Global Motorsports Group Captures the Overall Event Championship at the Opening Round of the 2007 Redline Time Attack Presented by Hawk Performance Brake Pads

The 2007 Redline Time Attack series started off the year with a big bang at California Speedway. Top teams and drivers came out in force in the first opportunity of the year to prove just who is the fastest around a road course. The possibility of inclement weather the entire weekend and even several hours of rain Sunday morning did nothing to prevent the largest turnout of participants, race teams and spectators in Redline Time Attack history.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 16, 2007 -- The 2007 Redline Time Attack series started off the year with a big bang at California Speedway. Top teams and drivers came out in force in the first opportunity of the year to prove just who is the fastest around a road course. The possibility of inclement weather the entire weekend and even several hours of rain Sunday morning did nothing to prevent the largest turnout of participants, race teams and spectators in Redline Time Attack history.

With just over 80 competitors taking the field on Sunday including representation from the industry's top tuners, manufacturers and race teams everyone on hand was looking forward to seeing who would lay down the fastest lap of the event. The early afternoon competition session on Sunday proved challenging to many of the competitors. The wet surface conditions prompted many teams to change their car's setup from Saturday's practice rounds. As expected, lap times from the first round of Time Attack competition were significantly slower than practice times from Saturday. This only added to the excitement and drama of the event leading up to the final Time Attack round Sunday afternoon, with everyone in the paddock guessing who would come away with the crown.

As the weather and track surface conditions continued to improve leading up to the second round of Time Attack competition teams were forced once again to change vehicle setup and switch to their set of "dry" tires. As the Street Class field began turning laps to begin the second round it was apparent track records would be in serious jeopardy as the combination of cool damp air and dry surface conditions provided for very fast racing.

Reigning supreme over a Street Class field of over 40 competitors was Nils Leufven in the GSC Motorsports & Robispec sponsored Mitsubishi Evolution 8 RS with a time of 1:15.823 around the California Speedway infield course. Nils' lap time shattered the previous Street Class lap record of 1:17.656 and is a testament to the vehicle preparation and driver development being brought to the table at Redline Time Attack events in 2007. Taking home top honors in the Street Rear Wheel Drive division was Scott Bush driving a Nissan 350z with a time of 1:18.464 and in Street Front Wheel Drive Andy Hope driving the Hasport sponsored Honda CRX came home with the Division Champ crown with a time of 1:20.541.

Kicking it up a notch in the Modified Class was Andy Hope yet again, driving another Hasport sponsored Honda CRX with a time of 1:15.499 to take home the Modified FWD division title. In the hotly contested Modified RWD Division the Factor X sponsored Acura NSX driven by Billy Johnson came home with the division title with a best lap time of 1:12.000. The top three finishers in Modified RWD were separated by only .656 seconds overall! The overall Modified Class and Modified AWD division event championship was captured by Rus Warr driving the Crawford Performance Subaru STi with a best lap time of 1:11.515.

California Speedway saw some serious heavy hitters come out to do battle in the Unlimited Class divisions. Taking home the event championship in Unlimited FWD was Chris Rado in the WORLD Racing Scion tC with best lap time of 1:15.914. Unfortunately for Chris, his engine expired as he crossed the Start/Finish line after only 2 hot laps in the final session of the day. We expect Chris to get the car back together in time for the 2nd Redline Time Attack of the year on April 28th-29th at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Southern California.

In the Unlimited AWD Division AMS Performance, all the way from Arlington Heights, IL, was able to capture the division crown by ripping off a smoking fast lap time of 1:08.861 in their Mitsubishi Evolution. The JIC Magic/Hankook Tires team had just come off an overall event championship at the season ending Redline Time Attack event of 2006. With major engine upgrades performed during the brief off-season and a fresh coat of paint the JIC Magic/Hankook Tires Nissan S15 Silvia was prepared to contend for yet another title. However, team driver Tyler Macquarie's fastest lap time of 1:08.928 would fall just a few tenths short of being fast enough to claim the overall title.

The battle for overall Unlimited Class event championship was tighter than even Modified, with the top three cars in Unlimited Class separated by only 0.272 seconds. Reigning supreme at the first Redline Time Attack of the season was James Sofronas driving the Global Motorsports Group Porsche GT3 Cup with a best lap time of 1:08.656. We would like to congratulate James and GMG on their Event Championship as well as all of the other competitors who made the opening round of the 2007 Redline Time Attack series the largest and most successful time attack event in North American history!

For up-to-date news and information regarding the 2007 Redline Time Attack presented by Hawk Performance Brakes, please visit the official website http://www.RedlineTimeAtttack.com. Follow the series to Buttonwillow Raceway Park on April 28th-29th where we expect lap records to fall and the entry fields to continue to grow.

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