Spaude and the Subaru Road Racing Team overcome engine issues to leave Watkins Glen with 18th place finish

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P1 Groupe driver Bret Spaude along with co-driver John Heinricy contend for the Continental Tire 150 win.

P1 Groupe driver Bret Spaude along with co-driver John Heinricy drove the # 35 Subaru WRX-STI for the Subaru Road Racing Team drove into the front gate of Watkins Glen International Raceway last Wednesday feeling as if they had a car that would contend for the Continental Tire 150 win that Friday. When the first practice session began the #35 was 10th on the charts, but soon after that speed was posted the Subaru lost the motor forcing the team to scramble to change engines. Bret and the rest of the team stayed remarkably focused during this incident, and they were able to put the second motor into the car only to have that engine fail as well during the series’ third practice. This caused Bret and the Subaru Road Racing Team to forfeit their qualifying run which would then force them to start the race from the back of the pack in a backup car and third engine.

When the race started Bret was able to begin working his way through the field and began gaining the positions on his competition. The car was running comparable lap times with the leaders when Bret came across the radio five laps in stating that the check engine light had come on in the car. He was able to salvage what positions he could before handing the car over to co-driver John Heinricy. Both drivers drove beautifully in a car running less than perfect to leave Watkins Glen with a respectable 18th place finish.

“We just had a lot of engine problems this week.” Spaude explained “The car was fast, but we were just going through motor after motor. I tried my hardest out there to gain as much ground as I could, and John did a great job as well. Finished 18th, and with all of the issues that we had this week, we’ll take it. Proud of the guys and everybody on this team for keeping their heads up and staying focused even with all of the problems we had.”

After the Continental Tire 150, Spaude is currently in 30st in driver points, and the Subaru Road Racing Team is 19th in team points for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series.

The next scheduled race for Bret will be June 24th at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This race can be on SPEED Channel on July 3rd at 1pm. All Times Eastern.

Additional information on Bret Spaude can be found at www.bretspaude.com, www.subaruroadracingteam.com, www.p1groupe.com, and www.andreameadcross.com.