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  • TURNER MOTORSPORT LEADS KONI CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 3 RACES TO GO!
    Created: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
    A strong weekend at Barber adds to Turner Motorsport's 2007 KONI Challenge season successes. BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK BIRMINGHAM, AL (July 22, 2007) Turner Motorsport went 2-for-2 at Barber this past weekend, with 2nd place finishes in BOTH the Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) classes. The team's drivers showed exceptionally strong performances this weekend, earning them podium spots in both races. With the season winding down, Turner Motorsport stands on excellent footing to defend their 2006 Championship title. Turner motorsport drivers Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood piloted the #95 H&R Springs/ Borla Exhaust BMW 330i to a second place finish. Burrows made a clean start from his front-row qualifying spot, and pressured the eventual winner for his entire stint. This strong runner-up showing increases the lead in the Street Tuner Championship standings by giving Burrows and Hopwood a 6 point lead over their competition. "I was just focused on getting a clean start an...
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  • Two Automatic Racing/Fresh from Florida BMWs in Top Five at Barber
    Created: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
    LEEDS, Ala. – Both of the Automatic Racing/Fresh from Florida BMW M3s finished in the top five during Sunday’s KONI Challenge Grand Sport race at Barber Motorsports Park, continuing the team’s streak of consistent top finishes.   Jeff Segal went from seventh to fourth with only two laps to go in the No. 99 Automatic/Fresh from Florida M3. Two cars ahead of him dropped back with mechanical problems or low fuel, and Segal passed his teammate Tom Long just before the checkered flag.   Although it is the first time in five races that Segal and Jep Thornton have missed the podium, fourth place was enough to give them a 15-point boost in the driver points, extending their lead to 30 points with three rounds remaining this season.   “We struggled to make the car work as well as it usually does,” said Segal. “We just couldn’t get a hold on the track, and in the race we couldn’t keep our tires from overheating. Other teams had...
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  • Automatic Racing: Hot, Hot, Hot in Alabama
    Created: Wednesday, July 18, 2007
    LEEDS, Ala. – Automatic Racing extended their points lead on Saturday during a sweltering KONI Challenge Grand Sport Race at Barber Motorsports Park. With their fifth-place run in the No. 09 Imported Car Store/Rogue Engineering/LandAir/Engine Music Studios BMW M3, Jep Thornton and Jeff Segal have now finished in the top five in all five races this season. The heat wasn’t enough to keep Thornton from doing a little singing and salsa dancing in the pits, after commenting that “it was a Buster Poindexter kind of race: ‘Hot, Hot, Hot!’” In addition to extending their string of top-five finishes, the race has also increased Thornton and Segal’s championship points lead from 16 to 20. “We’re back in familiar territory with the 55 and 37 car in the running with us,” said Thornton. “I feel better with a 20-point lead but it’s a long season and there are still five more races. Anything can happen; we’ve got to prote...
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  • Automatic Racing Ready to Bring Fruit and Vegetable Fury to Alabama
    Created: Wednesday, July 18, 2007
    LEEDS, Ala. – After three consecutive podium finishes, Automatic Racing is ready for a win heading into this weekend’s KONI Challenge race at Barber Motorsports Park. A new track record during the previous round at Watkins Glen and the points lead for drivers Jep Thornton and Jeff Segal has the team ready to dominate with the Fresh from Florida BMW M3s.   Thornton and Segal took over the Grand Sport driver points lead following a solid second-place finish at Watkins Glen in the No. 09 Automatic/Fresh from Florida BMW M3.    “It is true that I will not utter the ‘C’ word,” said Thornton of the points race. “I am not that superstitious, but this season is so not over. The teams we are competing with are all strong and capable of outstanding performances over these last four races. For us it is a matter of taking care of business and being consistent.”   If last year’s round at Barber is any indication, Thornt...
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  • C-MAX Racing’s Riddle and Dumoulin Win KONI Challenge at Watkins Glen
    Created: Tuesday, July 10, 2007
    WATKINS GLEN, NY – David Riddle and Jean-Francois Dumoulin proved that strategy is just as important as speed during Saturday’s KONI Challenge race at Watkins Glen, piloting the No. 26 Fiorano Racing / C-MAX / Denon Porsche 997 to the overall and Grand Sport win.   It is the first career victory for C-MAX Racing, who formed last year in order to campaign the KONI Challenge Series in 2007. Headed by team owner Riddle and managed by Kris Wilson, the team has been a consistent top finisher this season with the help of Fiorano Racing owner and crew chief Gianni Panico. In just eight races, C-MAX has earned six top-ten finishes, including a third for Riddle and Wilson at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.   C-MAX normally races just one Porsche 997, but they decided to enter two at Watkins Glen, bringing veteran driver Dumoulin on board for the three-hour race.   Qualifying was cut short by a black flag before Dumoulin and Riddle could post their fast laps, resultin...
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  • Fresh from Florida/Automatic Racing’s Thornton and Segal
    Created: Monday, July 09, 2007
    WATKINS GLEN, NY – Automatic Racing ended a very successful three-hour KONI Challenge race at Watkins Glen with a podium finish, all four BMW M3s in the top 12, and the Grand Sport driver points lead.   The weekend began with a new track record and the pole for Tom Long, who qualified first with a 2:05.134 in the No. 99 Fresh from Florida/Automatic BMW M3. He was nearly half a second under the previous record.   “It was great to set a new track record,” said Long, who co-drove with David Russell. “It was nice to not be at a track for a few years, then to come back and get the pole. It was a weekend where we really got to enjoy driving the car.”   Jeff Segal and Jep Thornton had plenty of fun, too, driving to a second-place finish in the No. 09 Fresh from Florida/Automatic BMW. It is the duo’s fourth podium of the season, and their third consecutive race in the top three. Finishing second at Watkins Glen ­– their highest...
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  • Automatic Racing Aiming for Fourth Podium at Watkins Glen
    Created: Thursday, July 05, 2007
    WATKINS GLEN, NY – Automatic Racing’s Jeff Segal and Jep Thornton hope to make their fourth podium appearance of the KONI Challenge season during this weekend’s 400-kilometer race at Watkins Glen International. The No. 09 Fresh from Florida BMW M3 has been on the podium three times this year, and both drivers are anxious to do it again. Thornton has done well at Watkins Glen in previous years, and two years ago he earned a top-ten finish there. “The last race I ran at Watkins Glen was pretty good,” said Thornton. “Jeff has a lot of laps there, so we’re doing some work on the car before this round. We’re both looking forward to going back to The Glen.” Segal drove at Watkins Glen two weeks ago, driving in the Rolex Series round. He said that transitioning back to KONI Challenge there is “completely different because it’s a really fast track, and it’s a lot different in the M3,” he said. “We’re stil...
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