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Championship-winning CORE autosport ready to attack Baltimore streets

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After clinching the 2012 American Le Mans Series Prototype Challenge team championship in dramatic fashion less than two weeks ago, CORE autosport is ready for a good old street fight this coming Saturday in the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT.

Driving the #05 Composite Resources ORECA FLM09 throughout the 2012 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season is team owner and founder Jon Bennett with NASCAR and sports car star Colin Braun.  The #06 Soloson Import sister machine features lead driver Alex Popow, who is joined this weekend by 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans and Sebring 12 Hour winner Ryan Dalziel.

Popow is currently locked in a battle with Bennett / Braun for the 2012 ALMS PC driver championship.  A mere 12 points ahead in the standings, Popow looks to extend his lead with Dalziel, with whom he was paired at the only other street course event in the 2012 ALMS season – Long Beach.  Popow and Dalziel won that event and look to repeat that success in Baltimore, the eighth ALMS event of 2012 and the last all-out sprint event of the season.

At only two hours long, the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge will be a test of guts and mettle within the confines of the tight walls of the 2.02-mile, 12-turn temporary circuit, set up in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area.

But it won’t be all about the on-track action.  Fans will be able to meet and interact with the drivers and team on Friday, August 31 at 1 p.m. (ET) – between the day’s two practice sessions – with a special “tech talk” at the CORE autosport transporter in the ALMS paddock area.  This talk will offer further insight into the team, the cars, and what it takes to succeed in the very tough ALMS PC class.

Practice and qualifying for the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT will be held on Friday, August 31, with the two-hour street race on Saturday, September 1.  Live coverage of qualifying and the race can be found at ESPN3.com and a tape-delayed race broadcast will air on ABC-TV at noon ET on Sunday, September 2.

Jon Bennett

“I’m the only one on the team that has run the Baltimore event before, so it’s going to be an interesting event for my co-driver Colin and the #06 car guys.  That being said, all three of the other drivers have pretty extensive temporary street course backgrounds, so I’m sure that all of us at CORE autosport will be up to speed pretty quickly.

“What I was most impressed with at Baltimore was the festival atmosphere and the enthusiasm of the fans, as well as the fun of racing on the city streets.  There are challenges though – as you feel a lot of different things in a race car that you don’t in a street car – especially when the road surfaces are a bit rough!

“I enjoy street course racing and look forward to a great result in Baltimore.”
Colin Braun

“I’m very much looking forward to Baltimore this weekend.  I’ve never been to the city and it looks like where the track is located is in the middle of the action, so I’ll not only be learning the track but also spending some time checking out the Inner Harbor area.

“Temporary street course racing is a very different animal that most of our other events.  When you’re on a permanent circuit, there are areas for runoff, so if you make a mistake, you can potentially catch it without losing too much time.

“In street racing there’s just walls.  One mistake can ruin your day, as well as your co-driver and crew.  So car setup is going to be very important – the car has to be solid but also a bit forgiving, so you can catch it if something goes wrong.

“I have no doubt that the #05 crew will have the car set up properly and Jon and I look forward to finishing first.”

Alex Popow

“Now that the team has won the championship, Baltimore is the first shot I have to continue my run for the 2012 ALMS PC driver title.

“I have Ryan as my co-driver this weekend and considering we won the last street race at Long Beach together, I think that we’ll be in good shape in Baltimore.

“Ryan’s an excellent street course racer and between his coaching and CORE autosport’s car preparation, I think we can do what we need to keep the lead in the points.

“A big part of street course racing is to keep a level head and stay out of trouble, because it’s typically very tight between the walls. That will be a challenge but I’m sure we can do it.”
Ryan Dalziel

“First I would like to congratulate CORE autosport on their second team championship in just two years.  I have worked with the team since they started competing in ALMS in early 2011 and it’s amazing to see how they’ve grown.  It’s a really top-notch sports car organization coming out of what’s known as NASCAR country!

“I’m a big fan of street course racing and cannot wait to get to Baltimore.  I didn’t run there last year, but it looks like a pretty exciting course and event.

“My goal for this weekend is to help Alex extend his lead in the ALMS PC driver’s championship, and the easiest way to do that is to win the race.

“We did it in Long Beach and I’m sure that we will be in contention for the top spot in Baltimore.”

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