Saturday, September 19th, 2009

Dion von Moltke passed teammate Josh Hurley with two laps remaining in the Street Tuner (ST) portion of the race to earn his and co-driver Mike Sweeney’s third victory of the 2009 season. Von Moltke and Sweeney drove the No. 181 APR/BBS Volkswagen GTI for APR Motorsport.

The battle for the lead was between the APR cars for much of the event, before Randy Pobst in the No. 74 Skunk2/034 Motorsport Honda Civic Si and Tom Long in the No. 145 Mazda/Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 joined during the final half hour. The four drivers went four-wide at one point and Pobst and Long staged a war for the third position, reminiscent of their battle for the lead in March at Homestead.

However, no team other than APR led a lap in ST. Polesitter Ian Baas led the opening 20 laps in the No. 171 APR/Gunther VW Volkswagen GTI before pitting and giving Sweeney the lead for two laps. Hurley picked up the lead on Lap 23 and held on until von Moltke made the winning pass, which came in near pitch-black conditions.

“I’m not too sure what happened, actually,” von Moltke said. “Tom Long got a little crazy on the last few laps and he and Josh had a big contact. For a long time, Josh kept in front of me. I knew that I was a little quicker the whole race but I could never get it done because it’s so hard to overtake. He slowed up just enough to let me by. It was a clean move and it ended up being great. The night is my favorite time to race. I absolutely love it. It’s kind of my deal. I guess it’s kind of bittersweet but I’m really glad to get on P1 with Mike Sweeney. He drove an excellent first stint.”

The second-place run for Baas and Hurley - who is on the verge of winning Rookie of the Year honors in KONI Challenge competition - vaulted the duo into second in the championship standings, now 27 points (286-259) behind leader Christian Miller, who co-drove with Pobst.

“We don’t like to see races end this way but either way, both of the cars came home and that’s what matters,” said Miller, who only needs a 26th-place finish at VIR to wrap up an ST championship. “Both drivers are safe. It does do us good for points. I want my drivers safe and happy.”

Added Baas: “We finished in front of the people we’re fighting for the championship right now and I’m really excited for having a one-two for APR.”

Subaru Road Racing Team co-drivers Kristian Skavnes and Andrew Aquilante dropped to third in points with a seventh-place finish in the No. 111 Subaru of America Subaru Legacy. The two are 31 points behind Miller after entering the race 25 points behind.

Fourth were Long and Derek Whitis, while Ford Racing Mustang Challenge regulars Rick Edwards and Ted Anthony Jr. finished fifth in the No. 76 Skunk2/Hondata Honda Civic Si.

The final race of the 2009 season is the Bosch Engineering Octoberfest, a four-hour combined race Sunday, Oct. 4, at the 3.27-mile Virginia International Raceway.

Catch it on TV Oct 3, 1:30 PM ET on SPEED!

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Monday, September 14th, 2009

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Monday, August 17th, 2009

Three Rivers Quebec- “Simply Awesome” a simple quote but a great way to surmise the latest weekend with APR Motorsport. The team continued its dominance of the Koni ST field with car 171 taking a strong 2nd place and car 181 solidly in the top ten at 7th.

The team arrived in great spirits looking forward to the 40th edition of the longest running street race in North America. If one has not attended this event, make plans to attend one year. The crowds are huge and their passion for the sport is contagious. Grand AM gave the team a great paddock location with which they could roll out APR Motorsport’s legendary fan friendly experience.

The practice sessions went according to plan with different setups and drivers learning the changes in the track. All practice sessions saw both cars run solidly in the top ten. As the weekend wore on, APR MS knew they were in a good position heading into qualifying. The highlight of all the practice sessions was the first night practice in Three Rivers history. There is nothing like race cars at night!!

Qualifying saw Dion von Moltke in car 181 and Josh Hurly in car 171. The team was looking forward to turning the cars loose in the early morning Saturday session. Like always getting in the fast laps in these sessions requires the drivers to really work their magic. Right out of the box car 171 was up the charts with Josh ultimately turning in a time that looked like the car’s fifth straight pole. Then at the very end of the session the MX5 just pipped our time resulting in car 171 qualifying in a strong 2nd spot. Josh also had to deal with a small engine fire that caused lots of excitement but ultimately did not deter him. Car 181 stormed through its session turning in a time that would put it 4th on the grid. All in all the team was very content to have two cars solidly in the top five. As many know, starting at the front of a race at Three Rivers is absolutely vital and the team was able to deliver.

The competition in the race was intense with many teams trying unorthodox race strategies to gain an advantage. Both APR Motorsport cars ran similar strategies however, due to a rules limitation, 171 was forced to pit 15 minutes after car 181. Both Hurley and von Moltke were able to keep their qualifying positions throughout their stints. Once the entire field had completed pitstops, the APR Motorsport GTI’s (now being driven by Ian Baas in 171 and Mike Sweeney in 181) found themselves still in 2nd and 4th position.

Baas and Sweeney both pushed their brakes as far as possible in order to make up ground on the competition. Baas was able to continue to the checker flag in 2nd while Sweeney finished 7th after losing a couple positions during an attempt a pass at the end of the back straight. Sweeney was on his way to back to podium contention when a transmission failure prevented the 181 GTI from shifting. Sweeney was forced to run the final 9 laps stuck in 3rd gear. Amazingly, Sweeney only lost 1 second per lap from his average and was still catching competitors whose cars had no brakes left.

After the GP3R event, 171 is 3rd in team points and closed some of the gap to the championship lead. In 181, the solid finish kept Mike Sweeney in 2nd place in the Mesco Rookie standings trailing behind leader, and APR Motorsport teammate Josh Hurley.

APR Motorsport competes next at Miller Motorsport Park, September 17 and 18. Keep up with the team at www.goapr.com/race . Live timing and scoring can be found at www.grand-am.com

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Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (July 18, 2009) - Ian Baas and Josh Hurley turned in a dominating performance Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, leading 76 of the 83 laps to win the Legacy Credit Union 200, Round 8 of the 2009 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge.

While it was the first career victory for both drivers of the No. 171 APR Motorsport Volkswagen GTI, it followed back-to-back triumphs by Dion von Moltke and Mike Sweeney in the No. 181. It was also a home-course victory for APR Motorsport, based in nearby Auburn, Ala.

Baas led the opening 36 circuits before being passed by the No. 111 Subaru of America Subaru Legacy of Andrew Aquilante on the front straightaway. Baas quickly regained the lead in Turn 1 on the next lap, and paced another lap before pitting.

“I can’t say enough for Mr. Aquilante,” Baas said. “He was really putting the pressure on me. The Subaru was really set up good. I really had to work out hard out there. It will make for good TV (SPEED, Saturday, July 25, noon ET).”

Ken Wilden, driving the No. 129 JE Racing/Hawk Brakes BMW 330i, and Christian Miller, in the No. 74 034 Motorsport/Skunk2 Honda Civic Si, each led a lap before their stops, when the lead cycled back to Hurley.

Hurley’s only challenge in the closing half of the race came when the third and final full-course caution waved with 38 minutes remaining, erasing a 12.8 second lead. On the restart, Hurley motored away from Kristian Skavnes, who took over for Aquilante.

Andrew Carbonell, who took over for 15th-place starter Rhett O’Doski in the No. 146 Freedom Autosport/Mazda Mazda MX-5, passed Skavnes following the restart and finished second, 4.118 seconds behind Hurley.

Skavnes held on for third, followed by Owen Trinkler and Jade Buford in the No. 196 Cruise America/Four Winds Mini Cooper S, Bryan Ortiz and Wilden, and Sarah Cattaneo and Mark White in the No. 147 Freedom Autosport/Mazda Mazda MX-5.

Randy Pobst placed seventh in relief of Miller, whose lead was cut to 18 points by Skavnes and Aquilante (231-213). Pobst remains third in the standings with 205 points, with Baas and Hurley another 10 points back with 195 points.

Baas and Hurley averaged 75.473 mph. The race was slowed three times for six laps, all for cars stopped off course that were able to continue following extrications.

Following Sunday’s race, only three races remain in 2009 KONI Challenge competition, which next sees action Aug. 15-16 at Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada.

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Saturday, July 18th, 2009

APR Motorsport car #171 lead by Ian Baas and Josh Hurley take first place at Barber Motorsport Park! Come to Waterfest 15 in New Jersey for Autographs.

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Sunday, June 21st, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 21, 2009) - Dion von Moltke took advantage of APR Motorsport teammate Ian Baas’  misfortune Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, taking the lead with seven minutes remaining and holding on for his second consecutive Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner victory.

Click here for the full race results.

Baas and pole-winning co-driver Josh Hurley led 66 of the opening 78 circuits on the 2.258-mile circuit, when Baas suddenly began to slow with an electrical problem in the No. 171 Gunther VW Volkswagen GTI. Von Moltke quickly took command and led the final six laps, giving the team’s No. 181 APR Tuning/BBS Volkswagen GTI shared by Mike Sweeney its second consecutive victory.

Randy Pobst finished second in Compass360 Racing’s No. 74 034 Motorsport/Skunk2 Honda Civic Si, 4.114 seconds back, while co-driver Christian Miller extended his point lead with only four events remaining.

Kristian Skavnes and Andrew Aquilante took third in the No. 111 Subaru of America Subaru Legacy, and moved up to second in the standings, 24 points behind Miller (207-183). Skavnes was

Fourth went to Will Turner and Paul Dalla Lana in the No. 95 Turner Motorsports BMW 328i. Andrew Carbonell and Rhett O’Doski came from a lap down to place fifth in the No. 146 Mazda/Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5.

Baas soldiered on to finish 11th behind his winning teammates.

“It definitely was not easy,” von Moltke said. “I was pushing every lap. I looked over about twice a lap and saw Randy coming. I was pushing very hard. What really helped us was we came here focused on two corners - the Carrousel and the Key Hole. They are very similar corners, and we were able to get a good grip on the car there. If you can get a good run out of both of those corners, it’s very hard to be overtaken.”

After a slow start to the season, APR Motorsport learned a trick or two about setting up their Volkswagens three races ago at Lime Rock Park, and the team has been coming on strong ever since. The team put on a clinic throughout much of Sunday’s race, before Baas’ late-race misfortune.

Hurley captured his second pole of the season in Friday’s qualifying, and led the opening 40 circuits before his pit stop. Sweeney then led two circuits before pitting. While Guy Cosmo, Chad Gilsinger and Charles Putnam had turns out front before their stops, the lead recycled back to Baas - who led the 26 laps.

“We found something in the back end of the suspension that the car really, really likes midway through the event at Lime Rock,” Sweeney said. “Last year we had a lot of power but couldn’t seem to do anything with it. This year it seems people have caught up with the power, but we’ve finally got the Volkswagen handling really well. We made a few changes, and the car just woke up. We had our plan today, which was to run as close as we could but to save brakes a little.”

The victory was also a homecoming event for APR Motorsport crew chief Jeff Mishtawy, who is from nearby Columbus, Ohio.

Sweeney and von Moltke averaged 83.039 mph. The race was slowed by three cautions for 12 laps. The only accident came early in the race, when Sam Schultz escaped injury after hitting the wall in Turn 1 in the No. 23 V-Pack Motorsport BMW Z4.

The KONI Challenge Grand Sport competitors raced on Saturday, with Ken Wilden and Dean Martin winning in the No. 59 RehagenRacingProducts.com Ford Mustang GT. Wilden extended his lead in the championship to 21 points over Bret Seafuse and James Gue (204-183), who finished second.

The next action for the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge will be July 18-19 at Barber Motorsports Park, with split races for the Grand Sport and Street Tuner classes.

For full notes and quotes packages, please visit the Grand-Am Media Site at www.grand-am.com/media.

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Sunday, June 21st, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 20, 2009) - In the Street Tuner class,  Josh Hurley and Mike Sweeney gave APR Motorsports its second consecutive front-row sweep in qualifying for Sunday’s Street Tuner event.

It was Hurley’s second pole of the season in the No. 171 Gunther VW/APR Motorsports Volkswagen GTI, and the third straight pole for the team.

“Ever since Lime Rock (where Hurley won the pole), we’ve figured out something with the suspension, and we’ve been coming on strong,” said Hurley, who co-drives with Ian Baas. “We’re having a little bit of turbo lag, but we’ve found enough in the suspension that we’re doing OK without it.”

Sweeney, who won the most recent race at Watkins Glen International, shares APR’s No. 181 VW with Dion von Moltke. The pair combined to give the team its first victory at The Glen.

“We’ve been really focusing on the handling of the cars this year,” Sweeney said. “Last year we had a lot of power but couldn’t seem to do anything with it. This year it seems people have caught up with the power, but we’ve finally got the Volkswagen handling really well. I think we’ve got a very strong driver lineup. It’s great to do two lockouts in a row. I just hate starting on the outside of the front row - I’d like to be on the inside.”

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Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Once again APR Motorsport is leading the pack in the Koni Sports Car Challenge. Todays Mid-Ohio race will begin with both APR motorsport cars in the lead after finishing first and second during qualifying.

This has been a strong season for the team, especially after taking home a first place victory at Watkins-Glen two weekends ago.

The race will be televised on June 20th, 5:00 PM ET, on SPEED.

Those interested can view live timing and scoring at the following address:
http://www.grand-am.com/schedule/index.cfm?series=k&cat_id=61

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June 19 - 21
EMCO Gears Classic - Split Classes
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington, OH

APR Motorsport runs in the ST (street tuner) class with cars #171 and #181

More information about the team here:
http://www.goapr.com/race/

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Monday, June 8th, 2009

Watkins Glen, NY: Capping off a nearly perfect race weekend, APR Motorsport came away from Watkins Glen with the team’s first-ever victory and the first professional U.S. road racing victory for any VW in over 25 years! The APR team also owned the front row of the Street Tuner grid with an amazing 1-2 performance in qualifying.

Starting from Pole Position was Ian Baas in the #171 APR/Gunther/Motul/IAV/BBS Volkswagen GTI while Mike Sweeney started the #181 APR/Motul/IAV/BBS Volkswagen GTI in second place. From the drop of the flag, both APR drivers were able to establish a small gap to third place and began an intense battle for the lead. “The car was so perfect today. Mike and I had a good fight for the lead but we knew there could be no contact.” said Baas. As the APR team got closer to the pit window a small electrical problem began to cause intermittent power loss on #171 and forced the team into the pits. While completing the driver change and refueling, the APR technicians found and repaired the issue costing little extra time. Josh Hurley then began working back toward the lead, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Unfortunately Hurley was given a stop-go penalty with about thirty minutes remaining for jumping a restart. After being relegated back to 18th position, Hurley completed a series of qualifying laps to bring the #171 VW across the stripe in 6th place. Hurley said “I was pushing like crazy to get back to the lead! That penalty was devastating, and I am very sorry for it. APR Motorsport put a car under me that was simply amazing and I tried to recover the most points I could. We should be strong at Mid-Ohio and hopefully we can earn a win there.”

For #181, the road to victory lane was a little smoother, but not much. Sweeney was beginning to run out of fuel when a full-course caution came out and sent a wave of panic through the APR pits. The team was able to use the rules to their advantage and brought the car in out of sequence for a brief splash of fuel before rejoining the field at the back of the pack. Then a lap later, Sweeney was able to pit in sequence with the rest of the field and Dion von Moltke took the wheel after some fast pit work by the APR crew. Von Moltke made steady progress toward the front of the pack for several laps when another caution bunched the field. When the officials called for the ST cars to pass the pace car and re-catch the field, the APR team was ready for it and sent von Moltke forward gaining a position as other teams failed to relay the “wave-by” information to their drivers. Once the order was sorted out the race was restarted. “I really don’t know what happened at the restart. There was a bit of a shuffle during the wave-by and a little confusion. Once the race was back underway, I pushed very hard and was able to pass Randy going up the hill in the esses.” said von Moltke. From that point on, the #181 GTI was simply untouchable. After taking the lead, rain began to fall on the majority of the track and von Moltke drove cautiously with Pobst closely behind. “It was definitely quite a challenge with immense pressure for the final 30 minutes from Randy Pobst, mixed in with a crazy rain conditions on different parts of the track, so every lap at every corner you had no idea what was coming up next. It took some serious mental toughness so thankfully I had my Performance Drink before I got in the car!” said von Moltke. After the race, Sweeney said “Unbelievable. I am so happy to grab this first win for APR with Dion, but it would have been a little easier on the nerves if the race had been less interesting! There was no stopping my teammate today, and the best crew in KONI now has their first win! Go APR!”

The team would like to thank its partners Motul, BBS, Status, IAV, Team Janica, Performance Drink, and Gunther VW.
Keep up with the latest news and information about the APR Motorsport team at www.goapr.com. The next race is at Mid-Ohio on June 19-21, 2009. Tickets and live timing and scoring for the race can be found at www.grand-am.com.

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Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Dion von Moltke held off veteran Randy Pobst throughout the final half hour, giving the APR Volkswagen team its first KONI Challenge Street Tuner victory. Von Moltke was at the wheel of the No. 181 APR Motorsport Volkswagen GTI started by Mike Sweeney.

“It was awesome, to go up against the best and score our first victory,” von Moltke said. “I was happy to bring home the first victory for APR; they’ve done a lot of hard work to get here.”

Pobst was seeking his third victory of the season in the No. 74 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si, but came up .501 seconds short at the checkered flag. Christian Miller, who started the race, managed to extend his ST championship lead to 16 points over Ashley McCalmont (175-159). Compass360 was going for its third straight win at Watkins Glen.

“I think I had the best car, but not in the right places,” Pobst said. “There wasn’t a good place to get around the VW. I was hoping for Dion to make a mistake, but he didn’t. He helped Christian extend his points lead, so we’re pretty excited about finishing second.”

McCalmont scored her second consecutive podium finish, taking third in the No. 01 Georgian Bay Motorsports Chevrolet Cobalt. Jamie Holtom, the 2008 ST champion, took third for the second consecutive race since rejoining his championship team.

Andrew Aquilante and Kristian Skavnes finished fourth in the No. 111 Subaru of America Subaru Legacy, followed by Andrew Burrows and Trevor Hopwood in RSR Motorsports’ No. 198 Cruise America/Fischer Skis Mini Cooper S.

Nine ST drivers exchanged the lead eight times. Ian Baas started on the pole in APR’s No. 171 APR Tuning/Gunther VW Volkswagen GTI and led 26 laps in a car he shared with rookie Josh Hurley.

The next action for the KONI Challenge will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a pair of two and a half hour races June 20-21. The ST class will race on Saturday at 1:45 p.m., while the GS competitors race Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

For additional information, visit www.grand-am.com, or go to www.twitter.com/RolexSeries for weekend updates.

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