Season’s Best Finish for Subaru Road Racing Team

- Aquilante, Spaude 6th in Road America GRAND-AM race -

Elkhart Lake, Wis. – June 24, 2011

While an extraordinary number of their competitors made high-risk moves and paid a price for impatience, Subaru Road Racing Team co-drivers Andrew Aquilante and Bret Spaude raced their Subaru Impreza WRX STi with the checkered flag as their goal, and reaped their reward.

Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., and Spaude, Bushnell, Fla., finished the team’s season’s best sixth place in the two-hour, 30-minute GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series on the venerable 4.048 mile Road America circuit near Elkhart Lake, Wis.

The Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) prepares and races a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4-door model in the series for Subaru of America, Inc.

Andrew Aquilante returned to the cockpit after a two-race absence. He relieved Spaude behind the wheel one-hour and six minutes into the race, in sixth place, temporarily picked up one position for laps 27- 35, settled into a safe run to the checkered flags while those around crashed with abandon.

“We worked all the full-course caution situations correctly, timed our one pit stop correctly, and got consistent race laps from Brett and AJ,” said Joe Aquilante, owner of Phoenix Performance Inc., in Phoenixville, Pa., where the SRRT cars are race-prepared.

“This was a very good result for the STI on a long horsepower track.  Both Bret and Andrew kept the car in the Top ten the entire race and the car ran flawlessly.  We are starting to see the results of the development effort and are looking forward to the last three races of the year!”

Added James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc., “I’m very pleased with our team’s result at Road America.”  “After a top 5 qualifying spot, both our WRX STI race car and the team performed well to secure such an encouraging result on a track which emphasizes power and torque.  SRRT is looking forward to taking this momentum forward into the Laguna Seca round of the series.”

The race was televised by SPEED TV to air July 3 at 1pm ET.

The next race is the season’s only show for fans west of the Mississippi River, July 8-9 at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, Calif.

Sponsors for SRRT include Subaru Of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), Hawk Brakes, Ron Davis Racing Radiators, Automotive Racing Products, VAC Motorsports, Rockland Standard Gear, Ecutek, Lista, Rotary Lifts, Cusco, Carbonetic, Hella, and Perrin.

 About SRRT Phoenix LLC

SRRT Phoenix LLC represents Subaru of America Inc.’s  road racing effort in the 10-round GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series and is owned and managed by Joe Aquilante of Phoenix Performance, LLC. The team’s 32,000 sq. ft. facility is in Phoenixville, Pa., 40 miles west of Philadelphia, PA. Team drivers Andrew Aquilante and Bret Spaude race a Subaru Impreza WRX STI in the Grand Sport class.

For more information about the team and the cars, call Joe Aquilante at (610) 482-0141.  Fans can visit the team’s website at www.srrtphoenix.com and the Phoenix Performance website at www.phoenixperformance.net

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