Sandell Grabs Another Podium in D.C. Red Bull GRC Final

Sandell Takes 2nd in DC Final
Dyne 8th in Final; Davis 10th in Lites Final

After suffering flat tires both in qualifying and the first heat race, Patrik Sandell and the Kobalt Tools team rebounded to take his third podium of the year in the Red Bull Global Rallycross Final. Sandell won the semi-final and therefore earned the second starting spot for the Final in the middle of row one. Sandell currently leads all series drivers with nine Heat/Semi-Final wins for the year.On the start of the Final, Sandell fought hard and retained second position going into the fourth corner.  He followed the leader through the Kobalt Tools Joker lap on lap one and kept the pressure on the whole race. However, an opportunity to pass for the win did not present itself and the #18 Kobalt Tools team settled for a strong second place finish and the valuable points it brought.

Patrik Sandell on the Washington DC Event:
“I’m really happy with a second place finish today. After suffering two flat tires yesterday, this proves how strong the Kobalt Tools team is!”
“We ran as hard as we could in the final, and it was important to me to race clean with Nelson (Piquet, who won). I tried to put pressure on him, let him know I was there, and he didn’t make any mistakes. Overall, this was a good day for points and we will keep working hard to move up in the championship.”

Debuting Cuttwood E-Cig Liquids on the #14 car this weekend, Austin Dyne and team fought through a tough Friday and a crash in Heat 2 Saturday morning on the long and tight D.C. circuit.  Starting sixth in the Final, Dyne and the Cuttwood car fought hard for track position ultimately finishing eighth.

Austin Dyne on the Washington DC Event:
“It’s the not the debut we wanted for Cuttwood, but we’re going to keep pushing hard for the podium and wins. We struggled all weekend to find the balance we wanted with the car. Even in the Final, when we had the pace to be competitive, it was difficult to pass. We’ll step it up for LA, Cuttwood’s and my home race!”

The River Racing Supercar Lites team broke a clutch flywheel and missed a majority of the laps on Friday.  Working late into the night, the River Racing crew repaired the #07 and were ready for Saturday’s Heats and Final events.  Davis ran strong lap times all day; however, on the second lap of the Final made heavy contact with another car which had unexpectedly slowed in her path after suffering from some type of issue. This bent the right front lower A-arm and eliminated the River Racing car from the race.

Collete Davis on the Washington DC Event:
“We had a major mechanical failure on Friday which stalled our progress. The River Racing guys worked real hard all day and night to get it fixed, and I’m really proud and appreciative of them for that.  In the Final, we were running well and probably could have finished fifth or sixth. However, the car in front of me hit the brakes when he should have been on the gas and I had no where to go. After that, the suspension was bent and we had to retire.  It’s too bad, but we’ll regroup and be ready for the LA rounds!”