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Press Releases by Amy Ruman
August 23, 2005
Ruman Scores 2nd at GT-1 Mid-Ohio National, Finishes 2nd in
NE Points Division
Lexington, OH - It came down to a hard fought battle
at this weekend's GT-1 Mid-Ohio National for the Ruman Racing
team. A shootout between Trevor Hopwood and Amy Ruman for
the Northeast Division points standing came down to this race,
but Ruman came up just short.
The battle started with a single session qualifying that
had been moved to early Sunday morning due to severe storms
on Saturday afternoon. Ruman and Hopwood kept toping each
other's fast times during the session, with a near tie in
the end. Hopwood posted the pole time at a 1:27.333 and Ruman
grabbed second with a 1:27.370, a difference of 4 one-hundredths
of a second. Brian Kubinski was 3rd fastest with a 1:27.808,
Don Soenen was 4th with a 1:28.156 and Mike Canney rounded
out the top 5 with a 1:30.308.
The GT-1 race was the last race of the day on Sunday with
a field of 11 cars. Ruman beat Hopwood on the start into turn
one, leading until Hopwood passed her back into turn five
at the end of the back straight. The pair promptly sprinted
out from the pack with Ruman close behind Hopwood. Mid-way
through the race, Hopwood's car seemed to be going off a bit,
and Ruman tightened up the small gap. Ruman gained on Hopwood
under braking going into the keyhole, but Hopwood really got
on the brakes early into the turn this time. Ruman over compensated
to avoid hitting Hopwood, which caused her to spin. She dropped
to third, but did not give up. She gained on Lasco the next
few laps, and passed him at the end of the straight to retake
second. Ruman had Hopwood back in her sights, but there were
not enough laps left in the race to be close enough for a
pass. The field finished with Hopwood taking 1st, Ruman 2nd,
and Soenen in 3rd.
"My team really gave me a great car today but I just
couldn't quite win the race, so we lost the Northeast Point
Championship by only 2 points. I made a mistake in letting
Trevor pass me back at the beginning of the race but I felt
I had a better car at the end of the race; it was just so
unfortunate that I had to spin. The McNichols/Cenweld/Safety
Today Corvette is really going to be fast for the Runoffs
in September, and that's were my focus is at now," exclaimed
Ruman. "I really wanted to win the Northeast Point Championship
this year, but congratulations goes out to Trevor and his
team. Now my sights are set on the National Championship next
month."
Next Up - SCCA's National Runoffs week at Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course, OH starts September 19-25. The GT-1 race is scheduled
for 5:10pm Saturday, September 24.
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