Laguna Seca: K-PAX/3R Racing race report

Pobst's finish was good enough to win the 2007 SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Drivers Championship.

Monterey, California (October 21, 2007): Randy Pobst, of Gainesville Georgia, driving the #22 K-PAC/3R Racing Porsche GT3 coasted to a 2nd place finish in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship race here at Laguna Seca to win the 2007 Driver's Championship.

"This is just fantastic," said team owner Jim Haughey! "These guys and gals of 3R Racing, Michael and Randy, Porsche, everyone all did a great job all season! It was a very fun year!"

"It feels great," agreed 3R Racing's Bob Raub of the team's second driver's championship title. "We won it in 04 and were second in 05 so it was great to close the deal this year. Michael and Randy did a great job today and all year."

"What a relief," beamed Randy Pobst after winning the GT Championship! "First I have to thank Jim Haughey for this championship and of course Porsche for making such a great car. And then of course my great crew Chief Will Moody and the 3R gang.

"I am so very lucky that I got to be a part of such a great race team! It should be obvious that 3R Racing is a first class outfit! This isn't a factory team but they perform like one! One part of winning a championship is preparation and we definitely had that! We went the entire year with zero problems or DNFs on both cars. That is pretty impressive!

"A championship in racing is very much a team accomplishment and this championship was definitely a team win for the K-PAX and 3R Racing Team! One part of winning a championship is preparation and we definitely had that!"

Pobst who started from the pole and comfortably led the first half of the race but Andy Pilgrim's Cadillac made a late race surge and passed Pobst on the 22nd lap and Pilgrim survived a late race push by Pobst to win his second race of the season followed by the K-PAX/3R Racing Porsches of Pobst and Michael Galati. Randy Pobst led the opening 21 laps of the race often by a 2 second margin.

"I thought that we had the fastest car in the race today and in the first half we did," said Randy Pobst. "My K-PAX/3R Racing Porsche was great and almost effortless to drive and I was going 100 percent with no mistakes and no problems.

"I was sailing was able to easily maintain a gap on him (Pilgrim) early on but past the half way point my front tires started to get a little toasty warm and I developed a little bit of a push. It wasn't that my car slowed down at all, Will (Moody) gave me an amazingly consistent car, but that Andy just started going faster and he caught me. Andy had told me before the race that his car was good in the long runs and it sure was today!"

"Qualifying is one thing but the race is something else and the extra REWARDS weight started to take its toll as the race wore on," said Bob Raub of 3R Racing. "But I suppose that is what the system is designed to do. We didn't let him (Pilgrim) by because we really wanted to win the race but he closed up on Randy and got a good run on him coming out of turn 11 and got by into turn 2."

"I really didn't want to let him by but when he got along side of me I didn't contest the turn because I had the championship to consider and he couldn't beat me as long as I was right behind him," said Pobst who had been bumped off the road and out of both the race lead and the championship lead in the same turn earlier in the day during the Touring Car race."

"I really didn't want to see that happen again!"

Michael Galati, of Olmstead Ohio, finished the race right where he started in 3rd position. While Michael and his #23 K-PAX/3R Racing Porsche 911 GT3 didn't show the speed to challenge Pilgrim or Pobst for the win Michael ran unchallenged in the 3rd position some 11 seconds ahead of fellow Ohio driver Michael McCann's Dodge Viper in 4th.

As was the case with Pobst's K-PAX Porsche the added REWARDS weight coming from running at the front of the pack all year took a toll and Galati's Porsche, while strong in the early going faded ever so slightly at the end of the race as the tires began to heat up.

"My start wasn't so good but I got right back by Sofronas and after the yellow I started putting some pressure on Ron Fellows and got back by him pretty easily," Galati said of the early laps in the race.

"By the time I got past Fellows those guys (Pobst and Pilgrim) had gotten way ahead of me. I tried really hard to catch them and the car was working really well but I just couldn't do it."

Michael Galati indicated that after his early push to try to close the gap on the leaders his tires heated up and he developed a push into the turns and a bit of over steer coming out.

"The car was still pretty good but not quite good enough," Galati continued. "But I was able to pull away from those guys behind me pretty easily! I'm still pretty happy to finish on the podium again!

"It was a great year and my race engineer Dax (Raub) and the team did a phenomenal job for me," Galati said of his freshly completed season. "We went up against Will Moody who is one of the best crew chiefs in the business and Randy Pobst and Randy is one of the best Porsche drivers around.

"I was hoping we could win but if wouldn't I am glad that it was my teammate Randy Pobst that did! Congratulations to him!"

Michael wanted to be sure to thank Jim Haughey and Bob Raub for once again including him on the K-PAX team saying, "Our bosses gave us all the tools we needed to win and we did! This isn't a factory team but they perform like one! We went the entire year with zero problems or DNFs on both cars. That is pretty impressive!"

"I want to thank our team sponsors Friction Performance brakes and Red Line Oil," concluded Randy Pobst. "We started out slow and worked our way to the front and we won a championship! I am on a cloud right now!"

-credit: k-pax/3r