Rapisarda Autosport International has landed in 17th place at the end of a frustrating first day of qualifying at the NHRA Auto Club Finals at Pomona Raceway.
“Both our qualifiying runs ended in the same way,” according to co- tuner Santino Rapisarda. “On the first run we dropped the number one cylinder on the step. The car picked itself up and still managed to get down the track with a 3.92/461kmh pass that was good enough for 13th place out of 22 starters.
“Going into the second run we were confident of pushing our way up the field. We were ready to run in the 3.70 sec zone and couldn’t believe our eyes when we dropped the number one cylinder again on the step. We got the car back to the our pit and quickly discovered there was an issue with the fuel system and in particular with a fuel valve.
“We have fixed the problem and are set for day two of qualifying.”
The mood in the RAI camp remains upbeat.
“We are not disappointed with today’s result but we did expect to do better,” said Rapisarda.
