August 05, 2003 – Trois Rivieres, Quebec – Bob Ruman finished 11th at le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres on Saturday.
“The first two practice sessions went well on Friday,” said Ruman. ” We were in the top-10 all day and the crew gave me a car that handled extremely well. The setup was right on and we’d solved a minor problem with the brake bias control before qualifying. About five laps into qualifying, I brushed the wall with the right front wheel and it bent the tie-rod end and the wheel. Fortunately it didn’t hurt the tire, but it did put a halt to the possibility of turning a faster lap, so I had to settle for 10th spot in qualifying. I felt we probably could have qualified at least in 8th, where we were in Saturday morning’s practice”
Ruman started in 9th for the race, after a competitor moved to the back after an engine change. The race started with everyone getting through turn one neatly and then settling down with Ruman in 9th behind Max Lagod. About 7 laps in, the crew noticed wisps of smoke coming from the right rear wheel as the McNichols/Cenweld Corvette came down the pit-straight. Finally, with the smoke refusing to cease, the crew chief called Ruman into the pits to investigate. The crew removed the right rear wheel and found brake fluid getting on the rotor. It was an extremely minor seep, but a tiny bit of fluid was hitting the hot rotor each time the brakes were applied. The crew resolved that problem and sent Ruman on his way. Unfortunately, they had lost three laps (the field was turning one minute, five-second laps, so three minutes in the pits equals three laps down).
Ruman settled back and worked on running consistent, yet quick laps, while keeping an eye on the brakes. After 5 laps or so, he began to work the brakes harder and consistently turned his fastest times of the weekend. Ruman then tracked down and passed several competitors and picked up the lap that separated him from 11th place and passed him. Tenth place was two laps ahead, so there was no way for Ruman to pick him off in the laps remaining, even though Ruman was going three seconds a lap faster.
“It was pretty disappointing,” said Ruman, “to have a car that was this good and then to have it undone by such a minor problem. The car was really strong right to the end, but we couldn’t overcome the lost laps. The positive note here, though, is that it seems we’ve finally found a solution to the chronic push we’ve been wrestling with for a time. The car was very nicely balanced and no longer punishing the tires, which is always the biggest concern at a tight track like this one. I really love street courses, and this remains one of my favorites.”
“The Canadian fans are amazing; the people who come here year after year are respectful and knowledgeable and so enthusiastic. It makes it a lot of fun to run here. Now we will set our sites on Road America where we can really wind our cars up. “
Next Race – Road America August 23
