 Team MGR Racing Gets First 2006 Podium Finish at Willow Springs
Phoenix, AZ, February 13, 2006. The first event of the ASC season turned out to be more eventful than anticipated for Team MGR Racing. Their arrival at Willow Springs was delayed over three hours due to mechanical problems with the Team's transporter during the trip. Despite a short night sleep, the Team's Crew Chief, Adam Davis, this time with the assistance of newly recruited Ralph Byers (Crew Chief for Leo Motorsports), had the car ready for the first test session at the track by 8.00am on Friday. Although the #27 Symbolic Ford Taurus was quick right away, the Team struggled in the morning with fuel pressure and ignition issues. However, the real hurdle came later in the day when the transmission broke effectively finishing the Team's chance to continue testing on Friday. Once again, Adam and Ralph worked feverishly all evening and into the night to rebuild the transmission in time for Saturday's first practice session... and their effort paid off. Equipped with the new gearbox, Manuel Gil del Real put the car in fourth place during the qualifying session. Saturday's race produced the first podium finish for the Team. Manuel was able to advance to third place at the drop of the green flag by out braking David Arnheiter into the first corner. After a tight fight with the #62 car behind him for the first half of the race, Arnheiter started to fade away leaving Manuel with a secured third place finish. On Sunday morning, and after further improvements in the car's ignition system, the #27 Symbolic Ford Taurus was fastest in the morning practice... but once again, the Team's misfortunes returned during the qualifying session when a bolt holding the power steering bracket broke and effectively ruined any chances for a good qualifying time. Starting Sunday's race in ninth place, Manuel had contact in turn three with the #94 car driven by Dennis Hannel a rookie driver in the Series. Although the damage to Manuel's car was not major, it turned out to be enough to ruin the front aerodynamics of the car and create severe understeer condition throughout the race. Still, Manuel Gil del Real was able to move up to sixth place by the time he crossed the checkered flag. Impressively though, despite the aero deficiency, the #27 fast lap on Sunday was four tenths lower than the day before, proving that the car could have been a race contender had it not been for the contact suffered at the beginning of the race. Team MGR Racing's next race is at California Speedway on March 11-12. For more information about the Team, please visit www.MGRRacing.net .
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