As Round 2 of the eight-event SCCA Pro Solo series made its way to Utah’s Wendover Airport, Ken Motonishi scored his second consecutive win in Pro Solo and fifth solo win of this season while riding on Toyo’s Proxes R1R extreme performance tires.
Driving his Toyo-sponsored 1989 Honda Civic Si and competing in the Street Touring (ST) class, Motonishi faced stiff competition as six out of the nine cars in the class were outfitted with the R1Rs. In Pro Solo, times are accumulated by competing on mirror courses, the top times being accumulated from the two-days of competition. Motonishi’s combined time resulted in a win that was 0.872 seconds quicker than the second place competitor.
In addition to winning both Pro Solo events for 2009, Motonishi won Round 2 of the Solo National Tour event in San Diego. The opening round of that series, held in Atlanta, was won by Toyo-sponsored Tim Smith in his 1989 Honda Civic Si, which was also competing on the R1Rs.
At Wendover, the Toyo tires swept the podium in the Sport Touring S (STS) class with the Mazda Miatas of Michael Heinitz and Jason Munchhof finishing 1-2, and Kraig Klippel finishing in third.
Toyo-equipped racers also finished as runner-up in the Street Touring X (STX) class, thanks to Mihai Surubariu in his Subaru WRX. In addition to Motonishi’s Round 1 & 2 wins in Pro Solo in ST, Klippel and Heinitz finished 1-2 in STS during Round 1 in El Toro, while Surubariu won the STX class at that event.
“Ken Motonishi has been on fire this year in Solo, and we congratulate him for anther win,” says Stan Chen, Toyo’s manager of motorsports and events. “These solo wins are just an example of the diversity of the Proxes R1R, which has also won in Time Attack and captured Formula Drift championships.”
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