The No. 191 Aston Martin brings home a win and a third-place finish in two World Racing League endurance races this weekend

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (9 May 2021) – Stoner Car Care Racing fielded by Automatic Racing dominated the Can Am Endurance Cup weekend at Road America, capturing a victory and a third-place finish in Round Four of the 2021 World Racing League (WRL) season.

Rob Ecklin Jr. (Lancaster, Pa.), Steven Davison (Washington, DC) and Ramin Abdolvahabi (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) combined to pilot the No. 191 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 through two races, 16 hours and 349 drama-filled laps at “America’s National Park of Speed,” with 77 cars in four separate classes making for nonstop action at the iconic 4.048-mile circuit.

Race one

The temperature gauge read a mere 55 degrees as Ecklin took the green flag at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Starting 21st, he warmed his tires quickly and raced into the top four with only 37 minutes expired off the clock.

But 45 minutes into the race, two cars came together in The Kink, requiring enough clean up time to necessitate a red flag. Ecklin ducked into pit lane as soon as the race resumed, handing the wheel to Davison, who returned to the fray in 16th position. The Automatic Racing squad, led by team manager David Russell, engineer Kirt Wightman and strategist Renu Malhotra, chose to bring the car back to pit lane four laps later and establish themselves on an alternate fuel strategy, hoping that the chips would fall their way at race’s end. By the time Abdolvahabi jumped into the car with just over two hours elapsed, the field had spread out enough that the team was able to come into pit lane for service and maintain their position in the top three.

The most significant “moment” in the race came with three and a half hours to go. Tagged on the left side in Turn 7 while passing a lapped car on the inside, Davison was sent into a spin but recovered quickly, heading into pit lane for regular service, a change to Abdolvahabi and a quick check to confirm there was no significant damage.

Abdolvahabi immediately set his sights on the lead, engaging in a 30-lap battle with the lone prototype in the field, with both cars trading the lead throughout the stint. Unfortunately, a penalty for a pass under yellow put the team back in fifth position. With just under 90 minutes remaining and more than a minute behind the leaders, Ecklin took the wheel for a double stint to try and get back as many positions as possible.

Putting the hammer down, Ecklin made a daring pass in Turn 5 to grab second position. Then, with 11 minutes remaining, he slid to the inside and out maneuvered the prototype, grabbing the race lead. Ecklin put his head down and powered to the checkered flag and the apparent victory, setting the team’s quick time of the day on Lap 174 of 176 race laps, with a time of 2:27.762. Unfortunately, race stewards deemed late race contact too much for a series whose mission statement guarantees contact-free racing, and the team was penalized one lap, which put them back to a very disappointing fourth.

Race two

With Sunday’s race starting an hour earlier than Saturday’s, ambient temperatures hovered in the low 40s as drivers took the green flag. Davison started sixth but his forward progress was halted during a lengthy yellow 10 minutes into the race, as a car spun and stopped sideways in the exit of the Carousel. After four laps of yellow, Davison recommenced his charge, climbing steadily through the field on his double stint, claiming second and setting the team’s fast time of the race with a lap of 2:28.028 before handing off to Abdolvahabi.

Abdolvahabi played a patient game, running consistent laps as the gap to the leader, the No. 242 BMW, remained in the 40-second range. The second caution of the day flew just as the car entered the pit window, and Abdolvahabi headed in for scheduled service. As the race returned to green, the Aston Martin came out of pit lane right on the rear wing of the BMW, and two laps later, Abdolvahabi drew alongside at start/finish and made the pass for the lead going into Turn One. Returning to his signature consistent laps, Abdolvahabi pushed out to a 21-second lead and led for 21 laps before heading to pit lane and a hand-off to Ecklin, who returned to the race in second position, back behind the now-familiar BMW – but only for a lap, as the leader pitted, giving Ecklin a 36-second lead with 3:22 remaining.

A full course yellow brought the field back to Ecklin, who took the opportunity to come in for service after leading 15 of his stint’s 16 laps. Ecklin came back out on track again behind the No. 242 BMW, only to see second position become a race lead of nearly two laps when the BMW was given a two-lap penalty for unsafe driving during the yellow. With two hours remaining, Ecklin focused on hitting his marks and keeping the Aston Martin under control.

Coming into pit lane for a final splash of fuel with 45 minutes remaining, Ecklin briefly lost the lead, but roared back in front when the BMW came to pit lane for full service. Maintaining his lead and keeping his composure, Ecklin took the checkered flag with a winning margin of 46.690 seconds – driving a nearly four-hour stint to bring the car home.

“It helped that I had two caution periods to break it up!” said Ecklin. “Everything worked perfectly today – pit stops, time in the pits, strategy, with solid performances from all the drivers. Everything really came together. With no pressure from behind, we could just run our race and bring it home. It was a great fight for P1 both yesterday and today, and today, the race really came to us.”

“It’s really difficult to win in endurance racing and in my mind, it comes down to three things,” said Davison. “One, the drivers – you have to stay clean and consistent. Two, you have to have good pit stops, and we have the most professional team out here. Third, you need a little bit of luck! We got a little of all three today. But Rob Ecklin is our closer, I’ve never seen anybody more solid to finish a race. It’s so exciting to watch him, and I’m glad it’s him and not me! We feel vindicated today, to earn the win after what happened yesterday. We ran a clean, hard race.”

“That was a good weekend, but a stressful one!” said Abdolvahabi. “We started P21 yesterday and just plugged away, and that’s the name of the game in endurance racing. Even with the penalties, we fought back, and that showed what the team can do. And today, we were so consistent. I was just chipping away at the leader, looking for a weakness, and I was able to make the pass for the lead. The team made some great strategy calls all weekend – it really was a team effort. The pit stops were immaculate, the pit strategy was spot on and all three drivers put the hammer down. It was very satisfying.”

“The ebb and flow of these races is amazing, between penalties, pace and pit strategy,” said Russell. “There are so many variables that are largely out of your control so you have to keep your head down and stick to your plan. Kirt and Renu had great strategies in both races. You also have to execute on pit lane and the crew just crushed it today, with the fastest stops in the race. And of course, all three drivers did a phenomenal job. We had decided to double-stint the drivers today and all three drivers did a great job. Steven set the quick lap of the day and Ramin first took the lead, and Rob was able to stay in at the end. We felt that it made more sense to leave Rob in since he was so familiar with the condition of the car and the track at the end. That gave us an advantage and we needed every advantage in the book. Everyone equally contributed to the results this weekend!”

The next IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race slated on the Stoner Car Care Racing schedule is Watkins Glen International in June.

About Invisible Glass

Automatic Racing sees their way to victory with Invisible Glass, the top-selling automotive glass cleaner in the United States. The Invisible Glass product line includes aerosol and spray bottle cleaner, Invisible Glass with rain repellent for windshields and wiper blades. Find more online at https://www.invisibleglass.com/

About Stoner Car Care

Stoner Car Care produces high-performance car washes, waxes, polishes, and dressings for auto enthusiasts and car care professionals. The Stoner Car Care line-up includes Invisible Glass, America’s #1 Automotive Glass Cleaner, along with many other appearance products. Whether driving, washing or waxing, Performance Matters! Stoner car care proudly formulates all of our product since 1942

About Automatic Racing

Based in Orlando, Automatic Racing is one of the longest-running teams in the paddock, forming in 2001 and competing in all but one of the 11 MICHELIN Pilot Challenge races at Daytona. The team has been developing, preparing and racing the prestigious Aston Martin Vantage GT4 since 2012. Automatic Racing won the 2017 MICHELIN Pilot Challenge title.

BARCELONA, Spain (9 May 2021) – Jak Crawford’s first weekend in FIA Formula 3 competition proved to be a valuable learning experience, with the 16-year-old Houston driver gaining positions in all three of the season’s opening races at Circuit de Catalunya.

The Red Bull Junior Team driver, making his FIA Formula 3 debut for Hitech Grand Prix, finished 13th and ninth in Saturday’s two events before placing 18th in Sunday’s finale.

A strategy miscue in Friday’s qualifying came back to plague Crawford all weekend. With most of the teams opting to use three sets of tires in qualifying, Hitech elected to use two sets for the session to save one new set to utilize in race action.

Crawford was first driver to set a flying lap in qualifying, immediately going quicker than his best time in practice. As time wound down, Crawford stayed out while the bulk of the field made a third stop for new tires, and picked up speed for their final laps. Crawford also turned in his best lap at the end, but it was only good for 20th overall.

“We made a bad decision with the amount of tires that we ran,” Crawford said. “We were back in 20th, which wasn’t that good.”

Starting 20th for Race 1, Crawford gained two positions on the opening lap and then patiently worked his way up through the field. He took 13th with five laps remaining, and held that position as a race-ending caution impeded his forward progress. The 2021 F3 format sees the top 12 finishers from Race 1 inverted for the Race 2 start, with Crawford narrowly missing out on a shot at starting from pole with his 13th place result.

“The race was quite good,” he said. “It was probably my best race of the weekend. I made some good overtakes and gained seven spots. Finishing 13th was a bit of a shame, because the top 12 got reversed for the second race. I think I was only two laps away from the pole position for Race 2, but then there was a safety car.”

Under the new qualifying format, Enzo Fittipaldi – who finished just ahead of Crawford – started on the pole for Race 2, with Crawford 13th. He took 12th at the start and moved up to a ninth-place finish.

“For Race 2, there was a bit of mayhem, a lot of carnage going on, but I kept it clean,” Crawford said. “There was definitely an opportunity to get two more places, but unfortunately with all the battling all I did, I lost the DRS. That allowed me to get passed on the straights, which cost me two positions. But I’m still happy to finish ninth, and that allowed me to get some points.”

For Sunday’s Race 3, the field was set by original qualifying times, putting Crawford again in 20th, and he lost two positions on the opening lap.

“I had a good start, but then I got boxed in and had nowhere to go,” he explained. “Then later on the first lap there was an incident in front of me, and that allowed me to get passed by three people. That defined my race, as it took me a few laps to get back by them.”

He made an excellent pass on Lap 10, going deep to the inside and touching the grass in Turn 1 to pass two cars to gain 19th. Running 3.4-seconds behind Fittipaldi, Crawford quickly narrowed that gap and passed the Brazilian with two laps remaining.

“Once I got by them, I was running the quickest on the track when I was running in free air,” Crawford said. “Overall, the weekend was not that great, but there were a lot of positives with the racing. I think all three races were pretty good, even though they had some bad parts in them. Next time, we need to work on nailing the qualifying.”

Crawford will have little chance to rest following his busy weekend. He heads to Jerez in Spain for a two-day F3 test on Wednesday, and then travels to Circuit Paul Ricard in France for the second round of Euroformula Open Championship competition which takes place next weekend.

The next round for F3 will be June 24-26 at Le Castellet in France. The seven-weekend season concludes Oct 21-23 at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas.

Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (8 May 2021) – Round 3 Racing (R3R) raced to podium finishes with two of the team’s four entries in Saturday’s World Racing League (WRL) race at Road America with runner-up results in both the GP2 and GP3 classes. The race finish marked the second consecutive double podium weekend for the Joilet, Illinois-based team.

The team will look for even more success in Sunday’s eight hour endurance race for the second half of the doubleheader event weekend at the legendary Wisconsin circuit.

No. 601 Team Sentinel Porsche Boxster

The Team Sentinel driver lineup of Hannah Grisham, Shea Holbrook and Christian Maloof teamed to drive to a hard fought second-place result in the GP2 class.

Maloof took the green flag from third where he quickly began laying down fast laps with his fastest lap of the race of 2:38.092-seconds coming on Lap 53. 10 laps later, Maloof brought the Porsche Boxster to pit lane to hand over control to Grisham.

Grisham, Holbrook and Maloof combined to manage both the challenges in traffic with the multi-class field and the overall fuel consumption for 124 laps before Holbrook took the closing stint. Holbrook took over the GP2 lead on Lap 147 before a late race penalty was issued moving the No. 601 back into second.

“I had a lot of confidence heading into my final stint knowing we had a strong car,” said Holbrook. “Our target was to find lap time today so we could know what we needed to keep our position. With a super reliable and predictable car we know what we have. We delivered results but being so close to a win gives us a taste of what we can do and use that to get the win tomorrow.”

No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club Porsche Boxster

The No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club Porsche Boxster of Cole Loftsgard, Carter Pease, Dennis Neel and Jim Ptak continued their podium streak with a second-place finish in the GP3 class.

Starting just off GP3 class pole in second, Loftsgard started the eight-hour race in the No. 605 Porsche where he quickly took over first place. Consistent lap times allowed Loftsgard to settle into an impressive race pace as he grew the gap to the field to over one lap.

Ptak and Neel continued the consistency familiar with the No. 605 working at maintaining the lead. Pease was slated for the final stint closing out the opening race of the weekend.

Unfortunately, an untimely ball joint failure forced the No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club machine to pit lane for repairs. The Round 3 Racing squad hustled to make the repairs and have the car safely back in action quickly enough to maintain the team’s podium threat. Pease returned to the course in third on Lap 118 and began working back toward the leaders of the GP3 class.

Making the move back into second, Pease brought the Porsche Boxster to pit lane on Lap 146 for a final splash of fuel. The No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club Porsche Boxster took the checkered flag in second.

“It is a great day with a great result for the No. 605 and the Round 3 Racing team,” said Loftsgard. “Having four competitive drivers who all have consistent pace makes this driver lineup dominant. To just get to this point in my career has required so much sacrifice to even make it to the track. To get to a podium requires so much work by drivers, crew and the entire team and I am thrilled to be a part of it and this team.”

No. 702 Team Hagerty Porsche Cayman

Racing in the top GTO class, Sarah Montgomery, Buz McCall and Brad McCall combined to wheel the No. 702 Team Hagerty Porsche Cayman.

Taking the opening stint, Montgomery crossed the start line in third but quickly went to work moving through traffic to take over the overall lead by lap 15.

Following the only full-course yellow period of the day, the No. 702 received a two-lap penalty for passing the pace car during the yellow. The penalty was frustrating, as Montgomery passed the pace car after getting the wave around by the race officials.

Adversity continued as a broken splitter required an unplanned pit stop on Lap 59.

The Hagerty driver trio never faltered as they returned to the top ten on Lap 147 where they stayed for the remaining 15 laps. The No. 702 Team Hagerty Porsche Cayman completed the day in ninth place.

“It was a lot of fun out there today,” said Buz McCall. “We got handed a penalty that slowed our progress a bit but that is just a part of racing. We will take what we learned today and regroup so we can come back tomorrow fighting for a win.”

Montgomery set the fastest lap of the race through the midpoint of the event, giving the team additional optimism ahead of Sunday’s race.

No. 701 Team Cooper Tires Porsche Cayman

Making the switch to the GP1 class, R3R received the Porsche Cayman just days before the weekend at Road America. Loni Unser, Mike GIlbert and Mo Dadkhah saw limited track time Friday and Saturday as the crew worked methodically to complete the set-up.

The No. 701 completed 83 laps without a working ABS (Automatic Brake System) before finishing 14th.

“The Round 3 Racing crew have put in a remarkable effort to get the new No. 701 just a few days ago and be on track this weekend,” said Mo Dadkhah. “The Cayman is fast and with the proper set-up we will be dominant in the GP1 class. The weekend at Road America has turned into a set-up weekend that we are utilizing the track time in order to prepare for the rest of the season. Tomorrow we will have more to work with and I am enjoying my time with the team at my home track.”

Round 3 Racing will have another chance at victory at Road America tomorrow Sunday, May 9th as the World Racing League hosts Race Two. The green flag for eight more hours of racing will fly at 8AM CT with live streaming available at youtube.com/racewrl.