January 22, 2005 – Contact: Amy Ruman 330.813.2323 cell
Munroe Falls, OH – Ruman Racing was at its second Florida GT-1 winter national race held at Moroso in West Palm on January 16th. Amy Ruman was back in the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette after sister Niki took her first GT-1 win at Sebring on January 9th.
Unfortunately, Ruman battled mechanical woes all weekend long. She qualified 3rd in the GT-1 field behind Leavy and Canney with only one qualifying lap before engine troubles ended the first qualifying session. There was rain for the second qualifying session and Ruman did not hit the track.
The crew worked hard swapping motors so Amy could run the hardship practice Sunday morning. Everything seemed fine during the warm up and Ruman was ready to race.
As the green flag fell, Leavy sprinted into first, while Canney and Ruman fell into 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Ruman pressured Canney for 2nd and passed him into turn one. Ruman started to chase down Leavy. Then on lap five, just past the start/finish line, Ruman lost the motor.
“I don’t know what to say. I was so disappointed, not just for me, but more so for the team. They worked so hard to get me back out there for the race. The motor just let go when I shifted into fourth gear. I was really upset because I was just starting to chase down Leavy and I had a really great set-up on the car,” stated Ruman. “We will regroup in the next couple of months and get back out there at Summit Point. I will be ready to race.”
John Leavy went on to win the event with Mike Canney finishing in second, Floyd in third. Ruman posted the second fastest time during the race.
Next up: April 1-3: GT-1 National at Summit Point, VA
www.rumanracing.com
