SALINAS, Calif., Sept. 8 - The #21 Competition Motorsport sponsored Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman took yet another Street Tuner (ST) class podium in Saturday's two-hour, 68-lap IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Team drivers Rabe and Faulkner topped the ST class for eight laps in addition to holding second for 15 more laps before finishing on the podium in third place. It was the team's sixth podium finish in nine races this season, with the season finale quickly approaching at the Fox Factory 120 at Road Atlanta on October 10-13. The CMS/Bodymotion #21 is unofficially in third place in the point standings after their latest outing.
Rabe qualified fourth with a time of 1:43.976 for the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course, but quickly moved into third on lap 3 by passing Colin Mullan before moving into second on lap six by passing Mike LaMarra. He took the lead 30 minutes into the race on lap 18 by passing the car at the top of the point standings, which is a BMW driven at that time by Nick Galante. The battle between Rabe and Galante was epic, as both drivers were aggressive yet clean.
The race's only full-course caution came on lap 22. Rabe was still in the ST lead when he took the opportunity to pit under caution on lap 26 about 48 minutes into the race for fresh tires and fuel and for Faulkner to take over behind the wheel.
After the stop Faulkner had a minor incident, dropping the car to third, but he regained second for three laps from laps 30 to 33 after Mullan pitted. Faulkner set the Porsche's fastest lap of the race in the process with a 1:41.163 on lap 31. The winning BMW got by him on lap 34 to relegate the team to third.
Saturday's race will air on FOX Sports 1 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 16.
From the Drivers
Jason Rabe, co-driver, No. 21 Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman:
"It was a great run for Max and me in the No. 21 Bodymotion Racing, Delaware Funds, Competition Motorsport, Monticello Motor Club, Stable Energies Porsche Cayman. We did a little bit of a set up change before the race and it was dynamite. They didn't tell me what it was, but we had a mega stint in the beginning and I was able to hang with the BMW. We were able to pull away from the MINIs. It was fun strategizing the lapped traffic and I felt like I was actually doing that better than the leader. Eventually I capitalized on the leader, passed him clean, and we had a good battle. Honestly, I checked out from him and was running really good, consistent lap times. I want to say we were running some of the quicker times in the ST class during my stint; we were very consistent.
The guys killed it on the pit stop again. Once Max got into the car he was able to hang in there for a bit and just the way traffic worked out, it messed him up a bit. But, all in all third place is still another podium and we'll take it. Honestly, I thought a lot of people might have thought it would be a MINI sweep here, because they are really good here. So it felt good to get the Cayman on the podium."
Max Faulkner, co-driver, No. 21 Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman:
"We finished the race in third place, and we're pretty happy with that. The car has been good all weekend and the guys have done a good job. We rolled it off the truck and only made small adjustments all weekend to get it in a really good spot to start the race today.
Jason did a great job in the first stint. He went from fourth to second, and then from fourth to first, so it was really cool to see that from him. Then I hopped in the car and behind the safety car made a little mistake, and then came forward to the end. Third place; not a bad day."
