New York, NEW YORK - November 25, 2020 - Adrian Wlostowski and the F.A.S.T. Auto Racing team battled all the way to the line in the Trans Am presented by Pirelli Super GT Class Championship, but with mechanical woes hampering their progress at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta circuit on November 21 and 22, the New York based rookie came up just short by seven points in his bid for the Drivers Championship.
Adrian scored another podium finish in Sunday’s spectacular all-classes Trans Am presented by Pirelli race when he finished in the runners-up spot, the same position he filled when all the points were tallied up after Round 9, the last race of the season. It has nevertheless been an extraordinarily impressive first full season in Trans Am for Adrian and the F.A.S.T. team, who have won fans and admirers both in the paddock and among Trans Am supporters worldwide.
The weekend began for Adrian in the No. 96 Hawk Performance and Forgeline wheels sponsored Ford Mustang with a time in testing of 1:28:037, a time he improved to 1:27:229 in official practice. He then qualified the Mustang in 1:27:325 for P3 on the SGT grid, just behind Championship rival Lee Saunders in the Dodge Viper - two iconic American muscle cars going head-to-head.
"Adrian and his crew are fantastic guys," said Lee from the Viper cockpit before Saturday's race."You couldn’t ask for anything better in a competitor. He'd probably give me the engine out of his car!" Adrian commented as the cars assembled in the paddock, "Our backs are against the wall. We have to win and beat Lee and then we're in the hunt. It's going to come down to these last two races. It's going to be a real nail biter down to the end!"
Adrian was definitely right about that. The Road Atlanta Grand Prix Race #1 on Saturday saw Adrian make a fast start at the green flag. Showing tremendous race pace early on, he passed Championship leader Lee Saunders in the Dodge and was making ground on the race leader. It promised to be a very competitive race for the top spot when mechanical issues with the clutch and transmission left Adrian scrambling to maintain pace and hold his position.
Adrian showed tremendous skill, combined with relentless effort to see him climb back up the field and regain position from the BMW GT4 before the problems worsened and resulted in a P5 finish. Nevertheless, a fastest lap of 1:27:840 in Saturday's race meant Adrian started in P3 in the Super GT Class in Sunday’s race. Despite being shuffled back down the field in traffic early on, followed by the safety car, soon after the restart and with 16 laps to go a superb manoeuvre by Adrian saw him overtake Lee Saunders to give himself an outside chance of winning the title. Sadly, it was not to be. Sunday's race saw him finish in P2 with a fastest lap of 1:28:146.
Having arrived at Atlanta with the Championship very much in his sights, Adrian was understandably disappointed to come up just a very few points short, but he was magnanimous in defeat and proud of his team and their record over the season, "First off, I have to say well done to Lee and the Landsearch team. This is a great group of guys. We've had a great competition all year and become great friends in the process." Of the final weekend, Rounds 8 and 9 at Atlanta he added, "It was always going to be difficult after yesterday, but we've had a fantastic year and I can't praise my team highly enough. We've only finished off the podium twice - yesterday and at Road America. Winning at Virginia in the all-class mega race was a highlight and I won't forget the weekend at Brainerd as long as I live!"
Additionally, Adrian went on to thank his partners,"I would like to thank Hawk Performance for the brakes that allow us to outbreak our competition all year long on track and Forgeline Wheels for the tremendous wheel product that we rely on every race weekend."
Well done Adrian and the F.A.S.T. Auto Racing team! Watch for news and announcements on 2021 coming soon!
In the off season, Adrian runs a high performance Auto Shop in New York. Don't hesitate to contact them for all your competition and performance car needs. F.A.S.T. Auto Racing's website is here http://fastautoracing.com/ for more information on the team, news and photo gallery. Stay up to date on social media following F.A.S.T. on Instagram @fastautoracing.
F.A.S.T. Auto Racing's website is here http://fastautoracing.com/ for more information on the team, news and photo gallery. Trans Am Series Facebook: facebook.com/gotransam.
F.A.S.T. Auto Racing can be found on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
F.A.S.T. Auto Racing: fastautoracing.com
Trans Am Series: gotransam.com
Forgeline Wheels: forgeline.com
Hawk Performance: hawkperformance.com