Rob Bunker - Milwaukee preview

A change of pace is paying off for Rob Bunker. After a frustrating Star
Mazda Championship race in Houston on May 13, the Bridgewater, N.J., teen
stepped back and analyzed his race strategy. His detailed plans had been
flawless, but they missed a crucial element – the pure pleasure of racing.
As many veteran drivers will attest, having fun makes winning easier.

 

Bunker entered the May 20 race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a new
focus and immediately set the fastest pace in the opening practice session –
in heavy rain. He enjoyed the same result in adverse conditions during his
early karting years.

 

"When it comes to finding the limits of the car in the rain, we get up to
speed so much quicker than anybody else. We haven't quite figured out how to
do that in the dry yet, and that's setting us back. But when it comes to
rain, cold, hot weather, anything that isn't perfect, that's when we're at
our best," he said.

 

"It's a mindset thing: everyone is expected to spin or crash in bad weather.
When it gets to that point, when people are afraid to really push the car,
is when I seem to push the most. [In karting] there were times when people
wouldn't practice in the rain, they wouldn't race, they'd try to close down
the track, and we'd still be out there working hard."

 

The Mid-Ohio race didn't go as well as the practice, with another competitor
knocking Bunker out early. But the strategy test was successful.

 

"We showed everyone that we're fast. Now we keep pushing and pushing for our
own good," he said. "We're not working so much on coaching plans. For now,
we're working on just trying to have a good time, trying to make racing as
fun as we can, trying not to think of it so much as a job. When I'm out on
the track and it's in my head that this is challenging myself and no one
else, it's rewarding."

 

Bunker tested the No. 18 AIM Autosport Pro Formula Mazda on the Milwaukee
Mile in preparation for his next race, on June 3. He was surprised by his
first oval-track experience.

 

"I really thought the oval would be boring, it would be easy. It wasn't
either of those, but it was a lot of fun. It's ridiculous how different all
four corners of the track are – it's night and day on each one. There are a
lot of tuning things that you would never think to do on a road course that
work on an oval."

 

He found his goal, too: "The big challenge that appeals on ovals is that you
can eventually do it 'flat' if you try hard enough."

 

###

 
Sylvia Proudfoot
HYPERLINK "mailto:sylvia@spurcom.ca"sylvia@spurcom.ca
403 287 3945