Courtney and Wittmer Praise the Team Effort Alton, Virginia (September 13, 2010) – Jeff Courtney, driver of the No. 99 KENDA Tires/Woodhouse Performance/Dodge Viper Competition Coupe has nothing but good things to say about the Woodhouse Performance Team after their spectacular display of teamwork and effort put forth at this weekend’s Round 
10 and 11 of the World Challenge GT Championship at Virginia International Raceway. Despite chasing car setups, the team was also handed multiple mechanical issues to deal with. Due to the huge efforts by the crew, Courtney was able finish 7th on Saturday and 6th on Sunday, moving him up to 6th place in the Drivers’ Points championship after starting the weekend in 9th. Teammate Kuno Wittmer also owes the Woodhouse Performance Team a debt of gratitude after their hard work on his No. 13 Woodhouse Performance/Dodge Viper Competition Coupe helped him earn a 4th place finish in Saturday’s race.“I have always had the utmost respect for the Woodhouse Performance Team of Rick Maxwell, Matt Bejnarowicz, Todd Albrecht, Jack Kulick and Mark Barton,” said Courtney, “But after the difficulties at VIR, they impressed me with their professionalism and their dedication to the team. They worked virtually around the clock to get the cars set-up after running into some problems.”
“It was a roller coaster weekend,” said Wittmer. “The team worked late all weekend long.” Friday night went into 3 AM (Saturday) as the team changed the motor in the No. 13 car for Saturday morning’s race. “During Saturday’s race, it began to sprinkle on certain parts of the track. I was pushing hard and didn’t see the wet area ultimately tagging the tire wall.” Despite this, we were able to end strong with a 4th place finish.” The Woodhouse team had another long night of repairs ahead.
“I felt a win in Sunday’s race would reward the team for all this hard work,” said Wittmer. “Unfortunately, after the first lap I was about 8 seconds back of the leader and managed by lap 9 or so to be .5 seconds back, pushing hard, unfortunately I tracked off course and tagged the wall.”
Courtney also struggled with getting everything he could out of the powerful Dodge Viper and the team chased the setup all weekend. “I question whether we ever really got the setup, or if we are just pushing the car too hard to compete. I feel like we are having to drive our cars 110%, 100% of the time, trying to make our cars competitive. Even with the 50-pound weight reduction we received, there is no doubt in my mind that we are having to overdrive and hang it out on every lap in every turn to stay competitive.”
Courtney, along with the entire team, is now focused on the season finale in Utah. “When I think of Utah, I can think of no other crew I’d rather go with.” Wittmer agrees, “Our goal in Salt Lake will be to secure the second position in the driver’s championship. This is professional motorsports and things don’t come easy, but with a team like ours, we can do it!”
On Sunday, as the team prepared to leave, team engineer Matt Bejnarowicz turned to team owner Bob Woodhouse and said, “Bob, you should be proud of your team, we gave it our all, and despite everything these cars got to the pit with a good setup every time.” Woodhouse remembers that moment with emotion, “My eyes watered up, not because of the disappointing results, but because of the pride in these people who rose to the occasion and kicked the tar out of every challenge. Here’s an example: a noisy rear differential was discovered 30 minutes from qualifying. In 28 minutes the No. 99 Dodge Viper Comp Coupe and Jeff Courtney were taking their position on pit lane with a fresh differential in the car.”
Watch these amazing races, and this fantastic team, on VERSUS on October 30, 2010 at 3:00 pm (EDT). Catch all the latest news on the World Challenge GT Championship 2010 season at http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/4630152:6927803499:m:1:191896110:21CC3A6D919BC8D8A7FDC4D66891CE35.
