Rob Bunker - Portland race

Rob Bunker didn't have the start position he wanted for the July 22 Star
Mazda Championship race at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, but that
may have been fortuitous. The Bridgewater, N.J., driver avoided a first-turn
incident that knocked eight cars out of the race and went on to finish
fourth.

 

Bunker started 13th on the 32-car grid, after narrowly missing on the
qualifying setup for the the No. 18 AIM Autosport Pro Formula Mazda. "We
thought the track would be a little bit colder and we were looking for more
of a pushy [understeering] track. We set the car up as such and
unfortunately, that wasn't the way the track went," he explained.

 

But he quickly overcame the disadvantage, passing four cars at the start of
the 45-minute, 29-lap race. He gained another five positions as the cars
ahead of him tangled at the first turn of the 1.944-mile track.

 

"Everything pretty much happened up high and I was as low as I could
possibly go. I held the absolute inside line all the way down the
straightaway," he said. "We were in the right place at the right time. I
just stayed low inside and I watched cars spin by me on the outside. By the
time we got through everything, I was sitting in fourth."

 

Bunker held the position to the checkered flag, logging consistently fast
laps. He recorded the fourth-fastest lap of the race just four laps from the
finish, noting the team's choice of a short qualifying session gave his
Goodyear tires extra race grip. "We only did about 10 laps in qualifying, so
those extra laps helped for the race," he said.

 

late podium

 

Bunker gained a position to finish third in the July 14 Star Mazda race at
Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, after the second-place car was
disqualified. With two strong finishes in a week, he said he is comfortable
racing at the front of the field: "It's definitely a great feeling, but it's
not overwhelming. I feel like I belong up there."

 

next

 

Bunker's next race will be in Trois-Rivières, Qué., on Aug. 6.

 

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