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From speedarena.com Team & Driver Features A relatively new name on the racing scene is SpeedQuest Racing. Eric Burch is one of the team principals and has been around sportscar racing for years. Many ALMS fans will recognize him from his days with the Carsport America Viper team, but now he is off on his own with his new team, SpeedQuest. With drivers Romeo Kapudija and Adam Pecorari they are attacking the Grand Am Cup series with a SVT Mustang Cobra. I was able to talk to Eric and the drivers a bit and get a little insight into the team and what we can expect from them in the future.
Team Director Eric Burch SA Eric, most ALMS fans will remember you from the Carsport America Viperteam in the ALMS, can you give us a little background on how you ended up startingSpeedQuest Racing and what your initial plans for the team were going to be? EB I left Carsport after the ’03 season to run another team in the ALMS. That quickly fell through and got hired the next day by another team with the same result, no money! At Road America during the ’03 season I was introduced to Romeo Kapudija who drove for me in that race. We really didn’t have a seat for Romeo beyond that venue, so I worked with him in obtaining other rides because I could see the ability to achieve some good things for him and he deserved to be driving. I started working more with Romeo and we came up with the idea to just do our own effort so we could have more control in how things went and we wanted to do something along the lines of a driver development program, of which Adam Pecorari is the first of and has done a great job. That is the “why” behind SpeedQuest Racing. EB In ’04 Romeo got an opportunity to drive in a Porsche at Sebring and he and his co-drivers did a good job in getting that car to the finish. Shortly thereafter Romeo broke his shoulder in a non-racing incident that kept him off the track for the balance of the year. We didn’t waist this down time; we focused on what needed to be done to get SpeedQuest off the ground. In the summer of ’04 Romeo and I decided to bring a partner with a business and marketing background to assist with the team goals. Adam Stevenson joined the team and has worked with us to achieve our current status. Our initial goal was to take over an existing two car effort in the GT1 class, but that started to dissolve the more we worked on it, and we turned our focus to one of the GT2 teams. After agreeing to all the terms with the team, including sending our letter of intent, they called saying that after our initial interest 14 others were now expressing interest and the deal changed at the last minute. I have a great relationship with the ALMS, the officials and fans there and miss them all. I liked the atmosphere in the ALMS, but we had to play the cards that were dealt. I am very happy with where we are in the Cup series and I think we will be very successful here. SA How did KoRn get involved with the team and, now that they have a couple races under their belt, are they enjoying what you guys have done so far? EB The KoRn relationship came about through mutual friend of the team. We met up with the band while they were on tour and told them what we were doing. Months later we were in contract negotiation making them a part of the SpeedQuest Family. From that point on, the band has been extremely supportive of our team goals. Currently they are working around the clock recording their highly anticipated album. So, they haven’t been to the races in person, but have expressed that they are happy with the effort to date. SA I know that you initially were hoping to run in the ALMS this season and right before Sebring we heard of your plans to go Grand Am racing. There have been a lot of speculation and rumors about what might have happened, is there anything that you can share with the ALMS fans regarding this at this time? EB Well I know the fans are quick to judge sometimes and think that because a plan doesn’t work out that you’re not for real. These deals can be very sensitive through to conclusion, and the industry is very close-knit so you do have to be careful what you make public. I think the biggest problem was that when our deal was nearly done we put out a premature press release, and of course, that’s when things go south. It wasn’t so much that we assumed too much, but we ended up walking away from the deal because it was no longer in our best interest to do it and we have to do what is ultimately going to best benefit our team collectively. After walking away from that deal, we spoke to know less than five other teams about similar deals, some going further than others, but did everything in our power to run in the ALMS. I’m hoping those doubters are coming around now, because we are out there doing it and have been running well, even if they aren’t really happy about it being in the Grand Am. SA As a result you are now in the Grand Am Cup series running an older body style Mustang, so far what are your impressions of the racing and the series? EB There is a lot of enthusiasm in the paddock, but I guess when you start 70+ cars, there should be. I’m getting to know the Grand Am people, and they are good people and really care about the sport. I miss the people from the ALMS, especially the officials there because I’ve known them for so long. That has been the hardest part for me, starting over with a lot of the people that are intricate to the sport. As for the older bodied Mustang, she’s been hanging with the best of them, I like the car, it’s about being the underdog and accomplishing what people say can’t be done I guess. SA Are you happy with the results that you have had this season and are you positive for the remainder of it? EB Happy yes, content by no means! Not many gave us much of a chance, but we have qualified in the top 10 in both California races, and running in the top 10 most of every race. Now it’s a matter of putting all we’ve learned together and cross the finish line in contention for the podium. I know we have the abilities from both the car and driver standpoint to finish every race in the top five, much less win overall. I am very positive about our future indeed. SA What remaining tracks do you think will be strong for the Mustang given its strengths and weaknesses and where should we be really watching for SQ to get onto the podium? EB I think the final product we put on the track will be a contender at every track. Really, only Laguna, Mosport, Mid Ohio and Trois Rivieres are tracks that I’m familiar with, much less ever seen before this year, so I’m learning the tracks as much as I am the car and series. I think our most difficult will probably be Trois Rivieres. It is a real short course and negates our straight-line speed. This is a very point-n-shoot type of car and the Porsche’s and BMW’s should be good there. I think we will be really strong on all the other tracks on the schedule. SA How do you like running the Mustang and are you a little jealous of those nice new Multimatic rigs? Any plans of trying to get into one of those cars before the season is out? EB If I’m jealous of anyone it should be Black Forest. The announcers aren’t really talking about us, but every time I watch one of our races they talk about the Black Forest car confusing it with the Multimatic one. I do like the look of the new car, and even though ours isn’t that old, as soon as those rolled onto the grid, cars like ours all the sudden looked like old crates. I actually like our car, but in order to play the game we’ll have to step up to the new unit, and are looking at our options to do that now. SA How does preparing a nearly stock Mustang Cobra compare with getting a GTS Viper ready to go for any given weekend? EB Well you said it best, the Mustang is near stock, so other than refreshing it, there’s not much else you can do. With the Viper it seemed like we were always developing the car, aero, intakes, suspension, everything you can change on a car, we did, but you had to. This is much easier and the guys have great attitudes and we are having a lot of fun, this is why I remember getting into racing and something that hasn’t been there in a very long time - Fun. SA Do you miss that higher level of racing? EB Of course, but in reality the ALMS teams just out spend you as opposed to outwork you. I’d say we had a great team there. They worked their tails off, but when a team like Corvette has 25 full time employee’s punching a clock, how can you expect a team that has three full time mechanics and very limited budgets to compete. Here we are viewed, at least I think, as a team to be reckoned with and we are competitive and running well. I’d rather win here than go there knowing full well that you have no chance to win much less podium. SA Do you have any larger plans for the team beyond Grand Am Cup and into one of those upper level series, be it Rolex, or ALMS? EB Of course we want to move up. We are using this year to work out the bugs in our own system, make sure our team is a smooth running machine, before we try to defeat the world. We are already working on our ’06 budget and plans, and I’ve never been in a position to be that far ahead before. I think things are coming along nicely. SA Where do you see the team going in the near and the not-so-near future? EB I think the driver development program we have going will be a great springboard for several up and coming drivers. I think our progress will largely be driven through that program. I would love to see our drivers running in Rolex, ALMS, IRL, Champ Car and even F1. At the same time, I’d love the opportunity to work with a factory and turn SpeedQuest into the next Alex Job Racing, but I know that will take a while and a good many successes along the way. SA With the new crop of LMP2 cars on the horizon, chassis from Radical, Lola, Courage, and the one everyone is talking about, Porsche, does that class interest you at all or make you want to return to the ALMS in one of those in the future? EB Well I know for a fact that our drivers would love the opportunity to run in a Prototype in either series, and I know they both have the ability to take one to the front of the running order. Personally, I think a program like the Radical would be a fun one to venture into, but that would be changing directions again for our program. I believe the only way that would happen is if it became a branch of what we are currently doing, not instead of. I don’t like bouncing around a lot and looking inconsistent, it creates too many question marks.
SpeedQuest Racing Drivers Adam Pecorari and Romeo Kapudija SA Can I get as little background info on both of you, how did you start racing and what kinds of series have you moved up through? AP:I began racing karts from 1993 in a small club in Maryland. From there we began racing further and further away from home in Philadelphia and eventually moved on to Formula Cars in 2002. In 2003-2004 I ran in the U.S. Formula Ford Championship, finishing 3rd in the Championship in 04’ with the most wins and most poles. I also ran the last two races of the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 04, and one race this year at Monterey, running as high as 5th with a smaller budget team. RK: I started out racing on two wheels at the age of 9 on a 50cc moto cross bike. I progressed from moto cross to road racing at 18. My motorcycle-racing career ended abruptly when I had an on-track accident that put me in the hospital for 3 months. At that point I decided to make the transition to kart racing, I felt it would be much safer than racing bikes. The first time I raced a kart, I was hooked! I loved racing on four wheels, but unfortunately I was told that I was too old to become a professional racecar driver. I ignored what I was told and I eventually saved up enough money and went to a racing school. It was history from there! I ended up meeting some great people in racing that gave me the opportunity to drive everything from open wheel in C.A.R.T. to sports cars in various classes in the ALMS series and now in the Grand-Am series. However, I never had a chance to compete in a full season of racing until now. I am happy to have a chance to compete full time in the Grand-Am Cup series and very excited about the opportunity to represent SpeedQuest Racing, our team partners, and one of the most famous rock bands in the world, KoRn. SA Did you have parents that were involved in racing in any way that got you started or was it just on your own to show the interest? AP: Kind of both. My father is from Modena, Italy, where he lived until he was 30. Modena is the home of Ferrari, so I grew up watching Formula 1 every weekend on T.V., rooting for whomever in the red Ferrari cars. Basically from there we had a dirt kart like many families had and one day went to the track to try it out. From there the rest is history. RK: My answer is somewhat complex! Let me explain; I actually became interested in racing on my own and at first my parents were completely against it. They had very good reason, I was very accident prone as a child and racing motorcycles was not the safest of sports. However, they actually supported me when I began racing cars as they felt it was a lot safer than racing motorcycles. My father kept a secret from me for many years and I was really surprised to find out that he raced BMW's while living in Germany in the late 1960's. Both of my parents are from Croatia, even though they actually met here in the U.S., and my father moved to Germany before making his way to the United States. While living in Germany, he was hired as a semi-truck driver for a large trucking firm and the owner of the company also owned a racing team that competed all over Europe. The owner took a liking to my dad and gave him the opportunity to test one of his cars when his full time driver was sick. During the test my dad impressed the owner of the company enough with his driving abilities that he bought a second car for my father to race. To this day I do not know the full details of what series he competed in or for how long he raced in the series, but apparently a close friend of my fathers was killed in an on-track incident and he quit racing shortly there after. He told my mother that he never wanted me to get involved in racing and that’s why he kept his racing history a secret. My dad eventually became my biggest fan and was proud if my accomplishments in racing. Unfortunately he recently passed away and it saddens me that he never got a chance to see me compete in a full season. So I guess the abbreviated answer is yes and no, if that makes sense? SA So what are your impressions of the Mustang Cobra that you have been running so far this season? AP:I think it is definitely different than what I am used to, but a good different. The Mustang Cobra is the only sports car I have driven, so I don’t have much to compare it too. It is certainly a fun car to drive, and is very predictable. For the Grand-Am Cup, I believe it is one of the best cars in the field. RK: It's a lot of fun and very challenging! The first time I drove the SVT Cobra was at Fontana and I was pleasantly surprised that the car was extremely competitive. We were very happy that we were able to run up front right out of the box, but unfortunately we were knocked out of 3rd place by a lapped car. Not fun! SA How does it differ from other cars that you have run and what has the learning curve been like? AP: The learning curve was essentially two half hour practices at Fontana, our first race, and then the 2nd part of the race. In the end they all have 4 wheels and a steering wheel so a good driver can go from Nascar to the Baja 500 and win. RK: The SVT Cobra differs mostly in braking and handling, compared to most of the other cars that I have driven. I had to learn to brake a little sooner although we are still able to out-brake some of the other cars, and I adaped to going back to power later in the apex. SA What do your foresee for the rest of the season in the Cup car? AP:I foresee running upfront, like we have the first two races, but finishing as well. We were running in the top 3 our first two races and the top 10 in every race, but in neither California race could make the finish. With a little luck, as well as brains, we should be finishing on the podium. RK: Hopefully, we will be on the podium in the near future! My teammate, Adam Pecorari, and I are going to give it everything we have to finish the season off on a positive note. We are also looking forward to the potential of running a new Mustang. Stay tuned! SA Where would you like to see SpeedQuest Racing go in the future, what series would you personally like to run in and what kinds of cars do you have a desire to drive? AP:I think the Grand-Am Rolex Championship in a Daytona Prototype is the place to be at the moment. It is such a competitive class with drivers I grew up watching, to be racing against them would be great. SpeedQuest Racing is looking to be at the top of the rung in the country for sports cars, and DP’s we think would be the logical next step. RK: We are very happy to be racing in the Grand-Am Series and we have no plans on switching to another series at the moment. In addition to our Cup effort, we are working towards a Daytona Prototype program that hopefully should have us in a DP car by the end of the 2005 season if not very early into the off-season. Furthermore, Adam Stevenson, (one of the three partners of SpeedQuest) who handles most of the sponsorship and marketing for the team has been very busy raising funds for our total program. We hope to have full sponsorship secured for the 2006 season very soon. SA What are each of your strengths and weaknesses as drivers? AP: Weaknesses? Come on, we are professional racing drivers!! Just kidding, I have so much to learn with respect to adjusting from formula cars to closed-wheel cars. Shifting, racing with 70+ cars on the track, and 3 hour long races are just the beginning of trying to figure the whole thing out. So I would say experience for myself is the weakness, but having a teammate like Romeo with much more experience is a huge help. RK: I believe Adam and I compliment each other well as drivers, we both come from an open wheel background and have very similar driving styles. I am very fond of Adams personality, driving abilities and professionalism; I think we are a great combination. SA What’s the competition been like in the Cup series and how does it compare to some other series of racing you have competed in? AP: The competition in the Cup series is extremely strong. We are racing against the best of the best in sports cars, and you can really learn a lot. It’s hard to compare competition wise to Atlantics and Formula Fords since those series are training grounds and the Cup series is a Professional level racing series. RK: Very, very tough! The competition in Cup is strong, there are so many world class drivers we are competing against and I never imagined that the level of competition would have been this high. On track, everyone is running as strong as they can, however off the track there is a great camaraderie amongst the drivers that makes racing very enjoyable! SA There is always a lot of traffic out there, how has it been learning to cope with it and do you think that helps to make you a better driver? AP: Absolutely!! I love the traffic. There is nothing else like racing for a position with two other cars and passing 2-5 cars a lap who are also fighting for a class win. You have to be very smart not to get caught up in the mix. In Laguna, the Mustang Cobra was actually a bit faster in the traffic than the two BMW’s ahead of us, which helped us to stay in 3rd position. RK: The traffic at times is very hectic and I am not sure if it makes you a better driver or not? You just have to be aware of your surroundings on track at all times or you can end up in a lot of trouble, as we learned at Fontana and again this past weekend at Watkins Glen. It seems that there are some drivers in the series that just forget how to drive when they are in traffic; I think a rule should be implemented that if you cause 3 incidents on track that you will be suspended for at least one race. I think that a 3-strike rule would just make everyone more conscious of their surroundings and safer for all the competitors in the series. SA Right now in the US it seems like sportscar racing of different forms are on the rise in popularity and potential for the future (for instance Penske announcing their LMP deal with Porsche and the increasing grid sizes in the Rolex series) while open wheel racing seems to be stagnating or losing interest. Now having experience in both kinds of racing, what are your thoughts on open wheel and sportscar racing in the US right now? AP: Right now sportscars is the place to be in the U.S. There is so much growth in a series like the Grand American Championship, I’m just happy to be part of it with SpeedQuest. Also, the fans in Sports Cars are a bit different. Not only do they cheer for “their driver”, but possibly more so, the car manufacture. So it’s really fun to be part of that. RK: I am happy that sports car racing is thriving or I would probably be out of a ride. Considering my age, I would be ancient history in open wheel. I think the reason sports car racing is so successful, is because fans can actually go out and buy a similar car to what we race. We actually have a lot of Mustang owners that are fans that stop by our paddock area and show their support at every race. We love the support and I love talking to fans, so any fans that are reading this, you are welcome to stop by our paddock for a visit any time. As far as open wheel goes? I think you will eventually see a rebound in fan base, especially with the Danica Factor in the IRL, opening the series to a completely new demographic. SA With a chance to drive some of these really cool cars on the track on a regular basis, getting back into a street car is probably pretty boring. What do you guys drive when you aren’t piloting a SVT Cobra around the track? AP: Ha ha, it would be great to have the SVT Cobra power on the street. I probably would not have a license right now, but it would have been fun while it lasted!! I drive a Lexus IS300. I’ve done a few mods on the engine, handling, and appearance, but it sure is nothing like 400+ HP of the Cobra. The IS300 is no slouch, as I’ve had to speak to a few police officers about my driving, so far they haven’t been impressed that I race for a living!!! RK: My daily driver is a Porsche Cayenne Turbo and I have to tell you, it’s a rocket! SA Romeo, we know that you were friends with KoRn before getting them into the racing. What is it like partying with rock stars and how did you get them interested in the racing? RK: It’s great fun to go and hang out with guys after a show; you see things back stage that I cannot talk about here! The guys from KoRn are awesome! They have really been great to us and I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for us. SA Thanks for your time fellas and good luck for the remainder of this season. AP: In closing I’d like to thank SpeedQuest Racing, KoRn, Rehagen Racing and everyone else that has helped put this year together so far. We have been doing well so far, but a few podiums will be much nicer. Hopefully I will be with Romeo and SpeedQuest for a while to come. © Copyright
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