POMONA, CALIFORNIA (August 19, 2008) – Team Red Bull/BOSCH battled it out for second and a fifth place finish at round 9 and 10 at the Pomona Fairplex in Los Angeles, CA. Fans filled the stands, enjoying great weather and spectacular Championship Off-Road Racing. Saturday was televised live on SPEED channel. Both days of racing will be televised on NBC on Sunday, September 14th. The part dirt, part asphalt course is one of the most technical courses of the CORR series. The course includes a sweeping left hand turn on asphalt, immediately followed by a large tabletop jump that sends the trucks soaring though the air. Additional features include “The Pit”, a tight right hand banked turn that is actually dug down fifty feet into the ground. The course makes passing extremely difficult without contact, making start position critical.
Practice/Qualifying Saturday
Ricky Johnson rolled right out and aggressively attacked the part dirt, part asphalt track. Ricky immediately posted the fastest lap time in the Red Bull/BOSCH Pro-2 only to be slightly bested by Rob Macachren. Steve Barlow went out and had challenges right away when his 4-wheel drive failed, leaving him to qualify with only 2 wheel drive. Despite the mechanical issue Barlow managed to qualify 10th.
Racing Saturday
Starting in the third row back on the inside, RJ attacked the field quickly moving up. During the final corner of lap one, Johnson in the Red Bull/BOSCH Pro-2, was clipped by Greg Adler and lost his brakes. The left side caliper was actually sheared completely off. With no front brakes Johnson would be unable to set the truck up to carry his speed through the corners. However Johnson managed to stay in the race and keep slugging it out for a 5th place finish. Steve Barlow started on the inside mid-pack and quickly moved from 10th to 8th, then to 6th during the first lap. Coming through the end of the second corner of the second lap Barlow’s transmission failed, putting a quick end to the day of racing. Apparently, during the parade lap Ed Herbst’s throttle was temporally stuck causing him to slam into the back of Barlow’s Red Bull/BOSCH number 2 Pro-4 unknowingly damaging the input shaft of the transmission.
Practice/Qualifying Sunday
Ricky Johnson came out and once again attacked the course in the Red Bull/BOSCH number nine Pro-2. Despite his efforts, Johnson would once again be slowed by mechanical failure. The newly re-built front brakes failed during the first lap. Johnson also continued to have fuel pick up issues, which cost him precious time coming out of the pit in turn three. Johnson still managed to qualify 7th, approximately one second off the leader. Steve Barlow had a little bit of trouble finding his lines in his Redbull/BOSCH number two Pro-4, but still managed to qualify 9th, approximately a second and a half off the leader.
Racing Sunday
Due to the inversion Ricky Johnson started in the front row. Ricky took full advantage of the inversion, running away from Greg Adler, who started next to him by turn three. Once out front, Johnson added a car length between his Red Bull/BOSCH number nine Pro-2 and the rest of the field. By lap nine, Johnson was over ten car lengths ahead. At the mandatory restart, Johnson’s wheel began to smoke and catch fire. Johnson quickly pulled over to have a course worker spray the flaming wheel with a fire extinguisher, but as soon as he began moving again the fire flared back up. On the restart Johnson was black flagged due to safety and held in the hot pit area for several laps as his shot at standing on the podium literally went up in smoke.
“I prefer the view from the podium. If racing were easy it wouldn’t mean anything when you won. We will be ready for Chula Vista,” stated Ricky Johnson.
Steve Barlow started in the 9th position, 5 rows back on the inside. Barlow methodically moved up through traffic, picking off one truck at a time, even though he ran into power steering issues right away. At low speeds Barlow had no power steering, forcing him to stay on the gas throughout the course. Barlow in the Red Bull/BOSCH number 2 Pro-4 first battled back and forth with Adrian Cenni. Once he passed Cenni, Barlow began battling with Curt Leduc back and forth. Barlow was able to pass Curt in turn three on the final lap to finish on the podium in second place.
Team Red Bull/BOSCH owner/driver; Steve Barlow had this to say about the weekend of racing;
“We were looking for more podiums this weekend, but despite the bad luck and mechanical issues, we were able to get one truck on the podium. CORR racing is tough, but our team is tougher. We proved once again we have the vehicles, team and drivers to be on the podium every race. We are looking to be back on our home track at Chula Vista.”
About CORR
CORR (Championship Off–Road Racing) is the most thrilling type of off-road racing in the world! Referred to as “Supercross with trucks”, CORR takes place on both permanent and temporary tracks in San Diego, Pomona, Antelope Valley, Dallas, Primm, and Charlotte. The CORR trucks have over two feet of suspension travel and 850+ horsepower, making them capable of jumping over 160 feet while racing. Tracks are built out of dirt with jumps, whoops, tabletops and hairpin turns to keep the racing exciting for the fans, and challenging for the drivers. CORR racing is a “full-contact” sport, and fans are treated to non-stop action as the competitors bump and grind their way through the course. Pro-2 and Pro-4 Trucks are the premier classes. Event attendance averages over 20,000 plus fans per race. TV coverage consists of nine races on NBC and The Speed Channel. CORR has a large online community, and the primary demographic being is males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five.
Check out the Team Red Bull/BOSCH website for race results, photos and video: http://redbulloffroad.com
Team Red Bull/BOSCH is sponsored by:
Red Bull, BOSCH, KMC Wheels, BF Goodrich Tires, FOX Racing Shox, Team Associated, VP Racing Fuel, Alpinestars, KC Lights, Mastercraft Seats, Gear Vendors, Hughes Transmissions, MSD, Amsoil, McKenzies and Ogio.
For additional news and updates check out:
http://redbulloffroad.com
