Mechanical Woes Force Mazda 6 Out of Round Four Speed World Challenge Driver Scott Bradley & Team Frustrated After Mid-Ohio Course

Once again the new Circuit City Mazda 6 continues to show promise, unfortunately mechanical problems brought an early end to the race leaving driver Scott Bradley and the entire Circuit City/Protomotive team disappointed with what had been a promising race day at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Santa Clara, CA (PRWEB) May 31, 2005 -- Once again the new Circuit City Mazda 6 continues to show promise, unfortunately mechanical problems brought an early end to the race leaving driver Scott Bradley and the entire Circuit City/Protomotive team disappointed with what had been a promising race day at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Everyone was optimistic about the progress weve made with the car during the practice and qualifying sessions. We picked up where we had left off after the last race, a list of new things to try and we again found that our engineer Steve Dinan and team were able to make progress in each session," said Bradley. Since we dont have a testing budget we use the race weekends to work through our list of changes, its a methodical process that takes dedication and focus throughout the weekend.

The first official practice session for touring cars in Round Four
of the SPEED World Challenge weekend presented by Trenton Forging Quality Formed Solutions took place in the rain. Although Bradley was able to set the fourth fastest lap, problems with the timing transponder meant it never showed on the charts. The team continued to work on the setup as the weather improved, using each session to the maximum to work on the car. As with any new car the team is learning a lot each time the car takes to the track, trying to process the results of the session and make setup decisions for the next session. After an extremely busy couple of days Bradley qualified in 19th place among a field of 30 cars.

For the race, we made some big changes to the car in hopes to improve the platform. Even on the warm-up lap, I could tell we made significant improvements," the 28-year-old driver explained. My plan was to look after my tires early in the race, making up positions opportunistically and then make a charge in the closing stages."

An opening lap collision among two of the competitors took a number of cars out of contention, Bradley was lucky to avoid the incident and benefited by picking up 5 positions on that first lap.

After a number of laps behind the pace car, Bradley was racing hard and progressing through the field up to the 12th position by lap 10, unfortunately that would be his last lap. After a near miss encounter with an overly aggressive Audi, the Mazda 6 suddenly developed gremlins in the gear box, shifting unassisted from fourth to fifth gear. Bradley knew something was horribly wrong and shifted the car back into fourth gear. The car responded again, only this time downshifting into third gear. This strange occurrence signaled the end of the race and Bradley brought the car to the pit lane and parked.

It was a real shame because I think we had a solid top ten finish coming," said Bradley. I look forward to the challenges of upcoming races and know we will continue improving. A big thanks to Jim Jordan, Steve Dinan, Johnny Kanavas and Dave White for all the hard work they put in this weekend. And thanks to the ongoing support of our sponsors Circuit City, Kicker, Peak Travel Group and the Travel Promotions Network who make it all possible."

Last weekends race was broadcast live on SPEED Channel, and will be shown again on Saturday, May 28 at 3 PM (EDT).

Round five of the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car 2005 season takes place June 24 at Burke Lakefront Airport course in Cleveland, Ohio. Join Bradley and the Circuit City Protomotive team at their upcoming races. Event tickets are available in advance by visiting the websites of the raceways. For information and more on Bradleys race schedule, visit www.speedrcr.com.

Scott Bradley Motorsports
Born in 1976, Scott Bradley is the new generation of racing professional, who expects the highest level of technology, precision and expertise from himself, car and team. He began racing at the age of 13 winning regional go kart races, continuing on to win national races and professional titles. His speed, adaptability and broad experience driving formula cars, sedan and prototype sports cars make Bradley a winning contender in whatever he drives. He lives in Santa Clara, California. For more information and a racing schedule, visit www.speedrcr.com.

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