Mosport: Jeff Courtney race report

MOSPORT HOPES FALL FLAT
Courtney Loses Tire at Mosport International Raceway

Toronto, Canada (May 17, 2009) -- Jeff Courtney, driver of the Woodhouse Performance #99 KENDA Tires Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, got his wheels wet on Mosport's International Raceway this weekend at the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship. The weekend opened up cold and rainy which made car set-up difficult.

"Friday went well, we were happy with our initial testing runs," said Courtney, "Saturday, however, was another story." The rains on Saturday kept many drivers off the course, but not the Woodhouse Performance Team. "We tried some new things on the car, but we may have tried too hard. I felt like between trying new things and the rain changing the track conditions, somewhere along the line we lost our set-up," said Courtney.

Courtney qualified for a 10th place start on race day. While running in 9th place, chasing down Sonny Whelen for 8th, Courtney suspected there was a problem because he had some difficulty maneuvering the car. Turns out, Courtney had cut a tire. "I had a hard time communicating with the crew. Especially in some of those turns, the reception was just not there." In turn 8, Courtney drove the car hard into the turn and felt the tire go. "I could feel the tire just roll over and peel off," said Courtney. By the time Courtney got the #99 KENDA Tires Dodge Viper Competition Coupe back to the crew, it was too late for him to return to the track.

"It's disappointing, we worked really hard. Rick Maxwell and the whole Woodhouse Performance Team really put a lot of hard work and effort into this race. You just can't plan for a flat tire," said Courtney.

Jason Daskalos took home his first win in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championship series this weekend at Mosport. "It's great for Jason, I'm really happy for him. He's a great guy and a great driver and he deserved the win," said Courtney.

Courtney caught some additional on-camera action during an interview with Tom Hnatiw. "It was cool, Tom's a great announcer," said Courtney. "World Challenge has really raised the bar this year, it's a privilege to be in the series." Catch the interview and the race action on the SPEED channel; look for date and times to be posted on www.world-challenge.com.

-credit: www.jeffcourtneyracing.com