Pontiac Solstice Wins First-Ever SCCA Race at Lime Rock
Second Pontiac Solstice Entry Makes Debut in Topeka
Recording the fastest lap for the third straight national race with a time of 1:03:930, Pontiac Solstice won its first Showroom Stock B (SSB) race of the young Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) season with a victory at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. on June 10.
Debuting in SSB for 2006, the Solstice was race-prepared by Phoenix Performance and driven by 18-year-old amateur driver Andrew Aquilante.
Aquilante narrowly missed setting the pole (1:04:099) during qualifying of the New England Region June National with a time of 1:04:129, but took the lead after only the first lap of the race on Saturday in part by out-braking a Mazda Miata on the first turn.
“Lime Rock rewards nimbleness, agility and braking over outright power,” said John Heinricy of GM Performance Division. “With strong early performances, the Pontiac Solstice is demonstrating it will be a tough competitor in SSB for years to come.”
In its first two outings on May 6 at New Hampshire and May 28 at Nelson Ledges, the Solstice finished third and fourth respectively, while also setting the fastest lap time in each race. At Nelson Ledges, the Solstice’s fastest lap (1:18:811) set a new track record for SSB class.
Aquilante currently leads the driver points standings in the Northeast Division of SSB, and will next race the team’s Solstice in the Steel Cities Region June National at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex in Wampum, Penn. on Father’s Day, June 18.
While Aquilante was lighting up the track at Lime Rock, a second Pontiac Solstice entry was making its debut in the Kaw Valley Race Group June National at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan.
Driven by retired GM executive Stan Czacki and built in the Phoenix Performance shops, the second-ever SCCA Solstice entry finished third on Sunday behind two BMW Z4s.
Both Solstices are equipped with the Z0K Club Sport regular production order option package, which is designed for the weekend racer and currently available to order through any Pontiac dealership.
Developed by GM Performance Division, the Club Sport package features the standard five-speed manual transmission along with antilock brakes (ABS), a limited-slip differential, an improved power steering cooler and FE3 suspension. The FE3 suspension will be standard on the upcoming 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP.
No other options are available when ordering the Club Sport Solstice, but some components and safety equipment are required by SCCA to make it track ready, including a hardtop, racing tires, higher friction brake pads, rollcage, seatbelts, etc.
Aquilante is the 2004 Northeast Division Rookie of the Year and 2005 Philadelphia Region Driver of the Year. He is also the two-time defending Northeast Division Touring 1 (T1) champion for 2004 and 2005 driving a Corvette C5 Z06.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
I see a rivalry starting between the Solstice and the Miata !!
This could get gooooood.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
mazda has been putting out some very good adds for the miata's
i cant remember everything mentioned , but they mention on the new 1's near 50/50 weight , weight reduction in things as small as the rear view mirror , i think it said they droped 84 grams from the mirror
lol
mazda isnt taking a back seat , they are fired up
and poor ole GM is gonna get beat down with a limp wet noddle , LOL
cause they wont fire back
Where have you been ? The Solstice GXP with the 260 hp turboed ECOTEC should be able to hold its own just fine.
I see your a Miata lover.... sorry to hear it.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
the miata with a 5.0 motor , is very fun , lol
only miata id like
i keep hearing rumors of the 260 turbo getting pulled for a V6 , since the 2.0 wont pass cali emissions
im just saying with the models mazda has out now , and the way they are advertising them , is gonna keep them ahed of the curve , and im sure mazdaspeed is tweaking their offering to compete , since mazda had put their direct injection motor out in a mini-suv
and im almost positive the genral wont do jack-squat about a showroom stock racer , other than a suspension package ou can get on the base models , and is standard on the GXP , GM will fall back on the we do not build race cars crap that we are so used to
besides , id rahter have the SKY over the girly solstice
Meh, if Mitsubishi and Subaru can get their turboed stuff to pass smog I'm sure GM could too.
And the Sky is a much hotter looking car IMO too .
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
well im sure GM is trying to meet standards for a few years down the road , to save them some time
Just for the engineering stand-point and back to back testing, I rather have the MX-5.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
Much rather have the Sky redline..
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I think I'm the only person who likes the solstice over the sky
the sky looks like a huge chin GM crossfire or a dressed up solstice
the solstice has to be the basis for the sky.. whenever I see a sky, I still see rounded curves being fought by the sky's angular lines and it just looks like a body kit for the solstice.
mx5 is a sweet car, but its time for a new roadster to take over, and I think the GXP and Redline can do it without breaking a sweat.
GM already made the first move by beating out other roadsters in its class by 60hp and 70or more torque. Now mazda is playing catch up, thinking about dropping in a large heavy V6... say bye bye to your weight distribution. They'll get the extra muscle, but sacrifice agility.. what roadsters are supposed to be known for.
GXP > Sky RL > Mx-5
If Mazda does drop in a V6 (which I don't see happening with their new DI Turbo 4 they're throwing everywhere) I'm sure they'll do stuff to fix the weight distibution. I mean, do you really think that a company that focuses on shaving weight off the rear view mirror to make better weight distribution is just gonna drop a heavy V6 in the car and change nothing else?
I'm gonna wait and see how the Mx-5 and Solstice/Sky end up battling out.
And I think you are definitely in the minority of the Solstice/Sky view. The Sky is much better looking to me.
Just beacuse GM drops a 260hp Eco in doesn't mean its going to run with that same power at an SCCA event. You can't just put in a car that will utterly crush the competition. They'll either add a shizz load of weight, or ban turbocharged motors in their class. The 260hp version might get into another class, but then he'll be up against much stiffer competition!
N2O + Bolt-ons
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It'd run a different class turboed as opposed to the N/A version. SCCA has different classes for EVERYTHING !
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
yeah the mazda does have a great track record with the miata , and they have started steping up with weight reduction , and rebalancing the car
ive never really liked the miatas , i thought they were to tight for me , and im not big by any means , but not small either
from a racing stand point , mazda had a edge for a long time , and now that someone else entered the ring , and put pressure on them , they have made small steps atleast going by the advertising , to accept the challenge
and GM needs to see their challenge and needs to do more for the racers , droping weight is the biggest thing that needs to be fixed first
but the game is still early , so where it goes who knows
ill still by the sky over any other , and redline is at the top
RIP CPL Brian St.Germain (SAINT), Semper Fidelis
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