June 30, 2009

Thomson Takes On the Mustang Challenge

Lexington, OH—For two weekends in June, I was behind the wheel of a race car that’s quite different from the one I’m used to. Normally I’m either driving or calling strategy for one of Compass360 Racing’s bright orange Honda Civic Si’s. These nimble little front-drivers have proven to be rather good race cars, as we’re currently leading the Driver’s, Team’s and Manufacturer’s Championships in Grand-Am’s KONI Challenge. We made history a month ago by being the first team in series’ history to sweep the podium (at New Jersey), and have had four different drivers take race wins so far this year.

So when I strapped into the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge’s white #00 “Media Car” at Mosport, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Here was a car that tips the scales at nearly 1,000 lbs heavier than one of our Hondas. It sits on different tires (BFGoodrich R1’s rather than KONI-spec Hoosiers), and is driven by the rear wheels.

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June 23, 2009

Miller and C360R Extend Championship Lead at Mid-Ohio

Mansfield, OH—Christian Miller and co-driver Randy Pobst fought a long, hard battle at the historic Mid-Ohio track this weekend against cars that had a clear performance advantage, taking a solid second-place finish that extended Miller’s lead in the KONI Driver’s Championship.

“The Volkswagens were in a class of their own this weekend,” noted Miller. “Randy and I pulled out everything we had to finish second, and even so we used up a lot of our car doing it.”

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June 10, 2009

Karl Thomson Making Mustang Debut at Mosport

KONI Challenge team leader ready for Mustang Challenge Debut at Mosport

Toronto, ON—The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Media car, which has seen a wide range of drivers jump in to experience the competitive nature of the Mustang Challenge through the 2009 season, will add a new name to its roof this weekend as Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge entrant and racer Karl Thomson will race this weekend as the series heads north to Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario.

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June 08, 2009

C360R Returns to Canadian Touring Car

Compass360 Racing announced today that the team will return to Castrol Canadian Touring Car (CCTCC) competition in 2009, fielding an Acura TSX driven by longtime team driver David Ciekiewicz.

The move marks a further expansion of the C360R Road Racing program, which ironically began with CCTCC in 2003, when Team Principal Karl Thomson took Rookie of the Year honors, before moving the team to Grand-Am’s KONI Challenge series full-time in 2004.

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June 05, 2009

C360R Aiming For Third Straight Watkins Glen Win

(Courtesy Grand-Am)
Compass360 Racing has dominated at The Glen in ST action in the past two seasons. Two seasons ago, Johnson made a last-lap pass to give himself and Karl Thomson victory, while 2007 class co-champions Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood garnered their first series victories in 2008. Both wins came in Acura TSXs.
The transition to the Honda Civic Si has not endured much of a challenge thus far, as Compass360 has earned three victories in five races this season and owns first, third and eighth in the team standings.
Christian Miller leads the driver standings by eight points (143-135) over rookies Pat Iannucci and Lawson Aschenbach. Miller drives Compass360’s No. 74 034 Motorsport / Skunk2 Honda Civic Si with Randy Pobst, a 2003 overall winner at WGI. The pair have combined for two wins in 2009. Travis Walker, entered in the No. 75 Skunk2/C360R.com, sits eighth in points after winning at Lime Rock, and has finished on the podium in three races. He is teaming with New York native John Kuitwaard, who shared the car with Walker for the duo’s first KONI win.

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