03/05/07: Alex Tagliani and Tom Nastasi co-drove the USG Sheetrock/Guardian Insulation Ford Mustang Cobra GT to thirteenth in class in the Mexico City 400k in the Mustang's second Rolex Sports Car Series appearance. The race effort was severely hampered by a fuel pick-up problem, which forced several extra pit stops during the two and a half-hour race.
The 100-lap event on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez ran under green conditions for the entire race distance, depriving the Blackforest Motorsports entry the opportunity to pit for fuel under a caution period.
The USG Sheetrock/Guardian Insulation Ford Mustang Cobra GT made its GT-class debut in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, and proved promising, posting times quicker than the Daytona track record in practice.
The confidence the Blackforest Motorsports team had in the new Mustang was further confirmed in Mexico City, as the Roush/Yates-powered machine scored the fastest GT-class lap of the race with a 1:29.381-second lap on the 2.5-mile circuit.
"The Mustang had a lot of grip and is excellent under braking and in the corners," said Tagliani. "Blackforest did a lot of work on the car since Daytona and it showed here in Mexico. We know we have more work to do yet and it was too bad we had the problem with the fuel, but it was good to be racing in Mexico again and I'm excited to get back into this Mustang again in the future."
The USG Sheetrock/Guardian Insulation Ford Mustang Cobra GT rides on a Crawford chassis and utilizes Roush/Yates power. The Rolex Sports Car Series GT Class is contested by a range of production-based sports car entries, from the Porsche GT3 Cup to the Pontiac GXP.
Blackforest Motorsports is based in Deland, Florida, and competes full-time in the Rolex Sports Car Series GT Class with the Ford Mustang Cobra GT. The team is also a force in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge Series and returned once again to Victory Lane in the 2007 season-opening Fresh From Florida 200 at Daytona International Speedway in January with Tom Nastasi and David Empringham in the Blackforest Motorsports Mustang FR500C.
Blackforest offers driver coaching, race prep services and track side support in a variety of racing categories including Grand-Am, HSR, and karting.
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