Mid-Ohio: Dion von Moltke race report

Team And Drivers Edge Closer To Point Leaders
Team Shines At Home Track Mid Ohio

Altamonte Springs, FL/June 25, 2010 Doran Racings roots to Ohio and connection to the fans at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course were on full display this past weekend for the Emco Gears Classic of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Series'. The team and driving tandem of Dion von Moltke and Memo Gidley did not disappoint.

The #77 McDonalds/PR Newswire/South African Airways Ford Dallara rolled off the transporter and onto the track on pace straight away. The team was able to manage a Top-5 position in the first practice and with ever-changing track conditions tried staying ahead of the curve as the weekend progressed. For the Trueman Akin practice Rookie driver Dion von Moltke posted the best time of the session finishing in P1. The young South African driver has now finished the Trueman Akin practice in P1 six of the seven races in 2010. Dion wouldn't have much down time to enjoy the moment as he would have to jump back in for Qualifying where he would put the Doran Racing entry 7 th on the starting grid. At the race start Dion would make up a few positions in the opening turns, but with little heat in the tires would settle back into P6 for much of his stint.

At the one-hour mark the team took advantage of a timely caution period to pit and swap drivers, putting Memo Gidley behind the wheel. Gidley would pick his battles carefully for the duration of the race, getting up to 4 th position at one point. The lack of top-end speed would cost the team especially in traffic as they lost some spots down to 9th in the closing laps of the race. An ambitious move by one of the cars ahead took two cars off track as Gidley drove by to finish in 7th place, another solid run and Top-10 for the Doran Racing team, the teams 6th Top-10 in seven races this season. "It was nice notching another solid Top-10 at Mid-Ohio this last weekend! We are getting some upgrades on the McDonalds/PR Newswire/South African Airways Ford Dallara for the Daytona race so we are really hopeful we can break out onto the podium there!" states von Moltke. Those sentiments are shared by his co-driver as Gidley mentions; "It was nice to race at Mid Ohio and have another solid run in the #77 McDonalds/PR Newswire/South African Airways car. The Doran crew did a nice job all weekend and our pit strategy was right on. Dion and I have seemed so close to a podium in many races this year...I am anxious to see if we can make this happen at the Daytona race. It would be a big accomplishment if we pull it off".

Entering the second half of the racing season, the team is keeping within reach of the leaders for many of the series' season accolades, and looking to further close the gaps at Daytona International Speedway for the Brumos Porsche 250 on July 3rd. The #77 Doran Racing team is currently 9th in points, a mere 18 points out of 3rd place in the championship. Dion von Moltke is keeping up his momentum as well as the young driver is currently 18 points out of the Top-10 in the Driver Championship, ranks 4th in the annual Jim Trueman Award standings and 2nd in Rookie of the Year overall, 1st in Rookie of the Year of all Daytona Prototype drivers.

-source: www.dionvm.com.