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A Race Report
| captured her third GT-1 pole... |
Munroe Falls, OH – Amy Ruman and Niki
Ruman took to the track earlier in July at Watkins Glen International Raceway
in New York. Amy Ruman was ready to go after the test day on Friday. Ruman
captured her third GT-1 pole of the season in the morning qualifier, and
it held through round two in the afternoon. Bill Rozmajzl got under
Bill Thumel in the afternoon qualifier to set the grid for the top three
GT-1's. Ruman set the pace early by jumping out in front of the
field posting anywhere from a 5 to 11 second gap on Bill Thumel in second
place. Ruman
broke the track record on lap three, posting a time of 1:52.67.
Unfortunately
the race moved in the wrong direction for Ruman as she slowly started
to lose her lead. Thumel passed Ruman into turn one about halfway
through the race, and then Ruman passed Thumel back going up the esses. On
the same lap Thumel passed Ruman back heading into the boot. Bill
Rozmajzl then caught Ruman on the last lap of the race to make a pass
for second, leaving Ruman disappointed in third place.
| the track just ate up our tires... |
"The track just ate
up our tires today. By mid-race I lost all grip in the rear, I
couldn't get off the corners to put down any kind of speed. My
lap times fell and the guys just caught me. We made a mistake and
should have run a different tire compound because this track is just
so fast. At least
we got a track record!" stated Ruman. Ruman inches
back into first in the GT-1 Northeast Division points chase with 31 points.
Niki Ruman was back to racing after welcoming son Robert James
Ruman Skinner to the team on March 17. She qualified 18th
for the race, which was mid-pack in the large SRF field. She
diced it out with a few competitors most of the race and ended
up finishing 19th. "My last race was here
at the Glen a year ago, and I was quite happy to get back into the
seat. I was able to improve on my times throughout the weekend
and was pleased with that. I had a tough start in the race; I got
caught up in a slower lane and lost several spots. I spent
most of the race trying to recover those lost positions. But
I had the best cheering section, with my two and a half year old
daughter Katie and three month old son Bobby!"
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