March 18, 2009 - Buford, GA - Hoping for redemption after the season-opening Koni Sports Car Challenge event at Daytona, Kinetic Motorsports returned back home to Atlanta from Homestead-Miami Speedway this past weekend with mixed results. The upside of the weekend was a fifth place finish by Glenn Bocchino and Todd Lamb in the #32 GS Cybernation/Cobalt Friction/Traqmate BMW M3. Lee Davis and Russell Smith drove the #33 GS Kinetic/Luna-C BMW M3 to a 15th place finish, while Lance Willsey and John McMullen were unable to start the race in the new #80 GS Exelixis e92 BMW M3.

Glenn Bocchino and Todd Lamb started their Grand Am Fan Appreciation Weekend in the #32 GS Cybernation/Cobalt Friction/Traqmate BMW M3 with high expectations, but several setbacks during practice relegated them towards the bottom of the speed charts each session. However, Bocchino, from Delray Beach, FL, showed that he can get the job done when the chips are down,  qualifying with a sixth place starting spot for the race. Bocchino ran in the top ten his entire stint, before handing over the car to Atlanta native Lamb at the race’s first and only caution on lap 33. Lamb spent the remainder of the race clawing his way up to third place, but fell back to fifth as a tire began losing pressure and caused the handling to go away.

Todd Lamb: “We knew that testing new parts during a race weekend could be a risky scenario, but we felt the e46 needed all the help it could get to offset the straight-line speed of the other cars.  Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong did, but the Kinetic crew kept after it all weekend and by race day we had a really good car. Glenn did an amazing job in qualifying getting us a 6th place starting spot and we got everything out of the car we could in the race. It’s all about points the rest of the season.”

Lee Davis and Russell Smith, in the #33 GS Kinetic/Luna-C BMW M3, were very close to their best ever finish in Koni competition. Davis,  from nearby Fisher Island, FL, qualified 26th and moved steadily up through the field before handing the car over to Smith. Smith, from Buford, GA, continued to move forward and was in 8th place before running out of fuel just two laps from the end of the race, finishing in 15th. Davis also debuted his Luna-C clothing line as a vendor in the paddock, taking advantage of the spectator turnout during the Grand Am Fan Appreciation Weekend .

Russell Smith: “It was a huge disappointment to run out of fuel so close to the end. We knew we were playing it tight with the fuel mileage and the guys worked hard to get us our best Koni finish, but we came up a splash short. A big thanks to Lee for having a dry Luna-C shirt waiting for me after the race - it was hot out there!”

The new #80 GS Exelixis e92 BMW M3 of Lance Willsey and John McMullen showed a lot of promise for having a good inaugural event, but the light rain that dampened the track in the practice session prior to the race put an end to things before they began. McMullen, from Hasbruck Heights, NJ, qualified 25th in his first start with Kinetic. Willsey, from Chestnut Hill, MA, was making a few recon laps in the car during the final practice session and spun off the damp track into the grass in turn one. Willsey was waiting for traffic to clear before continuing, but a Porsche driven by Darren Law also got caught out by the rain and slammed into Willsey’s BMW. Neither car was able to be repaired in time for the race, but both drivers were unhurt thanks to physical conditioning and safety equipment.

John McMullen: “It’s a shame that we weren’t able to race, but the main thing is that everyone is ok. It was a big hit - we’ll have to get the car back to the shop and stripped down to see if it can be repaired.  First Kinetic had bad luck with their new BMW Daytona and now this; it seems like the e92’s are cursed!”

Kinetic Motorsports will return to Koni Sports Car Challenge racing action on May 1-2 at Thunderbolt Raceway in Millville, New Jersey.

Join Kinetic Motorsports’ Facebook page to interact with drivers and team members.

An in-car lap from the Homestead race is available at http://www.toddlamb.com/videos/homestead09.wmv.

About:
Drivers Glenn Bocchino and Todd Lamb campaign the GS #32 BMW M3 with sponsor Cybernation Computer Solutions. Cybernation is a leading system integration and broad band deployment solution provider to major ISP’s and Telephone Companies nationwide. More information is available at www.cybernation.net.

Drivers Lee Davis and Russell Smith campaign the GS #33 BMW M3 with sponsors Luna-C Racing and Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines. Luna-C (www.lunacracing.com) is a racing inspired clothing line for serious gearheads. Kinetic-Sunbelt (www.kssmotorsports.com) builds race winning Engines for both professional and club racing.

Additional technical partners for the team/drivers include:
Cobalt Friction (brake pads) www.cobaltfriction.com
SafeRacer (safety gear and equipment) www.saferacer.com
Traqmate (data acquisition) www.traqmate.com
More team information can be found online at www.kssmotorsports.com and www.toddlamb.com.

Posted by Todd Lamb on 03/18 at 11:47 AM


Kinetic Motorsports Looking for Redemption at Homestead

March 11, 2009 - BUFORD, GA -  After a rocky start to the season, Kinetic Motorsports returns to Koni Sports Car Challenge racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend with familiar driver lineups looking to improve upon their Daytona results. Glenn Bocchino and Todd Lamb will return in the #32 GS Cybernation/Traqmate BMW M3, Lee Davis and Russell Smith will co-drive the #33 GS Kinetic/Luna-C BMW M3, while Lance Willsey and John McMullen will share the new #80 GS Exelixis e92 BMW M3.

Kinetic’s new e92 BMW M3 that was nearly totaled on the first lap of the race at Daytona is being repaired and will return to action later in the season, but in the meantime Willsey and McMullen will debut another new V8 BMW at Homestead, sponsored by Exelixis Inc.. The car has gone through a thorough transformation at Kinetic Motorsports in Buford, GA over the last 3 weeks, and is ready for the high banks of Homestead. Willsey finished 11th in his first race with Kinetic in the e46 BMW, and hopes to top that finish in the e92.

Lance Willsey: “We had a great run at Daytona. The e46 was a very fun car to drive, so John and I are looking forward to running this new e92 with V8 power. I’ve always been interested in life sciences, so representing Exelixis, a drug research company, is a significant opportunity for us.


Davis and Smith will return in their e46 BMW M3, but with a new number and an exciting new sponsor.  The pair ran the #33 in the ST class in 2008, and finally have the opportunity to return to the same number in the GS class after their 15th place finish at Daytona. Davis is introducing his new apparel line, Luna-C, at Homestead. Luna-C is a racing inspired clothing line that will appeal to gearheads around the globe.

Lee Davis: “Russell and I are enjoying the competition in our first full GS season, and we’re looking forward to a top ten finish this weekend. I spend a lot of time in the Miami area, so having the series return to Homestead-Miami while I am introducing Luna-C apparel is a nice coincidence.  I saw the opportunity for a clothing line that met the stylish needs of racers,  and after doing extensive research in the fashion industry I launched Luna-C to meet those needs.”

Bocchino and Lamb kicked off their championship run with a disappointing race at Daytona. After a strong start by Bocchino in the Cybernation/Traqmate #32 BMW, an electrical problem caused severe engine failure which put the car out of the running at the halfway point. With a long break between the two Florida events, the Kinetic crew pulled the entire wiring harness from the car and did extensive testing, only to find several wiring issues related to the engine controllers. In addition, a brand new Kinetic-Sunbelt inline-six replaces what was left of the melted-down powerplant. Traqmate, a data acquisition company, joins Cybernation and Cobalt Friction as sponsors on the #32.

Todd Lamb: “Glenn and I are running for a championship this year, and despite the bad result at Daytona we know every team is going to have an off weekend so we’re not overly concerned. We just need to focus on getting solid finishes for the rest of the season, and our new partnership with Traqmate will help us with that goal. They have a great data acquisition system with synchronized video that I have been using in club racing for several years, and now they are bringing that technology to pro racing.”

Beginning on Sunday, March 15th at 2:30pm EDT, Live Timing and scoring for the event can be viewed online at http://www.grand-am.com/livetiming/ (scroll to bottom of page).


About:
Drivers Glenn Bocchino and Todd Lamb campaign the GS #32 BMW M3 with sponsor Cybernation Computer Solutions. Cybernation is a leading system integration and broad band deployment solution provider to major ISP’s and Telephone Companies nationwide. More information is available at www.cybernation.net.

Drivers Lee Davis and Russell Smith campaign the GS #33 BMW M3 with sponsors Luna-C Racing and Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines. Luna-C (www.lunacracing.com) is a racing inspired clothing line for serious gearheads. Kinetic-Sunbelt (www.kssmotorsports.com) builds race winning Engines for both professional and club racing.


Additional technical partners for the team/drivers include:
Cobalt Friction (brake pads) www.cobaltfriction.com
SafeRacer (safety gear and equipment) www.saferacer.com
Traqmate (data acquisition) www.traqmate.com


More team information can be found online at www.kssmotorsports.com and www.toddlamb.com.

Posted by Todd Lamb on 03/11 at 11:42 AM