index

August 17, 2008 - Joliet, Illinois

Team MatherMotorsport Races on the Autobahn!

The Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois, that is. This was the first time Team MatherMotorsport and Phil Mather had raced at the Autobahn Country Club, and it was a difficult racetrack to learn. "There are not a lot of reference points to judge your braking or turn-in points from, and the track requires fast memorization of the turns in order to get up to speed quickly," said Phil after the Friday testing sessions.

Mather was up to speed fairly quicklly qualifying in sixth position out of nine SpecMiatas starting the race. When the green flag dropped, Mather got an excellent start and was in third position by the fourth turn. It was a dramatic start because a couple of Mather's competitors had gone into the grass off track and had to fight to keep control of their cars. Mather dodged and weaved through the sliding cars and kept his racecar intact. He held onto third place for most of the first lap, when he got passed by two cars. On lap four, Mather was still right behind the fourth place car when he went slightly wide into a very fast (80+ mph) left hand turn. The outer rear tire hit the dirt off the track surface and Mather was along for the ride at that point. He spun to a stop without damage (only a bruised ego) and continued in seventh position. He caught up to the sixth place car and was able to get by a few laps later. Mather brought home the Team MatherMotorsport CG-Lock / Royal Purple SpecMiata in a respectable sixth position, finishing up the final race of the regular racing season.

The next race will be the SCCA Runoffs National Championships in Topeka, Kansas at Hearland Park Topeka Raceway from October 4th to 14th. Team MatherMotorsport will be there for the second time to improve on their 25th place finish in the nation from last year.

Stay tuned for more exciting news to come in the near future.