Amy Ruman scored another top ten finish in her #23 McNichols Co./Goodyear/Cenweld Chevrolet Corvette in round 2 of the Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am Series this past weekend at VIRginia International Raceway. Ruman started 9th in the 20-car grid for the 28-lap, 91.56-mile race on Sunday afternoon.

Rain was threatening just before the race got underway, but it held off the whole time. Ruman took the green and was off to battle with Simon Gregg and Edison Lluch Jr. Lluch Jr. got by Ruman and Gregg. After a double yellow, Gregg and Ruman took the restart. Gregg dropped 4 wheels off track heading into the uphill esses, turns 7 and 8. While he recovered, Ruman was right on his tail and passed Gregg coming out of the Oak Tree turn 11a, onto the back straightaway. Gregg, who was running a bigger motor that Ruman, passed her back at the end of the straight. Side by side, Ruman tried to pass Gregg back again in turns 15 and 16, but Gregg had a slight edge and squeezed Ruman in to the grass of turn 16. Ruman had to pit the next lap to clean the grass out of the grill and prevent overheating the engine.

After the pit stop Ruman re-entered the field in 16th position. The next lap went to a double yellow flag condition and the field bunched up again. After the green flag, Ruman made her way back up through the field to finish in 6th place. With her 3rd place at Road Atlanta and 6th place at VIR, Ruman sits third in the Drivers’ Championship points at 45 points, behind Drissi (47 points) in second, and Ave (53 points) in first.

“What a race,” stated Ruman. “The conditions of this race were ever changing. Unfortunately, I got squeezed a bit and went off, forcing me to pit. Otherwise, things may have been different, you never know, but that’s racing. Simon (Gregg) and I had a fun race going the whole time, it was a great battle.”

Ruman also raced in Saturday’s VIR SCCA Oak Tree Double National GT-1 race. On the second lap of qualifying, Ruman broke a right front upright, which left her with only one timed qualifying lap. She went to work in the race, starting 16th on the split start grid (GT classes in the first group). She worked her way up through the field and finished in 2nd. Edison Lluch, Sr., who finished in 1st, was penalized 3 positions for passing under the yellow flag during the race, giving Ruman the win at the end of the day.

**NEW** - For all race weekend updates and quick news, you can now follow the Ruman Racing team online at: http://twitter.com/rumanracing

To view entry lists, schedules, results, and info about the Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am Series visit: http://www.sccatrans-am.com/.

On Deck: May 16-17 - Amy and Niki Ruman in SCCA National, Summit Point, WV

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I think the opening shot of this girl checking over her R32’s rear tires perfectly represents this past Sunday’s event at Nikko.

All the ladies were out to impress and they sure as hell didn’t hold back. To give everyone a chance, the competition was divided into three groups: beginners, intermediate and the experts.

This HCR32 entered in the beginner class was doing a great job in front of the judges

I really liked the look of this S14, kitted with BN sports aero. The white BCNR33 wheels up front looked like a great fit, the girl behind the wheel seemed to be pretty happy with them!

This RPS13 was driven by last year’s Nikko Queen, Hiroko-chan which was sporting some rather cute girly teddy-bear graphics…

…not to mention the big teddy bear riding next to her in the passenger seat. World’s biggest lucky charm!

Here is my favorite S13 of the day, the Team 160Power Silvia driven by Mayumi-chan in the intermediate class. This girl was fearless going full out through every corner and not even taking the bother of removing her bumpers.

Remember that yellow S14 in the teaser post? This is the driver, Miho-chan, another entrant in the intermediate class, but looked like she could easily take on most of the girls in the expert class with her T67 powered SR20.

Another spotless RPS13 doing its thing out on track. The driver is the cute girl giving me the peace sign in the teaser post.

Boyfriends come in handy when trying to sort out problems and set-up issues with the cars. Some of the girls in the beginner and intermediate classes were taking the odd pointer from their experienced drifter partners.

This is not a girl driving, but there is a very happy looking one sitting in the passenger seat!

And here is the driver, proving that disabilities will not get you out of a drift car.

Pulling on the lever will actuate the throttle while moving it forward will get the brakes to come on. He made it looks so easy out on track and was putting out more tire smoke than anyone else!

Here is a small girl in a big car!

The first corner at Nikko is lethal. You will score more points and impress the judges if you let your rear end drop down into the dip, but get it wrong and you are in the mud, or the barriers if you are really unlucky. This is Naoko-chan showing us how its done in her white RPS13.

Shiho-chan of the 3-up team was getting her tail out consistently with her red S14.

Here is Rie Shinmi in the Kid’s Heart 4-door ER34, doing a great job in the expert class. D1 pro driver Tezuka was backing her up on the day, making sure her car was up to scratch. Tezuka took out the ER34 for a few laps at the end of the day. After driving up all the way from Nagoya it was the least he could do to relax a little!

The top spots of the expert class went to Akari Nagasawa in her S13 as seen in the teaser shots, Rie Shinmi in the ER34 above and in third place was Naoko Matsumoto. There are a couple of desktops to come from this event so make sure you grab them when I post them tomorrow.

Photos/Words by: Dino Dalle Carbonare

You can see more about Michele on her site: www.michelebumgarnerracing.com

Fast female Molly Taylor made it a second Swift Sport Cup win in a row on the Carlisle-based Pirelli International Rally at the weekend.

Australian Molly and Cumbrian co-driver Jemma Bellingham battled stages in the notorious ‘Killer Kielder’ and Kershope Forests in their Monster Sport Europe and Motorsport Insurance Services backed Suzuki Swift Sport.

The girls left the start at Carlisle Racecourse on Friday evening for two stages in Kershope Forest. Running later down the field, meant that they would be completing the stages just as it was getting dark.

They didn’t quite get off to the start they’d hoped for; the rough nature of the stages caused them to drop some time. They continued through SS2, determined to get through the tricky stages and back into service. At the end of Leg 1, the girls were lying third in the Swift Sport Cup, twenty seconds behind leader, Luke Pinder.

Leg 2 began early on Saturday morning with four stages in the Kielder Forest Complex. SS5, the girls managed to claw back some time from fellow Suzuki competitor, Richard Sykes, getting into second place. SS6 the girls took the lead of the Swift Sport Cup after Luke Pinder crashed out of the rally.

In service Molly commented “We were all pushing really hard and I was trying not to take too many risks as I knew we still had lots of stage miles still to go. It was a real shame to see Luke off the road, but I had to keep focused. With the fast tricky stages I had to keep concentrating on the notes and keeping the car neat to avoid the huge ditches!”

Their lead was short lived when Richard Sykes took 2.9 seconds back from them. The girls were then affected by the hold-up when Guy Wilks’ car caught fire. They assumed the rally was over and had settled for 2nd place in the British Rally Championship’s Swift Sport Cup, when the organisers announced they would still run the two final stages of the day in Kershope, so the title was still to be fought.

Determined to have a good battle with Richard Sykes for the win, the girls set out on SS11 with the plan to push as hard as they could without taking any major risks, however they were given the lead by default as Sykes suffered mechanical problems mid-way through the stage.

“We were genuinely disappointed to see Richard stopped in stage as I was looking forward to comparing our times with him at the finish.” said Molly, “The rally has been a real rollercoaster for us this weekend. We struggled with the rough stages on Friday night, and then we had the battle with Luke and Richard for the win. It’s a huge relief to have finished and to win again. We’ve taken maximum championship points for the first two rounds, which will help us massively for the rest of the season.”

Molly and Jemma won the Swift Sport Cup by 1m 16s from Manxman David Harrison.

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I’m not going to bother doing a big event report on this year’s Nikko Queen event, since a lot of the stuff I shot would be more fun as part of a few mini-features, so look forward to those.

Just to get the formalities out of the way though, here are the ladies who placed in the Expert Class competition!

First Place was Akari Nagasawa. It’s rare to see anyone drive Nikko Circuit’s first corner as neatly and consistently as she did all day. A quick flick in, stomp on the brakes to settle the car and full acceleration right out wide towards the judging stand with not a single bit of visible handbrake correction.

I have something new to try next time I drive at Nikko, I think…

Keep in mind, her boyfriend is D1 Street Legal driver Hideyuki Fujino, so you can imagine the sort of conversations that go on between those two.

Second Place was Rie Niimi, who drove her Kids Heart-supported R34 GT-t four-door up from Nagoya early that morning to compete.

Actually, it’s more like Tsuyoshi Tezuka drove her car on the back of a loader up from Nagoya early that morning. More about this and Michiko’s S14 in another post.

Third was Naoko Matsumoto, a local girl with a ridiculously cute pink helmet and ridiculously late braking technique.

Yeah, they can kick your arse at drifting.

Photos & Words: NoriYaro

Coming off her third place podium finish in the first round of the Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am at Road Atlanta, Amy Ruman and the Ruman Racing team are headed to Virginia International Raceway for Round 2 of the Trans-Am Series. Ruman will take to the track starting Thursday April 16 for a test day. Friday and Saturday afternoon sessions will be practice, followed by one qualifying session on Sunday morning at 8:50. The Trans-Am race will start approximately at 3:15 pm Sunday, the last race of the day.

Ruman is also entered for the first GT-1 race of the VIR SCCA Oak Tree Double National weekend. Practice and qualifying will be on Friday, and the GT-1 race one will be on Saturday morning. Ruman hasn’t raced at VIR since October of 2002, when she ran in Pro Spec Racer and finished 15th out of 47 cars in PSR race 1 of the VIR SpeedFest weekend.

“I am really excited to race at VIR again. It is a really interesting and challenging track and I am looking forward to running there,” commented Ruman.

In other news, Amy Ruman was honored last week at the SCCA Mahoning Valley Region Club meeting when she received the 2008 Mahoning Valley Region SCCA Driver of the Year Award. Ruman was recognized for her racing accomplishments for the past several years, and received the award from club board members Sandy and Reed Kryder.

“I just want to thank the Mahoning Valley Region again for such a great honor as the 2008 Driver of the Year! I really appreciate my club and especially all of the workers associated with the events I participate in, I couldn’t do it without them,” stated Ruman.

**NEW** - For all race weekend updates and quick news, you can now follow the Ruman Racing team online at: http://twitter.com/rumanracing

IndyCar Series driver and owner of Sarah Fisher Racing, Sarah Fisher, was awarded the Spirit of Leadership award today by the Women’s Automotive Association International (WAAI).  The award was presented in conjunction with the National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“To follow in the footsteps of the many women who have received this award before me, I’m honored to have been thought of for this prestigious award,” said Fisher, who announced on January 13th that she would return to the IndyCar Series in 2009 with backing from Dollar General. “For me, being an active part of my community and lending a helping hand has been a dedication for me in my life thus far. I’m very happy I was able to accept this award in person today thanks to AAA Auto Insurance and to also meet this group of female influencers in the automotive industry. Thank you very much.”

Established in 1999, the WAAI’s “Spirit of Leadership” award is presented annually to professional women in the automotive industry. These women have dedicated their life to their profession and to giving back to others; and they serve as mentors and are role models to us all. Sustained superior performance, community involvement, influence and support of other women within the automotive industry are just some of the qualities these women possess.

“Sarah was chosen for her outstanding contributions to racing,” said Lynn M. Wilhelm, Executive Director of the WAAI. “Throughout Sarah’s career, she has always kept a community focus. We’re honored to award Sarah the Spirit of Leadership and have her in our presence today.

Along with Fisher, Monica Emerson, former Executive Director of the Global Diversity Office at Chrysler LLC., Ellen McKoy, Senior Director, Dealers Relations at SEMA and Executive Director of SEWA and Judith Schumacher, Principal, Schumacher Chevrolet, were also honored during the reception aboard the Creole Queen in New Orleans.

Fisher opens the 2009 season at the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on Sunday April 26, 2009, and shown live on the VERSUS (VS) Network at 4:00 p.m. EST. Additional coverage will be available on the IMS Radio Network and XM Satellite Radio’s “IndyCar Racing,”

Gail Hill was back on track last weekend at Silverstone but not in her usual Jaguar.  She was testing the Ginetta G50 sports car and is now working hard to raise enough money to compete in the G50 Cup this season which forms part of the British Touring Cars package.

The car is powered by a Ford 3.5 litre engine developing 300bhp but with the car weighing in at only 945kg there is more than enough power all of which is fed through a Quaife six speed sequential box to the rear wheels. She had not previously driven such a professionally built car and wanted to make sure she wasn’t a complete numpty behind the wheel. ‘I am really looking forward to throwing it around the GP circuit but sadly the slick tyres have been replaced with full wets due to the sopping wet conditions after all the rain last night’ she said prior to going out for her first few taster laps.

The conditions were treacherous and she did admit to turning in a bit late at Vale and spinning onto the grass infield. Once she re-familiarised herself with the circuit layout however and got used to the slip shift system she was flying. The car is an absolute dream to drive with extremely responsive steering and ten times easier than my non power assisted V12 she quipped later. The acceleration is lightning quick and the whole package feels right, very easy to develop confidence even in such bad conditions though I am only driving at around 80% because I haven’t organised insurance, and this baby is worth more than my annual salary she joked after completing several stints in the car.

It was a shame that the track never really dried out all morning so she never got the chance to see how the car performed on slick tyres but she was very happy with the support provided by Ginetta cars who had transported the car down for the day, many thanks to them.

Asked afterwards what the next step was she said ‘I need to arrange to see my commercial partners now and get the money together. I can definitely go well in the car and with more seat time think I could do well in the G50 Cup. The hard work starts now with trying to get all the funds in place and with the current economic climate it could be hard and there is not much time before the season begins. I’ll be spending more time on the phone and travelling around I suspect in the next few weeks but I am hopeful of getting a package together.That said, anyone who is interested in talking to me about what is on offer, the TV and other media exposure, corporate hospitality etc then don’t be shy and do get in touch.’

Lets hope we do see this ex Jaguar champion driver out competing with the mostly male grids that appear on the TOCA calendar.

In Atlanta I was running the Thursday Thunder Series, going into the last 2 races I was 28 points behind the points leader. The points leader had stuffed me into the wall on race 4 and shoved me out of line on the restart in race 5 and 6 to beat me. I had several chances to pay him back but chose not to. In the last two races I finished 2nd and 3rd and finished well enough to regain the points lead by 1 point. The fifth place car chose not to go to tech because he was not in the points and everyone behind him was moved up one spot. This gave the points leader an extra two points and caused me to missed the championship by one point and I finishing second.

Earlier that week I raced Lowes Motor Speedway for the 1st time, It was awesome! I started 28th of 29. I drove from the rear to the front, finishing 6th in my first race in Charlotte.

I also went to Sunny South Speedway, in Alabama. This is a 1/4 mile high banked D shaped track. I only got 3 laps of practice and then a green, white, checker Qualifier. We were very surprised to find out it would be a 50 lap race. (my first 50 lap race) I started in the rear of 15 cars and drove quickly to 3rd place. There was a lot of beating and banging going on but I got to third without moving any one. The 1st and 2nd place cars were beating on each other and switching positions almost every lap. I tried to be patient and followed them waiting for them to make a mistake. I was faster than them, but didn’t want to get wrecked while passing them as they were being very rough with each other. The two cars behind me started beating my back bumper off, knocking me completely sideways several times. But I held my position until 6 laps to go and got knocked sideways and then he drove into my side, which headed me straight for the wall off of turn four. I threw the car sideways and caught it and only lost the spot to him. The car behind him did the same thing on the white flag lap and I lost a spot to him as well, while dodging the wall again. I went high in turn three and tried to cross over on him coming out of four and he beat me to the finish line by about 1 foot. I ended up finishing 5th in my first 50 lap race and my first time on a high banked 1/4 mile track. IT was a great learning experience and a very fast and fun track to drive.

Since finishing the Thursday Thunder series a have continued to race in Cordele GA. Were I am racing against Pro’s and Semi-pro’s. For the last 5 weeks it’s been my sister, Niccole and I at the track, because my Dad is in Texas working.

Sept 20- The car was good but the track was slick, Niccole and I left the car alone and let the track come to us. I finished first in semi pro again and 2rd overall.

Sept 27- The car was real tight in Practice and the heat. For the feature the car straightened up and I was able to drive the car to a first place finish.

Oct 4th- The car was loose in and out in practice and in the heat but for the feature we got it right, I started 5th and drove it to second on the third lap but when a car on the outside came down on me and cut my right front tire. There was nothing I could do.

Oct. 18th- The car was sideways most all the way around the track in practice and in the heat but for the feature we tightened it up to much and I was unable to get in the gas coming off the turns. I had to really get up on the wheel and was able to hang on to a 7th place finish. This finish sealed my semi-pro points championship in Cordele and I was second in points overall (including the pros)

This has been a great year and I have learned a lot. I think I am a much better driver today than I was a year ago. I look forward to my second year in Legends and plan on leaving my mark and making a name for myself at several different tracks in the coming year. I also hope to start testing in a late model this coming year as well.

I am now a freshman in High School, I am in the International Baccalaureate Program with college classes. With all the time that racing has taken I have managed to keep my (A) average and hope to continue that as well.

I was heartbroke when I wasn’t invited to the final phases of Lyn St. James’ Driver Development Program but after finishing this year I feel that it was probably best as I was able to stay more focused on my Legends racing. There will always be next year to finish the LSJDDP. I look very much forward to seeing everyone next year again in the LSJDDP.

Summing up my first season in Legends Cars:
Second in points at Atlanta Motor Speedway
First place in Semi-pro at Cordele, Georgia
3rd in the State of Florida and 35th of 214 in the Country in the INEX Young Lions Div.
5th in the State of Florida and 56th of 652 in the Country in the INEX Semi-pro Div.
(8) 1st place finishes in 34 races
(25) top 5s in 34 races
(32) top 10s in 34 races
All in all…. a very good season!

Local racing driver Amanda Whitaker played a starring role at Croft this week as she was featured on ITV Tyne Tees evening news Monday night together with partner Anthony Dunn. She gained support from local company Roman for the event.

Amanda was explaining how she has raced against & beaten the boys over her career & even competed against her boyfriend Anthony recently at Croft.

She will also be interviewed live with Lisa McCormick on BBC Radio Tees 95-95.8 FM on Thursday 20th November between 2-2.30pm.

Amanda finished 3rd in the HSCC Historic Formula Ford 1600cc National Championship this year competing against a field of more than 30 male drivers. She hopes to race again in 2009: “There are a few things in the pipeline depending on funding”.

She will also be at the Autosport International Show in January as a “Star Driver” on the BWRDC stand promoting women in motorsport.