Press_2007

Press Releases 2007

2/24/2007
Race Weekend Updates & Press Release

The NASA Invasion Has Begun...

VIR February 2007

We were off to VIR this past weekend with the OPM Tom Fowler gang for the NASA Triple Lindy. (OMG who came up with the names for the classes and the events for this lot?) Sorry side thought... It was a good weekend with tons of cars -I heard over 400 - and you get lots of track time as well as the event was also very well run. With nice, but chilly, weather the times were exceptional.

Saturday saw Tom Fowler win the Sprint race in his new OPM Blue/White RE powered 1.6. This OPM car is the one you need to rent for Rockingham if you want to check out a car that is top notch and is already a proven winner on it's first outing!

Sunday was another story... for the afternoon 3 hour Enduro. it was a constant torrent of rain, rain, more rain, shivering cold, a deer on the track and tons of car carnage.

The three hour race was run by Bob Thornton/Michael Hartberger in the new (and it is GORGEOUS and for sale) OPM 99. The team of Tom Fowler/Chris DeVinny ran Mr. DiVinny's 1.6 SM. Hartberger started the race and kept the 99 out front then handed it over to Bob after 1:42. Bob did what he does best and kept it up front to bring home the win in his first ever NASA event. Placing second was the car of Tom Long which was ALSO Race Engineering powered, so needless to say, once again a fantastic weekend was had by all and RE has another successful weekend to start off the 2007 season.

All cars arrived back to the trailer in one piece and tech was a snap for all RE cars, ours and other competitors, so now we are off to Savannah with the knock out team of MATHEW & MARK POMBO and are looking for our next win on our way to TOPEKA.

2/24/07

The NASA invasion has begun...

VIEW ANNOUNCEMENT

March 4, 2007

Roebling Road

Race Engineering and the Pombos RULED!

Another weekend is in the books for the 2007 season with the final outcome another solid victory! I also heard rumors of a broken track record but need to verify the source before adding that extra cudo.

1 - Mathew Pombo

2 - Mark Pombo

4 - Jason Owenby

Mathew Pombo in the new Race Engineering 99 sat on the pole to start the Sunday race and never looked back . Racing to the limit with his brother Mark they brought them home in first and second place. Jason Owenby on his least favorite track put forth a stunning effort and brought his SM home in fourth position.

Sept 16, 2007

Race Engineering would like to congratulate all of our RE Drivers for their stellar performances this past weekend at the NASA Championships.

Mark Bennett
Greg Staiskowski
Jason Owenby
Gary Schultz

WAY TO GO GUYS! We Are Proud To Have You Run Race Engineering Power!

Sept 23, 2007

Roebling Road - SARRC SIC Championship

CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Bob Thornton for his second in a row SM SARRC Championship! With the SIC over it also locks up the second place spot in the championship for Derek Ketchie.

Another incredible day of racing at Roebling Road saw Race Engineering power taking the entire podium! A HUGE congratulations to Derek Ketchie for his first SIC Win! BobThornton came in second in the #05 OPM Rental from Tom Fowler. A big thanks Tom for the great car which performed beautifully. A fine race was driven by Steve Bertok of Panic Motorsports to place him third.

For all Race Engineering powered cars Tech was a breeze, and ALL Race Engineering engines and cars passed with flying colors. A sincere THANKS goes out to the Lead Coon Dog Tuner Glenn the G-Man. Your the best crew chief any team could ever have. Whoever you choose for next year will be THE team to beat!

Sept 2007

The flag dropped and the cars rolled this past weekend at Nelson Ledges for the 25 Hours of Nelson Ledges with the Puscar Motorsports Team fielding a Spec Miata piloted by Chris Puscar, Bob Thornton, Eric Stearns and Mark Bennett.

With hours of rain through the night, carnage, no lights, potholes and just about any other hardship you can find. The team ran one spectacular race to win their class by over 35 laps and to take 2nd OVERALL. If you check out the other cars they did this against you will see this was one incredible feat.

The simple Spec Miata with its Race Engineering power and Carbotech Brakes, first class Puscar Team setup and support and 4 top class drivers made the $100,000 cars take a back seat to them.

All I can Say is WAY TO GO ! for one exceptional win!

2007 GLDivision National Championship

With the Great Lakes Division National season complete, and 12 out of 33 National drivers choosing Race Engineering power, we would like to thank YOU drivers for making Race Engineering the most winning Spec Miata engines in the
Great Lakes Division!

Mark Bennett - 1st
Brian Post - 3rd
Shawn Slattery - 4th
Phil Mather - 7th
Howard Mellman - 10th
Bob Kucera - 12th
Adam Treadway - 16th
Jeff Thompson - 20th
Dan Cutler - 21st
Ron Kucera - 22nd
Eric Zeldin - 24th
Dan Harding - 25th

November 2007

Bob Thornton Retires From Driving & Racing Spec Miatas

Race Engineering owner and founder Bob Thornton has decided to retire from the lead driver position for the Race Engineering team. After years of continued success and growth at Race Engineering, Bob has made the decision to stop racing Spec Miatas and put 100% of his time and energy into the further engine development and race program for Race Engineering and our Race Engineering customers.

Bob has always taken great pride in giving Race Engineering customers strong engines and outstanding service. Obviously, racing takes a great amount of time and energy. Now, Bob will be able to put all that extra time and energy into building even stronger more powerful championship winning engines for the Spec Miata class and Mazda's in general

"I want to better serve all Race Engineering customers and take R&D to a whole new level. We are making some big changes to our shop with some double throw down state of the art HAAS CNC equipment for some serious R&D and improvements for the years to come. To commit that kind of time and energy doesn't leave any room for racing. My Race Engineering sponsored drivers and customers is where my heart is and I feel it is best to dedicate myself to building on our continued success and achieving a new level of excellence for my customers".

You will still see Bob at the track just as much, but he won't be racing with you anymore. "We will still be there to support our customers and enjoy the company of the so very many incredible friends we have made through Spec Miata and the SCCA. Some of my fiercest on track rivalries have turned into some of the best friendships I could ever wish for. We have been blessed to meet and know such incredible people as the Spec Miata racing family." Bob would like to especially thank our customers for their continued support. It has been with their help and satisfaction that Race Engineering has grown into the company it is today. And for this my friends I thank you.

Bob Thornton
Race Engineering

2007 Year End

Multiple 2007 Championships Rolled in again for the Race Engineering team drivers and our customers. RE Power ruled the SE, and across the country regional and national titles were awarded to drivers running RE.

A new lineup of drivers arrive for 2008 and Bob has some new HP on the table for the new season as never seen before. So hang on for the ride of your life in 2008 RE is the force that will set the bar for the new season!

2007 Championships
Won With Race Engineering Power

Bob Thornton - 2007 SM SARRC Champion
2007 CCR Driver Of The Year

Mark Pombo - 2007 SE Division NATIONAL Champion

Mathew Pombo - 2007 SE Division NATIONAL 2nd Place

Tyler Dahl - 2007 M.P.R.A
SM Champion

Derek Ketchie - 2007 SIC 1st

Mark Bennet - 2007 NASA NATIONALS
Friday - 1st
Saturday - 1st
Sunday - 2nd

Mark Bennett - 2007 Central Division NATIONAL Champion

Rich Hromin - 2007 NASA Mid-Atlantic Spec Miata Challenge Championship
King Rat Motorsports