Subaru Road Racing Team Looks for California Gold

- Aquilante, Spaude Working off Season’s Best Finish To Date -

Phoenixville, Pa. – July 7, 2011

Hot on the heels of their season-best top six finish on the longest track of the series, Subaru Road Racing Team co-drivers Andrew Aquilante and Bret Spaude now face one of their season’s most-compact circuits in their race this Saturday at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, Calif.

Their challenge this Friday in the Phoenix Performance-prepared Subaru Impreza WRX STI is a 2.238-mile layout with a long, fast uphill climb to the Laguna’s world-famous Corkscrew turn, then a mega-horsepower, winding “bobsled run” downhill to the start-finish line, and do it all over again for 2.5 hours.

Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., and Spaude, Bushnell, Fla., are coming off their season’s-best sixth place in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series on the long, wide-open circuit comprising 4.048 miles which is the Road America layout in Wisconsin.

The Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) prepares and races a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4-door model in the series for Subaru of America, Inc.

Andrew Aquilante returned to the cockpit after a two-race absence. He relieved Spaude behind the wheel one-hour and six minutes into the race, in sixth place, temporarily picked up one position for laps 27- 35, settled into a safe run to the checkered flags while those around crashed with abandon.

“Laguna Seca is very much like Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, in terms of its geographical features, except its length is a mile longer,” noted Joe Aquilante, owner of Phoenix Performance Inc., in Phoenixville, Pa., where the SRRT cars are race-prepared.

“Our Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive System should help AJ and Bret get the tires just that much quicker than some of our competitors, and fractions add up over two and a half hours of racing,” he added.

James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc., noted, “After a solid result at a race course which emphasizes horsepower and top end speed, I’m looking forward to seeing how well we perform at a distinctly different track like Laguna Seca.”

Qualifying will be Friday at 6:30pm ET, with the race taking the green flag Saturday at 1:45pm ET. The race will be televised by SPEED TV to air July 17 at 1pm ET.

 

Sponsors for SRRT include Subaru Of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), Hawk Brakes, Ron Davis Racing Radiators, Automotive Racing Products, VAC Motorsports, Rockland Standard Gear, Ecutek, Lista, Rotary Lifts, Cusco, Carbonetic, Hella, and Perrin.

 About SRRT Phoenix LLC

SRRT Phoenix LLC represents Subaru of America Inc.’s  road racing effort in the 10-round GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series and is owned and managed by Joe Aquilante of Phoenix Performance, LLC. The team’s 32,000 sq. ft. facility is in Phoenixville, Pa., 40 miles west of Philadelphia, PA. Team drivers Andrew Aquilante and Bret Spaude race a Subaru Impreza WRX STI in the Grand Sport class.

For more information about the team and the cars, call Joe Aquilante at (610) 482-0141.  Fans can visit the team’s website at www.srrtphoenix.com and the Phoenix Performance website at www.phoenixperformance.net

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