 MGR Racing Wraps ASC's 2005 Season at Buttonwillow
Phoenix, AZ, November 14, 2005. The final event of the ASC calendar proved to be a costly one for Team MGR Racing. Taking advantage of the open test session on Friday, Team MGR Racing spent the majority of the track time working on different engine tuning and suspension setup programs. Lap times kept improving consistently, and by the end of the day, Manuel Gil del Real and Adam Davis were confident that the 27 Symbolic Ford Taurus was a firm contender for a top five finish. On Saturday though, luck was not on their side. A great qualifying run was marred when Manuel ran into a slow moving racecar three turns before the end of his hot lap. What could have been a lap in the 1:58" range, ended up being a 2:00.8. That put the Symbolic car in 10th place at the start of the race.
The race started with a lot of "pushing and shoving" during the first couple of laps. Just when the field started to sort itself out, Manuel was chasing the #33 car of David Arnheiter. At the exit of the Bus Stop chicane, David appeared have lost control of his car. Manuel backed off the throttle to prevent hitting him. David gathered the car temporarily only to get it back sideways just before entering the next turn. At this time, Manuel was back at full speed and had no choice but to go off track to avoid hitting Arnheiter's car -now sideways right in front of him. Upon returning to the track surface, Manuel hit the curb at the entry of the corner and his car launched three feet up in the air. The impact ripped off the skid plate under the oil pan and damaged the oil pan as well. After coasting behind the pace car for three laps due to a separate incident on the track, it seemed like the car was still handling well and all gauges showed normal pressure and temperature numbers. However after green flag racing resumed, Manuel's engine started overheating at a dramatic pace. In just two laps his water temperature raised above 240 degrees, while his oil temperature climbed at even higher pace. After coasting to the pits, the engine was very much ruined and MGR Racing's weekend was effectively over.
Team MGR Racing plans to spend the off season continuing with their engine building program combined with on track testing at PIR and Firebird in preparation for ASC's 2006 season opener next February. It is also expected that the Symbolic 27 Ford Taurus will display a new design at the begining of next season. Be sure to check out the Interactive page on the Team's website to see dramatic In Car race videos from all venues. For more information about Team MGR Racing, please visit www.MGRRacing.net.
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