Monterey, CA (May 17, 2007) - The two-car team of Krohn Racing heads west to northern California this week for the fifth round of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with the U.S. Sports Car Invitational delivered by Luggage Express in Monterey, California.
The No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley of team owner/driver Tracy Krohn and co-driver Nic Jönsson and the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley of Max Papis and Colin Braun hope to continue their goal for consistent finishes in their quest for the 2007 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype team and driver championships.
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca celebrates its 50th year in 2007 with the second split race event in Grand-Am competition this season. The Daytona Prototypes will compete on the 2.238-mile circuit for the Road & Track 250, a 250-mile/112-lap/two and one-half hour race on Sunday, May 20 and the GT cars will compete in a 400K event on Saturday, May 19th.
Krohn will pull double-duty, competing in both the Koni Challenge GS race on Sunday morning and the Daytona Prototype race on Sunday afternoon. Nic Jönsson will be pulling triple duty and flying between Monterey and Salt Lake City. He will drive the No. 61 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT in the ALMS race at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday evening and the Koni Challenge GS and Daytona Prototype races on Sunday at Laguna Seca.
Max Papis, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:
As a former winner at Laguna Seca, give us your impressions.
“I love Laguna Seca. It is one of the racetracks that have a tremendous amount of history. Lots of great champions won there. I’m really proud to say that I was able to write my name in the winner’s circle, together with many other more important names than mine, in 2001 in Champ Car. I think I still hold one of the unbeaten track records there of going from 25th to first. Laguna Seca itself is just an awesome race track. It’s a beautiful place to be and one of those historical tracks for which you are always looking forward.”
Pontiacs have been strong at this track in the past. What are your thoughts?
“I’m really happy for the support that Pontiac has been giving to our organization. Krohn Racing and Pontiac have been growing together very quickly and working well. I think this will be a key for the success there because you need to be able to be fast at the end of your stint and with the Pontiac engines that we have.”
You and Colin have had two podium finishes in the past three races. Obviously you like to win, but how important is staying in the points chase?
“We don’t need to forget we’re just at the beginning of our adventure. A few months ago we didn’t really know each other as David Brown (Race Engineer) had just come on board and now we are gelling very, very well together. Colin and I have two pretty different driving styles and we’re trying to find the best compromise between what Colin likes and what I like in order to be fast. It looks like we are getting closer and closer, although we’re not perfectly there yet. The moment we are going to hit, we are definitely going to win races. We have been leading races and running strong. We need to keep the championship open and keep scoring points and we know a win is going to come very soon. I really feel that maybe Laguna Seca could be the first time for a victory for us.
The Krohn Racing team, now in its second year, is currently fourth in the Daytona Prototype points chase with the No. 75 entry and 12th with the No. 76 entry after four of 14 races this season. Papis and Braun have two podium finishes, a second-place at both VIR and Mexico City. Braun also captured the pole at both those races. Krohn and Jönsson have two Top 10 finishes so far this year.
Last year Krohn Racing won the Daytona Prototype Driver’s Championship with driver Jörg Bergmeister and finished second in the DP Team Championship. In 2006, Krohn Racing collected three victories, six podiums, eight Top Five finishes, 13 Top Ten finishes and one pole position.
The U.S. Sports Car Invitational at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will be televised live on Sunday, May 20th on SPEED TV at 4:00 p.m. ET. For more information, please see www.grand-am.com and www.krohnracing.net.