Atlanta Motorsports Group’s confidence
grows toward Battery Tender MX-5 Cup Championship
Hoover and Silva dedicated to maintaining
highest quality in Mazda MX-5 race cars for their drivers
As the
Mazda MX-5 Cup sponsored by Battery Tender season sits neatly at its half-way
point, Atlanta Motorsports Group’s Jason Hoover and Tony Silva have much to be
proud.
The Braselton,
GA provider of racecars and support has three young drivers competing in this
year’s MX-5 Cup. And though the schedule calls for racing only to resume on
July 10th at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, all are working as though
competition restarts tomorrow. The anticipation, like the preparation,
continues to build.
“Our lull has
no similarity to the old season break in Formula 1,” smiled Silva, “because
we’re working everyday and being as redundant in our preparation as possible. What
we’ve learned since 2001, like many teams, is that what you do in the shop
translates to your race day performance. Both Jason and I have promised quality;
we are committed to our drivers.
At present,
the AMG (Atlanta Motorsports Group) drivers
sit 2nd, 7th and 9th in points, with Patrick
Gallagher, Peter Portante, and Kyle Loustaunau all having experienced success
in 2015.
For Gallagher,
his 3rd season with the Series, the year has been precious. After 14
top five’s, and six finishes of either 2nd or 3rd, the
racer from Thornville, Ohio was able to put together an almost
perfect weekend for Races 5 and 6 at Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca (CA).
Securing
his first Pole Position, Gallagher and several racers, including team-mate Portante
fiercely traded positions throughout the race. Gallagher would finish 2nd
with Portante 3rd. In Race Six Gallagher would take his Howard
Concrete Pumping #44 to the front and put all 46 drivers behind. In a show of dominance,
he would lead Portante to the Checkered Flag by almost 2 seconds; giving both
drivers their best Series finishes to date.
Peter Portante frequently
calls his races ‘frustrating’. The Plainville, Connecticut racer wants nothing more than to
win. He came very close with his Intercity Lines-LinkToEXPERT #24 at Mazda
Raceway.
Kyle Loustaunau is learning
quickly what Pro-Racing is all about. The winner of the annual Mazda Club Racer
Shootout; the scholarship package gave the Vacaville, California racer a great opportunity to go
professional racing in 2015. Loustaunau has shown why he won the Shoot-Out. His
talent evident in every race; it won’t be long until he leaps to the top podium
step.
Both are
in their first season of Mazda’s gem of a Series. Portante has climbed from 14th
to 7th in points while Loustaunau was never below 12th
and presently stands 9th.
They are
team-mates - three unique individuals with an immense desire to win, wanting
nothing less than excellence.
“What are
drivers want and what we want is identical”, continued Silva. “Providing the
highest quality of racecars possible is what we work at constantly. Mazda gives
us an amazing platform and our crew prepares the cars to get the highest
performance possible; making our cars fast but mechanically sound.”
What about
a Championship this season?
“Since
2006 we have secured four,” reveals Jason Hoover. “I don’t think it’s out of
the question at all. Each of our drivers have now turned the fastest or second
fastest laps in qualifying and, or during the race. We are certainly working
towards it.”
With the
fastest track of the season next, not long from know the AMG crew will load each driver’s
potent Mazda MX-5 Cup car into the transporters for the 1030 mile trip to Bowmanville, Ontario Canada.
And if
history repeats, the anticipation and preparation will transfer to probability
and speed, with each driver bringing further success to the Atlanta Motorsports
Group.
###
For
added information on AMG and/or drivers:
Jason
Hoover
Cell:
678-936-6591
Jason@hooverspeed.net
Tony Silva
Cell:
916-215-9354
Pyrofytr@me.com
Rick
Raducha/Driver Connection
Cell:
860-796-7223
rraducha@sbcglobal.net
END