Daly Secures Third Place In Star Mazda Championship

Laguna, Occtober 12, 2009: MAZDASPEED driver Conor Daly produced perhaps his most impressive race of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca finishing in fourth place having started fifteenth on the grid. After being second fastest on Friday, Conor was a legitimate pole position contender, but he broke a front suspension pushrod after two laps on new tires during Saturday morning’s qualifying session. After an exceptional job by his Andersen racing team to replace the broken part in the pit lane, Conor had three minutes left in the session when he left the pit lane for a last gasp effort. On the first flying lap, the gearbox broke which meant he would start from the fifteenth starting position.

By the end of the first lap he had passed four cars and was in the top ten by lap three. He was ninth by lap ten and closing on his team mate Richard Kent, who he passed on lap fourteen. By lap twenty five he passed Brazilian Giancarlo Vilarinho for seventh in a move that used the dirt, the kerbs and all the run off available. After passing Canadian David Ostella for sixth he closed in on another teammate, Joel Miller. While looking for a way past both Miller and fourth placed Brazilian, Caio Lara, Miller and Lara collided at turn two. Conor then set out after third place but he ran out of time. His fourth place secured him third place in the season championship which paid, $50,000. “that was probably my most satisfying race of the season. The car was good, passing was hard and just wild and scary at times but from where I started, I have to be happy. Our mission was to secure third place in the championship and we did it” said Conor.

Conor continued his remarkable end of season stat of being either first or second fastest in ten of the last thirteen official days of Star Mazda running at four different race tracks. Conor ends his Star Mazda season as one of six different race winners and one of five pole position winners.