RACE: Mishael Abbott June Sprints race notes

Steady Improvements for Mishael Abbott in her C Sports Racer

Elkhart Lake, WI (June 24, 2007) -- Mishael Abbott and her K-Hill Motorsports team made steady improvements to her Elan DP-02 throughout the weekend. After the first day of qualifying Mishael was ninth fastest in the C Sports Racer class at The 52nd Annual Piggly Wiggly June Sprints® National Road Racing Championships. For the early Sunday morning final qualifying session Mishael completed just a couple laps before she noticed brake problems and pulled off the track.

The brakes on Mishael's car #63 C Sports Racer had overheated and cracked the front rotors. The K-Hill team scrambled to find replacement rotors and install them before her afternoon race.

Mishael wasn't able to improve her qualifying time in the all-important second session while a few other competitors did. Mishael started the race in eleventh among C Sports Racers and seventeenth in the combined race group of forty-one cars, including cars in three other classes.

A steady move through the field at the 4-mile Road America race track brought Mishael up to as high as fourth place. Suffering from a severe push condition for the final six laps she lost only a couple places to finish sixth in the C Sports Racer class and twelfth overall.

"For a while we didn't think I would be able to make the race this afternoon," said Mishael afterward. "I was already packing the trailer and then had to get back in race mode. Overall it was a pretty good finish though. We made improvements to the car every time out and with what we learning during the race today, we will be better prepared for the next race. Thanks to my Dad, K-Hill Motorsports and Brad Ellingson with Repcon Media for all their hard work this weekend."

Mishael is hoping to do some testing in both the Formula Mazda and C Sports Racer cars and will be entering more SCCA races in the coming month.

-credit: ma