Atapattu Gets First Podium on the Season Sunday at Road America
Monrovia, California (Tuesday, August 6, 2019) – Sunday was a great day for US RaceTronics, with all three of their cars finishing on the podium. After Saturday’s crash, Ron Atapattu offered his car to Bryce Miller and Patrick Liddy, but in the end the team moved Liddy into Atapattu’s No. 24 Elephantea Lamborghini of La Jolla and ran the pair in the ProAm class. Not only did the move give Atapattu his first podium of the season, but with strong driving from both drivers, the duo landed a second-place finish in class and ninth overall. Due to the move from LB Cup to ProAm, Atapattu had to start the race from the back of the field, but he drove a great first stint moving the car up three spots before handing it over to Liddy who drove an incredible second stint. Liddy was unstoppable. He passed five more cars on track in his quest for second-place in ProAm behind teammates Jacob Eidson and Damon Ockey.
Eidson started the race third overall and P1 in the ProAm class driving the No. 09 Lamborghini of Vancouver. He lost a spot on the start, but quickly got it back on lap four when he made a great pass on Corey Lewis. Eidson handed the car over to Damon Ockey from third-place overall, but Ockey was passed a few laps into his stint by Lewis’ teammate Richy Antinucci. Ockey kept the big picture in mind and kept the car safe for the class win, while still pushing hard to bring the car home fourth overall. The pair accomplished what they set out to do at the start of the weekend.; they had an overall podium and class wins both days and were able to extend their championship points lead to 33 points.
Steven Aghakani got his fourth podium in four races, finishing third in the AM class on Sunday. Aghakhani qualified second in class and seventh overall for the race, but lost a position early. He was making a pass for position in the second-half of the race when there was contact made with another car resulting in a spin that dashed the 16-year-old’s hopes for another class win and first overall podium of his young season. The team is confident that the youngster will put this disappointing weekend behind him quickly and come out stronger than ever at VIR.
The team’s next event will be August 23-25 at Virginia International Raceway. Stay tuned for more information on qualifying and race times.