|
Mitch
Dorr Gains Experience & Knowledge @ Red Bud
Rockford, IL (June 3, 2011) – After a long and busy off-season,
Mitch Dorr was ready to take on the challenge of moving up to the
PRO-Light division of the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL.
The young veteran of the Sportsman Super Stock division considers
the opportunity to compete on a national scale as the next step that
must be taken before reaching his ultimate goal of racing a 900
horsepower PRO-2 race truck. The Memorial Day Weekend TORC event was
first PRO event for the driver of the #17 Goodyear Tires Auto Trans
Design Ford Ranger.
The new
truck only had a few test session laps on its Goodyear Tires due to
a very uncooperative Mother Nature. The entire Midwest has
experience above normal amounts of rainfall coupled with below
normal temperatures making test time a premium. Fortunately much of
the Midwest based competitors experienced the same problem with the
weather, so the opening rounds of the TORC season would considered a
shakedown run by many of the drivers.
The one
mile long track at Red Bud MX really was influenced by the
property’s motocross roots. It was very technical with big jumps,
drop offs, and whoops. Then the wet weather the area experienced all
week, and including during the race weekend really made the track a
handful. The rain caused multiple changes and cancellations in the
weekend race program. Somehow TORC officials were able to fit both
PRO-Light round of racing during the weekend. It was the only
division that completed its full race schedule.
The
seventeen truck field has its practice and qualifying session
cancelled, so the starting grid was determined by a blind draw.
Mitch Dorr started mid-pack in one of the largest PRO-Light fields
in recent memory. As mentioned before, Round One would almost
become an extended test session for Mitch Dorr. When the green flag
flew, Mitch did his best to be competitive and stay out of any
serious trouble. The sixteen lap race was fairly uneventful and the
#17 Goodyear ATD Ford finished a respectable ninth.
Afterwards, Mitch and his crew chief and dad, Geoff Dorr, discussed
various issues that needed to be addressed. One issue was
carburetion and the other was the suspension setup. The track was
rough and challenging to start, but the lack of top soil really saw
the track get torn up. Overnight heavy rains swept through the area,
which made it a challenge to get work done on the truck that night.
The next
morning, TORC track crews needed additional time to get the course
ready for competition, which gave Mitch and his team the time needed
to make adjustments on his Ford Ranger.
Around
two o’clock in the afternoon the PRO-Light group lined up for Round
Two. Mitch had his ATD equipped truck lined up in the middle of the
pack looking for a solid run to end the weekend. When the track
went green, Mitch was holding his own, looking to get comfortable
and waiting for the second half of the race to “get up on the
wheel.” With much of the mud scrapped off the track, the trucks were
literally tearing up the gravel and sand base of the hillside that
held the track. The track was showing holes and deep ruts in
several areas of the track. Then just before the halfway point of
the race, the power steering failed, making it impossible for Mitch
to navigate around the track, ending his day with a fourteenth place
finish.
“This
really wasn’t how I wanted this weekend to finish,” remarked Mitch
Dorr. “I know we have some tuning to do on the truck, and we need to
find the cause of our steering problem. In the scheme of things we
didn’t come out of the weekend in too bad. I just wished we could
have run to the checkers today.”
The next
race for Mitch Dorr and his team is June 18-19 in Crandon,
Wisconsin.
Mitch
would like to thank all Goodyear Tires and Auto Trans Design as lead
marketing partners of the newest race effort from Mitch Dorr
Motorsports.
-
Race
Report - Mike Reusche,
mt-graphics@ymail.com
-
Photo from
www.torcseries.com
|
