Pair of Solid Top-10s for Team SLR at Road Atlanta

Second Straight Pro-Am Win for Barry Boes; Rookie Gavan Boschele Finishes Ninth; Thomas Ellis Battles Back from Midrace Spin To Come Home 24^th

Overview

Date: March 23, 2024

Event: The Bennett/Bridgehaul Classic (Round 2 of 12)

Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli

Division: Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series

Location: Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Layout: 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course

Format: 40 laps or 75 minutes

Weather: Cloudy, upper-60s

TeamSLR:

Barry Boes – Started 10^th, Finished 8^th (Running, completed 40/40 laps

Gavan Boschele – Started 12^th, Finished 9^th (Running, completed 40/40 laps)

Thomas Ellis – Started 15^th, Finished 24^th (Running, completed 38/40 laps)

Noteworthy:

 Sixth-year TA2 driver Barry Boes’ eighth-place finish bested the 14 cars in the 31-car TA2 field that are competing for the season-long Pro-Am championship.

Barry Boes, Driver No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Racecars Ford Mustang:

“Looking back, Sebring felt fantastic. We had a car there that broke during qualifying, started further back than I wanted to, then it had an incredible run to the front, which felt fantastic. Here, we got through everything, we didn’t have those kinds of issues, we were able to qualify higher, so the whole race was just head down, work hard, head down, work hard, because everybody around me was freaking fast and they were the whole race. So this was really a test of the car’s endurance and longevity, and my own. We got a solid top-10. I definitely saw some things that I can improve while I was out there, there always will be, but this was definitely a good performance. The overall series podium has never really been in sight for me (in the past). The series podium is now in sight for me. I don’t know if I’ll make it there or not, but I’m going to get closer and closer and closer.”

Gavan Boschele, Driver No. 28 SLR-M1 Racecars:

“This was good, a lot better than the last one. Came here not knowing the track at all, so it was just a matter of figuring that out. I think if I would’ve known the track a little bit better, we would’ve been better to start the race, better than 12^th. Just kept all four fenders on it and just kind of drove my race. The M1 guys gave me a great racecar and we’ll be back next time.”

Thomas Ellis, Driver, No. 8 Averitt Express/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“It was a struggle for me as far as rear grip in turn seven today and eventually it just looped around on me. Unfortunately, when I tried to rejoin the track, I got in the grass and slid into the wall and got stuck under the tires there. After that, the day was pretty much done. We had good pace for the first half of the race until that happened. We were just struggling for grip in turn seven and just losing everybody on the back straightaway. All in all, I was a little bit better than at Sebring. Luckily, we had good race pace, so the car felt good most everywhere on the track. We’ll just work a little bit harder at the next one.”

Next Up

Round three of the 2024 Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series takes TeamSLR to the NOLA SpeedTour April 12-14 at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana. The weekend kicks off with a pair of TA2 test sessions Friday, April 12, at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. CDT. Official TA2 practice begins at 9:50 a.m. Saturday, April 13, followed by qualifying at 3:55 p.m. Start time for Sunday’s 37-lap, 75-minute race around the 2.75-mile, 16-turn NOLA circuit is 12:10 p.m. Series partner MAVTV will provide live television coverage augmented via live video stream on the Trans Am channel on YouTube.

-TeamSLR-