SCC: VIR: Subaru Road Racing Team preview

Subaru Road Racing Team Stays Determined thru Season's Last Lap
Aquilante, Skavnes currently second in Drivers' Championship

Serving as the final round of the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge road racing series, VIRginia International Raceway sets the scene for championship-seeking drivers Andrew Aquilante and Kristian Skavnes, co-drivers in the Subaru Road Racing Team's (SRRT) #111 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec.B.

The consistent, resilient duo currently holds second in the series Drivers' Championship points, 31 points out of the lead, with the season's final race set for Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway near Danville, Va.

"One car stands ahead of us," notes Joe Aquilante, whose Phoenix Performance in Phoenixville, Pa., prepares the team's Subaru. "We're not focusing on that," Aquilante said. "It is an extreme mathematical possibility but not a realistic one, so thinking about is just an unnecessary distraction for the drivers and the team supporting us. We have a 20-point advantage over the next driver, though. We'll run our normal consistent race and protect that advantage."

"You can't help but feel proud," added James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc., "that a one-car team, in a series sporting 10 manufacturers many incorporating multiple teams cars, has its drivers in second place entering the season's final race. Such an effort speaks volumes about the strength of this team and the impressive product which Subaru has in the Legacy platform."

The four-hour Bosch Engineering Octoberfest race has qualifying Saturday at 3:25pm ET, and the race's green flag is Sunday Noon.

"This will be the third race of the season, too, where the faster Grand Sports class cars are racing the same time we do, so we must remain vigilant in not getting caught up in racing competitor cars from the other class," Aquilante added.

Starting driver Andrew Aquilante is looking forward to the Virginia race. "VIR is like Watkins Glen, Daytona and Homestead in that it has a lot of high-speed corners and long straights. Those characteristics benefit the Subaru's engine capabilities, and we've done well at all three," he said. "But VIR also has many corners that are low-speed, and those areas are where Subaru's All-Wheel-Drive system and great handling package give us a bit of an edge."

Skavnes, who finishes the races, said the team, "... wants to end the season on a positive note with a win. We've won three races in this series, and we're not a long shot to win at VIR."

-credit: srrt