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2008 Review
SPEED Touring Car • Round Six • Watkins Glen Int’l
Galati Wins Glen SPEED TC; Race Slowed by Yellows
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 8, 2008) –Michael Galati, of Olmsted, Ohio, took his first SCCA Pro
Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win of the season. Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee,
Wis., and Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., completed the podium for the Round Six race
at Watkins Glen International, part of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen weekend.
Starting third on the grid in the No. 95 Mazda
North America/Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6,
Galati fell back briefly at the start before
launching a charge on the RealTime Acuras of
Cunningham and Kleinubing.
The first full-course caution came on lap five,
when the Acura TSX of point leader Kuno
Wittmer was stuck in the gravel at the Boot
after contact with Jim Daniels’ MAZDA6.
When green flag racing resumed on lap seven,
Galati pulled alongside leader Cunningham into
Turn One to take over the lead, but the course
would return to full-course yellow before the
Galati could even complete the lap.
Michael Galati capitalized on a restart to take the
Watkins Glen win. SWC/Weber photo
The second yellow was issued for the MAZDA6 of Jason Saini, who needed help escaping from the
gravel at The Boot following contact with James Clay’s BMW. No sooner did green flag racing resume
on lap nine, then a scary incident in Turn 11 brought the yellow flags back out for good.
As James Clay lead a pack of cars out of Turn 11, his No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW 325i clipped the
outside tire wall, turning the car sideways. Daniels’ No. 75 Mazdaspeed/Stoptech/Racinghart
MAZDA6 was only inches off of Clay’s bumper at the time and nosed into the sideways BMW, sending
Clay into a spin and Daniels into the sand barrels. Clay’s spinning car collected teammates Seth
Thomas, in the No. 38 BMW 325i, and Nick Esayian, in the No. 34 BMW 325i, who also hit Daniels’
car before he came to a stop.
When the dust cleared, the track was nearly blocked at Turn 11, with debris littering the area. The
55.4-mile, 54 minute and 4.619-second race would end under caution, the cleanup taking too much
time. All the drivers involved walked away from the incident uninjured.
Both runner-up Cunningham in the No. 42 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX and thirdplace
finisher Kleinubing in the No. 43 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX regretted not
having more time to challenge for the lead. Kleinubing’s third-place finish puts him in the Drivers’
Championship lead by 26 points (611 to 585) over Wittmer. Cunningham is in third (572).
Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., finished fourth in the No. 97 Mazdapseed/Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6 and
recorded the fastest lap of the race, a 2:07.560 (95.954 mph). Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla.,
brought the No. 73 Mazdapseed/Stoptech/Racinghart MAZDA6 home in fifth.
Dino Crescentini finished sixth in the No. 46 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX, followed
by Byron Smith in the No. 52 Competition Associates/Smith West BMW 330i, who earned the
Sunoco Hard Charger Award advancing seven positions in the race.
Charlie Putman (MAZDA6), Wittmer (Acura TSX) and Saini (MAZDA6) completed the top 10.
Payton Wilson, of Chantilly, Va., earned the Racing Electronics Holeshot Award for advancing five
positions on the first lap in the No. 63 King Rat Motorsports Dodge SRT-4.
Acura now leads Mazda in the Manufacturers’ Championship by 10 points.
82 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide
SPEED Touring Car • Round Six • Watkins Glen Int’l
Fn. St. Car Laps During Race
Ps. Ps. No. Driver/Hometown, State Sponsor/Car Pts. Purse Cmp Status Fast Lap Speed
1 3 95 Michael Galati/ Olmsted/OH Mazda North America/Tindol MAZDA6 118 15500 16 2:07.644 95.891
2 1 42 Peter Cunningham/ Milwaukee/WI Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX 111 10700 16 -3.064 2:07.823 95.757
3 2 43 Pierre Kleinubing/ Coconut Creek/FL Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX 100 7500 16 -5.006 2:07.803 95.772
4 5 97 Chip Herr/ Lititz/PA Mazdaspeed/Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6 87 5200 16 -9.832 2:08.121 95.954
5 9 73 Charles Espenlaub/ Lutz/FL Mazdaspeed/Stoptech/Racinghart MAZDA6 80 4500 16 -7.075 2:07.560 95.534
6 8 46 Dino Crescentini/ Mahattan Beach/CA Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX 76 3800 16 -12.998 2:07.999 95.625
7 14 52 Byron Smith/ Salt lake City/UT Competition Assoc/Smith West BMW 330i 72 1300 16 -16.331 2:14.003 91.341
8 12 96 Charlie Putman/ Mills/WY Pesco/Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6 68 3100 16 -18.21 2:09.976 94.171
9 4 44 Kuno Wittmer/ Montreal/QU Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX 68 3000 15 -1 lap 2:08.624 95.161
10 7 74 Jason Saini(R)/ Fort Worth/TX Mazdaspeed/Stoptech/Racinghart MAZDA6 60 2400 15 -1 lap 2:07.800 95.774
11 10 75 Jim Daniels(R)/ Germantown/TN Mazdaspeed/Stoptech/Racinghart MAZDA6 57 1800 8 Crash 2:08.614 95.168
12 11 36 James Clay/ Blacksburg/VA BimmerWorld BMW 325i 54 700 8 Crash 2:08.407 95.322
13 13 34 Nick Esayian/ San Diego/CA BimmerWorld BMW 325i 51 600 8 Crash 2:09.562 94.472
14 6 38 Seth Thomas/ Cumming/GA BimmerWorld BMW 325i 48 550 8 Crash 2:10.544 93.761
15 16 63 Payton Wilson/ Chantilly/VA King Rat Motorsports Dodge SRT-4 45 650 2 Mech. 2:09.552 94.479
16 15 45 Patrick Lindsey(R)/ Santa Barbara/CA Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura RSX 43 450 1 Withdrawn no time
** - Faster than previous record
Purse includes contingency awards
Race Statistics
Length of Race: 16 laps for 54.4 miles
Time of race: 54 minutes, 60.358 seconds
Average speed: 60.358 mph
Margin of victory: 3.064 seconds, under caution
Lap leaders: Laps 1-6, #42 Peter Cunningham
Laps 7-16, #95 Michael Galati
Fastest race lap: #97 Chip Herr, 2:07.560 (95.954 mph)
Fastest qualifier: #42 Peter Cunningham, 2:05.885 (97.231 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #52 Byron Smith, +seven in race
Racing Electronics Holeshot Award: #63 Payton Wilson, +five on lap one
2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide 83