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After a successful podium finish at Barber Motorsports Park, the Marsh Racing team and the #31 Whelen Motorsports / Team Fox Corvette had momentum on their side for a good weekend at Road Atlanta. This year's visit to the track marks the first ever for GRAND-AM Road Racing. With its daunting elevation changes and sweeping turns, Road Atlanta is a very fast track. Very minor mistakes can make or break a lap time.
The #31 Corvette managed to make it to the top of the time sheets on the Thursday test day, proving its speed. Rain on Friday meant that qualifying would be canceled and starting positions for Saturday's race would be determined by championship points, putting the Whelen / Team Corvette in ninth.
On race day, once the green flag dropped, Boris Said started the race and quickly moved up to P7 in the first few laps, putting himself right behind the two Ferrari 458s of AIM Autosport. Trying to complete a pass through the turn six / turn seven complex before the back straight, the #31 got pushed off the outside of turn 7 by the #69 Ferrari and made tire-to-tire contact. Back on track, both cars continued, only to have the involved tires completely disintegrate by turn nine. This incident would prove to be the downfall for the #31 and would essentially end the race for the Marsh Racing team. After an unscheduled pit stop to the repair the damaged to the right front and a penalty, the #31 Corvette quickly fell out of the race.
"Our Whelen Motorsports team went into Road Atlanta with big hopes after a third place finish at Barber. We have all raced here with other series' but never with GRAND-AM. I was really excited to hear that Road Atlanta got added to the schedule this year as this track has always been one of my favorites."
"I was fastest in the test day before the event, so we were confident for a good outcome. Very early in the race, Boris got tangled up with the #69 Ferrari that didn't give him enough room on the track. After a cut tire from the incident and a penalty in the pits, our race went downhill quickly. I never got a chance to get in the car."
"It's really too bad what happened here after the guys worked so hard preparing the car for this event. But that's racing - fantastic highs and outstanding lows. We will be back in about a month at the Detroit street circuit, the home of Chevrolet. We will make them proud in the motor city."
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