Watkins Glen Looms Large in Subaru Road Racing Team’s Schedule

- SRRT Looks to Make Up Ground After Difficult Race -

Phoenixville, PA. – June 29, 2012

– The world-famous Watkins Glen International road racing course near Watkins Glen, N.Y., the site of round seven of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series, has long been a favorite venue for the Subaru Road Racing Team.

“Returning to race at Watkins Glen is like going home,” said Joe Aquilante, owner of Phoenix Performance in Phoenixville, Pa., which prepares the team’s Subaru WRX STI race cars. “The Glen has long straights and steep elevation changes which will pose challenges for the entire Grand Sport field.”

Subaru Road Racing Team drivers Andrew Aquilante and Bret Spaude are also familiar with  the 3.4-mile “long course” layout used for Saturday’s 3pm race that will last two-and-a-half hours.

Spaude, of Bushnell, Fla., will qualify the 4-door #35 Subaru WRX STI at The Glen and race until it is time to slot teammate “AJ” Aquilante, of Chester Springs, Pa., into the cockpit for the charge to the checkered flag.

“Our team endured a difficult race at the last round in Road America,” commented James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc.  “Without warning from course workers waving yellow flags, Bret unknowingly drove into another car’s oil and found himself crashing at a very high-speed section of the race track.

“Thankfully, our driver walked away uninjured, which is a strong testament to both the structural integrity of our Subaru WRX STI, and the quality roll cage and safety equipment built by our race team.  Having a car ready to race at The Glen less than one week later just shows the level of preparation by SRRT.”

The race-prepped #35 SRRT WRX STI is developed to compete against rival teams fielding cars producing over 400 horsepower.

Practice and qualifying at The Glen will is today. The two-and-a-half hour race takes the green flag Saturday at 3 pm.

 

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 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

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

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This press release is available at www.media.subaru.com

“Subaru”, “WRX STI”, all model names, and the Subaru logo are registered trademarks of the Subaru subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd, Japan.

Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

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