TEAM REPORTS (BURFORD) - KINETIC MOTORSPORTS DISPLAYS TRUE COMPETITIVENESS AT BARBER

Kinetic Motorsports retuned this weekend from Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala. after an over all successful weekend in the Grand Am KONI Challenge. Drivers Bryan Ortiz and Owen Trinkler were behind the wheel of the No. 79 Kinetic Motorsports BMW M3 at the event with the hopes of another top-five finish.

The event started out extremely well for Kinetic with Trinkler piloting the No. 79 into the top-five after qualifying with a fast time good enough to take fifth place. What is even more astounding is the fact the he had only two laps of practice in the BMW prior to providing Kinetic with an excellent starting position.

Putting qualifying behind them, the team focused on the task at hand and Trinkler took the green flag to begin the Grand Sport class race at Barber. By Lap 16, he had moved up to 4th only to jump up to the 2nd position just nine laps later. Following the 4th yellow flag of the race at Lap 26, the decision was made for Trinkler to enter the pits for fuel, tires and a driver change with Ortiz. Once complete, Ortiz made his way back on track in the 31st position.

The young star from Puerto Rico made short work of the field in front of him and drove the Kinetic BMW to the 18th position by Lap 40. Due to smoke coming from the rear of the No. 79, Grand Am made the decision to have Ortiz enter the pits for a quick inspection to make sure there was no greater issue. It was determined that the smoke was caused by some residual oil dripping on the exhaust and as a result, Ortiz was allowed back on track after the short stop.

Rejoining the rest of the GS class in 28th and one lap down on Lap 44, Ortiz again found himself in a compromised position with the grueling task of getting his lap back and gaining as many positions as possible before the end of the event. As usual, the up and coming professional displayed incredible talent and managed to cut through his competition rejoining the rest of the cars on the lead lap. By the time Lap 69 came around he had maneuvered the BMW to the 15th position. Ortiz gained yet another spot following a stop for fuel under yellow flag conditions with only minutes left in the event. Moving up to 13th with one lap to go, Ortiz was able to overtake one more car to finish the race in 12th.

“There was a quite bit of smoke in the car towards the end of the race when I had to come in and it was getting pretty hard to see,” said Ortiz. “It turned out to be something small but we still lost a lap after the stop but I managed to get that back and finish 12th. Owen did a great job in the car and put me in a position to possibly come away with a top three. Unfortunately we had to make that stop but I think we are all pleased with the results considering that we had to overcome the penalty. All of the guys on the team did a great job and I am looking forward to my next event with Kinetic.”