutch while the #25 car finished sixth.
The October 9-12 weekend at Petit Le Mans took place at the Road Atlanta circuit. Konrad Motorsports qualified third with #26, and ninth with #25. The #26 car led early and for most of the first hour before having mechanical problems that cost considerable time in the pits, finishing sixth in class. The #25 car also had lots of small mechanical problems and several off-course incidents that dropped it back to fifth in class.
Graham Nash Motorsports qualified fifth with #84 and tenth with #83. The #84 suffered with engine problems in the warm-up and was not able to take the green flag. The #83 car suffered from several small problems that kept it from running to its full potential and only finished eighth in class.
The same weekend at Atlanta the Speed World Challenge ran with Apex racing qualified in eighth on a set of inconsistent tires. During the start of the race John was caught up in an incident between two other cars and was put in the gravel trap. He lost a lap while being extracted and finished the race in 13th one lap down. John has now clinched the rookie of the year title with one race remaining. With a good finish and some luck he may be able to edge back into the top five in points championship.
The Spanish GT championship was awarded this weekend in the next to last round in Jerez, Spain. The pole was set in the Graham Nash Motorsports Saleen S7R with Pedro Chaves and Miguel Ramos driving. They won the race and set fast lap on their way to the podium. This gives them the driver’s championship and Miguel has won the Amateur Standings championship for their efforts this year.
The next race is the World Challenge finale in Alton, VA the weekend of October 25-27.