Virginia International , July 29

Warm and sunny weather greeted the East Coast Honda Challenge field for the 11th and 12th rounds of the 2006 ECHC season. Flatoutracing/Hankook Tires’ Andrew Zimmermann would end the weekend in strong fashion and extend his ECHC championship lead.

Zimmerman in the #181 Integra would put his car on the pole as he has done several times this season with a time of 1:48.97. Lyonel Kent in the #95 Civic coupe would be right behind in 2nd with a time of 1:49.27, while Karl Kondor in the #31 Accord would start from 3rd with a time of 1:50.81. There was no looking back for Zimmerman, as he would cruise to the win from pole. Kondor would claim a well-earned 2nd, while Kent would DNF due to mechanical issues. Zimmerman also set fast lap for H4, a 1:48.7.

Sunday’s race proved to be a mirror image of Saturday’s dominant result as Zimmermann once again sat on pole. In H4, tight would be the only word to describe the top two slots on the grid. Zimmerman would get the pole by only 6 hundredths over Kent with a time of 1:48.40. Kondor would qualify in the 3rd spot with a 1:49.87. David Lee, after reclassifying himself to H4 at a lighter weight, would start from 4th with a 1:50.3. Zimmerman would yet again be able to hold on for yet another class win, while Kondor would take a well-earned 2nd. Kent, after having issues with traffic, would take 3rd. David Lee would claim 4th. Zimmerman again claimed fast H4 lap with a 1:48.53.

“The Hankook’s held up well. They were consistently faster than the competition all weekend and this was after two previous race weekends on the same tires. Even in the searing heat we had, the Hankook’s never lost their performance edge” noted Zimmermann.

Zimmermann heads into the last half of the Honda Challenge season with two remaining race weekends, both at Summit Point Raceway and a large lead in H4 class. As always the team wishes to thank Hankook Tires USA, Guident Technologies and Curry’s Auto Service.