The No. 13 Woodhouse Performance Viper.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 24, 2008) After an eventful and historic weekend in Long Beach, California, the number 13 Foametix Dodge Viper finished the final race of the weekend in a very solid 13th place. Gaining two positions from the 15th starting position, the main goal was simply to stay clean and consistent throughout the first race-weekend for the team and driver.

“For this weekend, all I wanted was as much seat-time as I could in the Viper,” stated Claudio Burtin, driver of the number 13 Woodhouse Performance-prepared Dodge Viper. “Between replacing the transmission in practice, getting limited practice on track, and fighting the tires from overheating in the rear, it was one of those weekends where the action never stopped.”

In traditional street-course form, the race was filled with exciting passes and what seemed like an endless number of caution periods. With a solid start in 15th, Burtin immediately began a push to the front which included a magnificent pass on the number 16 Cadillac of Michael McCann. Running lap times in range of the winnng car of Brandon Davis, the number 13 struggled with tire wear which would eventually lead to handling difficulty. Capped off with a continuous series of yellows during the second half of the race, the main theme was just to maintain position and stay clean.

“When the tires started to go the car was extremely loose, so I just wanted to hold on to the car and finish,” stated Burtin. “My teammate Jeff Courtney started to catch me and we had a fun little battle on track, but obviously I wanted to keep it clean so he was able to get around. After that, I just wanted to make sure I brought it home. I definitely feel like I know the car a lot better now, and I think the next race in Utah will be a fantastic track for us.”

“Claudio did a great job this weekend,” stated Bob Woodhouse, Team Owner of Woodhouse Performance. “The Viper is a bit different from the cars he’s driven in the past, so we’re all happy to see that he was immediately on the pace, and extremely clean.”

The next round of the SCCA Speed World Challenge GT Series will take place on May 18 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.