... continues in Santo Domingo
Multimatic Motorsports is looking to build upon the stunning Daytona race debut of the Ford Racing Mustang FR500C when the 2005 Grand-Am Cup Championship travels to the Dominican Republic for the first time this weekend.
Thirty-Six Grand Sport class entries will do battle at the Las Americas Autodromo for the Miller Grand-Am Cup 200 - the first ever race for the class on the Caribean island.
Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the Dominican Replublic accounts for the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti.
Scott Maxwell and David Empringham finished 2nd on debut at Daytona for the Ford factory-backed Multimatic Motorsports squad while the customer entry of Ian James and Tom Nastasi taking the race win for the Mustang FR500C.
The Canadian duo will again be joined this week by team-mates Gunnar Jeannette and James Gue who finished 9th in the opening round after being delayed by a long pit stop.
"Our target this weekend is to grab a solid points finish. Of all the tracks we are going to run at this year, Santo Domingo is probably the one which will be the biggest challenge for us because it is very tight," Multimatic Vice President and team Technincal Director, Larry Holt said.
"The car was great at Daytona and I am sure the Mustang FR500C will excel at places like Mosport, Watkins Glen and Laguna Seca. With continued development over the course of the year we are certainly aiming to challenge very strongly for the championship."
Ford Racing Technology embarked on this program to return the Mustang to the race track, and unveiled the new Mustang FR500C racer at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer's Association Show in Las Vegas in November last year. Ford Racing worked closely with Multimatic on the design, development, and build of the race car to Grand-Am specification.
Ford Racing Performance Parts will offer the Mustang FR500C in Grand-Am Cup specification, as well as all the racing components necessary for race team support and for those enthusiasts interested in enhancing their own Mustangs.
In conjunction with the debut season of the new Mustang FR500C, Multimatic Motorsports has launched a new web site to commemorate the return to the track by the Ford muscle-car. The site is located at multimaticmotorsports.com/mustang/ and features driver profiles, race news, photo galleries and Multimatic Motorsports and Mustang history.
TIMETABLEFriday, March 1110.00am-11am: Practice1.30pm-2.30pm: Practice
Saturday, March 1210.00am-11.00am: Practice1.00pm-1.20pm: Qualifying
Sunday, March 1311.00am-11.20am: Final practice1.30pm: Grid opens2.00pm: Start - Miller Grand-Am Cup 200 (206 miles/135 laps/3 hour time limit)
DRIVER POINTSIan James, 35; Tom Nastasi, 35; David Empringham, 32; Scott Maxwell, 32; Rob Finlay, 30; Michael McDowell, 30; Jep Thornton, 28; David Russell, 28; Mark Plummer, 26; Guy Cosmo, 2; Spencer Pumpelly, 25; Craig Stanton, 25; Marc Antoine Camirand, 24; Normand Guindon, 24; Greg Wilkins, 23; Dave Lacey, 23; Gunnar Jeannette, 22; James Gue, 22; Darren Law, 21; Mike McCalmont, 21; Jim Seafuse, 20; Bret Seafuse 20.
MANUFACTURER POINTSFord 35; BMW 30; Porsche 26, Cadillac 24, Pontiac 0.
TEAM POINTS#5 Blackforest Motorsports, 35; #55 Multimatic Motorsports, 32; #60 Finlay Motorsports, 30; #09 Automatic Racing, 28; #38 BGB Motorsports, 26; #18 Race Prep Motorsports, 25; #07 Powell Motorsport, 24; #17 Doncaster Racing, 23; #05 Multimatic Motorsports, 22; #6 Zoom Motorsports, 21.
