SCCA: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom: Bonaccorsi TEams with Tripoint for 2001 Touring Car Run
19 December 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Three-time and defending SCCA Club Racing Showroom Stock C National Champion Paul Bonaccorsi will make his Speedvision World Challenge Touring Car debut in 2001 with newly-formed TriPoint Motorsports in one of the teams two Mazda Proteg MPS.
Bonaccorsi, 40, captured his third SSC Valvoline Runoffs title in 2000 to go with Championships in 1996 and 1998 (Speedvision Touring Car Rookie of the Year Neal Sapp won the 1997 and 1999 titles). The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. resident took his last two titles in a Proteg.
TriPoint Motorsports, a new division of renowned Mazda tuner TriPoint Engineering, will build and campaign the cars in 2001. TriPoint was instrumental in the construction of the 2000 TC Kline Racing BMW 328Ci cars, which won two races and finished second in the Championship. TC Kline Racing will campaign two BMW M3s in Speedvision GT.
"I think our chances are looking pretty good for 2001 with Paul," said Craig Nagler, of TriPoint Motorsports. "We think hes every bit as talented as Neal [Sapp]. Theyve had the same kind of success. He should be very strong."
The team hopes to announce the second driver soon.
Mazda will have a strong presence in the 2001 Speedvision Touring Car Championship. In addition to the TriPoint-entered cars: as previously announced, ICY/SL Racing is building three Protegs for team owners Steve Lisa and Dave Rosenblum and three-time World Challenge race winner Chuck Hemmingson; AWR Racing will campaign the full season with rookie Charles Espenlaub; and Driven Performance is building two cars, one to be driven by 2000 SSC Runoffs runner-up and former champion Ken Payson.
Text provided by Eric Prill
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