SCC: Laguna Seca: Powell Motorsport race notes

TOP TEN FINISH FOR POWELL MOTORSPORT TEAM AT LAGUNA SECA GRAND AM CUP EVENT CORSA PERFORMANCE #11 CADILLAC CTS-V

Devon Powell and Don Knowles, drove the #11 Corsa Performance CTS-V to 6th ; Normand Guindon and Marc-Antoine Camirand's #07 Chemcraft CTS-V overcame brake problems to run fastest of the Powell team cars, but an over long pit stop set them a lap down, surviving the caution filled, difficult race at this challenging California race finishing 21st of 68 cars.

The hardworking Powell team are still searching for a level playing field in Grand Am Cup racing, and the results of the intensely competitive Laguna Seca Grand Am Cup event , race 4 of the 11 race series, shows they are holding their own.

"Holding our own perhaps" said #07 lead off driver Norm Guindon after the race, "but not good enough. We have the strategy, the car is working better every time out, and I am getting faster on every lap, but it seems lady luck is not on our side, and clearly we are lacking straight line speed."

The Cadillac CTS V races with a production LS6 V8 engine rated at 405 h.p. but the Grand Am officials require the engine to use a 58 mm inlet restrictor, the only restricted car in the Grand Am Cup series. Published reports from Ford show the Mustang with a 428 h.p. engine. For the Cadillac boys, a restrictor dropping the muscular Cadillac V8 down to 380 h.p. is hard to take.

"It is what it is, " said team leader John Powell, " and it is hard for us to be patient while the series officials deal with equality issues in Grand Am Cup. I am confident that as the season moves to the east coast adjustments will be made, our team drivers will be back racing on tracks they know very well, and our results will improve."

So far this season, the Powell team has had mixed results. The #07 Chemcraft Cadillac finished 7th at Daytona, ran fast with the leaders at Santo Domingo but got punted out of the race mid way, and finished well back, and was handicapped in a late race crash, involved when a lapped car tangled with the #11 Corsa Cadillac. At the time the two Powell teams cars were running 2nd and 3rd on the track, with 12 laps remaining.

The star-crossed #11 Corsa Cadillac made just one lap at Daytona with a broken clutch, finished 3rd at Santo Domingo, and was crashed out of 2nd place at Fontana, a similar fate happened at Fontana in 2004, racing in the lead for the Grand Am Cup driving title. This time the #11 CTS-V finished 14th.

"The team strategy is good" Marc Antoine Camirand reported " but it sure is hard to run so hard and almost to keep up with the leaders. We must improve to run at the front, and that is my goal, to work with Norm and the team to achieve a good result."

#11 drivers Devon Powell and Don Knowles agree with their team mates. Don Knowles is a veteran race driver. "Grand Am Cup is a great race series with many excellent teams, drivers and different makes of car." Don Knowles is up beat about the future. " The Cadillac CTS V is racing well, the car will only get better, and with a month to get ready for the next race at Watkins Glen in June, and then a race at my co-driver Devon Powell's home track in Mosport a week later, things are bound to be better."

Fifth race in the 2005 Grand-Am Cup Series, will be held June 11, 2005 at Watkins Glen, N.Y. Race six, the Mosport race in Canada, is scheduled for June 18, 2005

The U.S. Sports Car International 200,at Laguna Seca will be telecast on Speed channel.

-pms-