Stevenson Corvette Lime Rock Race Report

Attached is a .pdf version of the Stevenson Motorsports Corvette Grand-Am Rolex Series race report from Lime Rock Park. The text also appears below. A photo of the #57 Corvette on the track is also attached.

Andrew S. Hartwell
www.ashautomobilia.com
ashartwell@att.net

May 30, 2007

For Immediate Release:

Stevenson Corvette Drives To Top 10 Finish At Lime Rock Park

Marc Bunting and Dominic Cicero were able to finish in 9th place in the Grand-Am Rolex Series GT race at Lime Rock Park thanks to some determined driving that kept them in the hunt for a top 10 spot from the very beginning. The pair were once again piloting the just five-race-old Crawford Race Cars built #57 Chevrolet Corvette amidst a field of veteran teams running Porsche's, Mazda's and Pontiac's and they held their own against some incredibly tough competition.

Dominic Cicero: "The level of the series is so high right now; the top 15 are usually all within just a half of a second of each other."

Besides overcoming the obstacle of other racers on the track, often times a race team has to overcome obstacles in the form of mechanical gremlins or simply learning what a car wants to do on a race track. Cicero feels this team is finding ways to minimize the gremlins and maximize their learning curve.

"The only problems we had this weekend were the lack of time the guys have had to spend working with the car and we as the drivers have had with it on track. We have been playing catch up since the beginning of the season and we are really trying to focus on this one car. But we made some real progress this weekend."

Marc Bunting: "We had a great car for the race. We were able to run consistent times throughout the race which allowed us to move our way up through the field. I had a good battle with Mark Wilkins in the #17 car (Minestar / Tim Horton's sponsored Porsche GT3 Cup) as well as several other cars. The crew has been working very hard on the #57 car and our result at Lime Rock is a testament to all their hard work."

The race was held on Memorial Day weekend and was the official first racing event of Lime Rock's 50th anniversary season. Track time opened on Friday with practice sessions in the morning and afternoon. Temperatures reached the mid 90 degree mark making every run a time to sweat. When qualifying came on Saturday, things had cooled down about 10 degrees and Bunting was able to put the Corvette 14th on the starting grid, ahead of 9 other cars. Come Monday, race day, the Stevenson car stayed within a lap of the race winning #06 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R of Tim Lewis Jr. and Leighton Reese

Cicero: "There was a lot of talk about the advantages of having a Corvette here but I didn't really see it. It's not really a point and shoot track, were we could use some of our horsepower, its all momentum and being smooth. But the track was good, the temps stayed pretty low, and the fans were great.

"It was my first time to Lime Rock and I really thought it was a track that had a lot of secrets and character. I loved it. I just want to thank Stevenson Auto Group and all of our sponsors and mostly the guys behind the scenes, they are getting it done. We are all working so hard to get the team where it should be, on top of the podium."

The next race in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series will be on June 9th - the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen - at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. The Stevenson's sister car - the #97 Corvette of Vic Rice and Tommy Riggins - is expected to return to the series then.

The 2007 Grand American Rolex Series GT calendar:

Jan. 27-28 Rolex 24 at Daytona

March 3 Mexico City

March 24 Homestead

April 28-29 Virginia International Raceway

May 19-20 Laguna Seca

May 28 Lime Rock Park

June 9 Watkins Glen, 6 hours

June 23-24 Mid-Ohio

July 5 Daytona 250

July 14 Iowa

July 21-22 Barber Motorsports Park

Aug. 3 Montreal, Quebec

Sept. 15 Miller Motorsports Park

For more information on the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series visit: http://grandamerican.com/Home.asp

For more information on the Stevenson Motorsports team visit:

www.stevensonmotorsports.com

For more information on the Stevenson Automotive Group visit: