Based in Angleton, Texas, at the MSR Houston race facility, Mundill was formed in 2006 by motorsports fans and competitors Dave Mundy and Jeff Hill. Having witnessed many talented drivers not only at MSR, but at tracks and events in the southwestern USA, one of the duo’s objectives right from the get-go was to give those racers the opportunity reach their goals in the pro ranks. With emphasis on cost control, quality service and general bang for the buck, it was not long before Mundill found its way into the highly competitive Star Mazda Championship.

“With Dave’s passion for racing and my primary interests of engineering, physics and teaching, operating a race team was natural fit,” stated Team Co-Owner Jeff Hill. “One of the best parts is the chance to work with and help develop young talent.”

Mundill’s first season of pro competition featured rookies Alex Ardoin and Tony Rivera leading the charge for the team. The driver line-up was at different ends of the open-wheel racing age spectrum; Ardoin a skilled young charger and Rivera a talented middle-aged racer, but both had demonstrated the speed to move the motorsport ranks, although neither had previously been given the opportunity to showcase their skills on a pro stage before Mundill took them under their wings. Within a surprisingly short amount of time, given all the parties involved were newcomers to the series, both the team and drivers were showing what they could accomplish. Ardoin challenged for Rookie of the Year honors, earning one pole position and winning the season-finale at Laguna Seca, while Rivera was a leading Expert Series driver, winning four of the six races he contested. Last, but not least, Mundill established itself as a leading team/prep shop with a reputation for spotting and developing up-and-comers.
After a superb sophomore season that featured another pole position, four more podium finishes and third place in the team standings, Mundill once again showcased its desire to help potential stars in the sport by placing Norwegian Anders Krohn behind the wheel of one its Star Mazda Championship cars. The reigning F2000 Championship Series champ promptly rewarded Mundill’s belief in his abilities by providing the team with its first-ever oval win, as well as routinely challenging for top honors in one of the most competitive seasons in recent series memory.

While funds for everyone involved in racing remains tight in these tough, but steadily improving economic times, Mundill remains focused on continually finding and assisting that next junior formula car racing diamond in the rough. Recently, the Texas-based squad believed it has found such a race pilot from across the pond in England. A native of Eye in Suffolk, England, Garry Findlay certainly has the right pedigree to lead Mundill’s championship charge in the 2010 Star Mazda Championship. The 20 year-old is not only a former standout karter and son of a former Formula Ford 2000 and Formula 3 racer, but he is also very accomplished racer since first getting behind the wheel of race car in 2006. Since winning the British Formula Ford Winter series as a rookie, he finished a close second in the British Formula Ford Scholarship class in 2008 with an impressive 12 wins, and came home third in last year’s MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain with one victory. The step to Star Mazda was a natural one.

This speed and skill was further emphasized to the Mundill squad when Findlay made the journey to the MSR race facility for some private testing earlier this year. After turning some impressive times and giving the team great feedback, the duo elected to take part in official series testing at Sebring International with an eye towards a full 2010 Star Mazda Championship campaign. While the talented British race pilot suffered a setback via an off-course excursion during the three-day event, it appeared that he and Mundill were poised to commence a partnership for the upcoming season. This, however, has unfortunately changed as after purchasing insurance for the test with a British firm Findlay had his damage claim denied. As a result of the cost of the Sebring incident, his 2010 race budget was significantly impacted, making it uncertain that he can compete in the series.

“Garry is an enthusiastic and talented driver, and it was immediately apparent the skills learned while competing in the UK has prepared him for the next step in his career,” added Hill. “There is no doubt that he posses the skill, talent and desire to succeed in the Star Mazda Championship. Unfortunately, as with many young drivers, funding is always a problem. Dave and I have done and are doing what we can, but at some point funds are still required. Hopefully something can be worked out, as Mundill would be fortunate to have Garry as a driver in the 2010 championship.”

Despite the sudden setback, Mundill, with continued support from ProRaceSupply, remains committed to racing in the Star Mazda Championship in 2010, giving a motorsports up-and comer the opportunity to make his or her mark on the professional stage in one of the premier development series in North America.

Article courtesy of:   eFormulaCarNews

“Mundill is committed to our customers and is very excited to be able to offer this package to our 2010 drivers,” says Jeff Hill, owner of Mundill. “Our agreement with PRS demonstrates our commitment to our drivers’ success and underscores the importance of the Star Mazda series to Mundill’s core business.”

“The Star Mazda series provides the final step in education of young drivers as they transition to professionals in the competitive business of racing“. Jeff added, “to put this in perspective, the funds available to our drivers is equivalent to last year’s third Place Championship prize money.” PRS’ sponsorship to Mundill of up to $200,000 is to be divided among four full season Championship drivers. The $50,000 Cash Scholarships will significantly assist in meeting the financial requirements of racing as well as to assist each driver in their development within the Star Mazda Championship.

“We are very excited to team up with Mundill,” says Chris Streit, Principal Partner at ProRaceSupply. “We are committed to the motorsports market and this new venture with Mundill holds a lot of opportunity for both our companies.”

According to Streit, “in addition to the driver scholarships ProRaceSupply will be working hard to elevate Mundill to cutting-edge online technology, communication and commerce.” PRS provides synchronized software commerce and marketing solutions to the motorsports industry and will accelerate Mundill as the leader in commerce, online marketing and syndication. Notably this partnership will provide additional exposure and insight from the drivers, team, and crew members.

About Star Mazda Championship Series:
Star Mazda is an open-wheel ‘development’ series and is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and backed by Mazda. The end-of-season awards total $1.5 Million US, with a fully sponsored drive in the USA-based Atlantic Championship for the overall winner. The series is widely regarded as a stepping-stone to top-level categories such as IndyCar and Formula One. Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear recently announced becoming an official part of the IRL’s ‘Road to Indy.’

About ProRaceSupply:
ProRaceSupply LLC is a ‘Software Service Provider’ that helps manufacturers, distributors, and dealers in the motorsports industry create and maintain competitive advantage. PRS provides leading-edge ecommerce technology with efficient dealer sales tools and a sophisticated order fulfillment exchange portal to synchronize their marketing and commerce efforts. The PRS Order Exchange allows manufacturers and distributors to capture customer orders without undercutting the dealer network. Orders are captured, distributed through the exchange for bidding and fulfillment and reach the customer in record time, building business for them and the dealer network. The end result is increased revenue and reduced inventory at the manufacturer/distributor and increased dealer stocking rates.

About Mundill:
Mundill, a Houston, Texas-based race team located at the MSR Houston racetrack, is a team on the fast track of motorsports. Formed in the fall of 2006, Mundill has already assembled a team possessing the experience, skill and equipment capable of winning in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Mundill also provides service to the open wheel community at their facility in Angleton, Texas. These services include a chassis Dyno, track-side support, shock Dyno testing and evaluation, repair and rebuild of racecar components. Mundill has achieved multiple trips to the podium in the last three years including wins at Laguna Seca and in their inaugural visit to the Milwaukee Mile.

Contact:
Sarah Loeb
Mundill
(p) 817-692-9419
(e) sarah@mundill.com
http://www.Mundill.com

 
Chris Streit, Partner
ProRaceSupply LLC
(p) 630.357.3001
(e) sales@proracesupply.com
http://www.ProRaceSupply.com

 
Communications Strategy:
David Moss, Founder
MossMedia, LLC
(p) 216.544.7942
(e) david@m2them.com

In his first drive of a ‘wings and slicks’ openwheeler, Daniel lapped the 3.38km Texas road circuit on Thursday (USA time) within 0.1 seconds of the best time ever recorded by a current-spec Star Mazda. The AMSF International Rising Star almost certainly would have set a new benchmark for the category if the truncated test had continued to the end of the day. But he had to finish at lunchtime to catch his return flight to Sydney.

The test, originally scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, was extended after rain on the first day limited Daniel to a handful of slow laps on the saturated track.

Having spent a cold and windy Wednesday familiarising himself with the ‘wings and slicks’ car and the 3.38km MSR Houston layout, he got down to some serious laps in less windy but still chilly weather on Thursday morning. He recorded a 1m 25.4s lap on his first – and only, due to the time limitation – set of new tyres during the session.

Another 1m 25.4s lap in the same stint proved that the first one wasn’t a fluke.

Mudill co-owner Jeff Hill is please with Daniel's Performance

“With a little more work, I am confident that he’d have lapped in the 1m 24s bracket. That would have been the quickest time here since Star Mazda switched from bias ply to radial tyres.”

Daniel, who this year completed a successful first international racing season in British Formula Ford, is due to arrive in Sydney on Saturday night after 10 months away from home.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Mike Jacobson – Jacobson Communications

If it’s urgent … Australia: 0438 590 136 0438 590 136 or (02) 9632 2381 (02) 9632 2381; International: 61 438 590 136 or 61 2 9632 2381 61 2 9632 2381
If you’re on Skype … mike.jacobson6
If it can wait a day … jaccomms@optusnet.com.au

With Tuesday’s planned first day all but washed out, the young Australian worked down to respectable lap times during almost 80 laps around the 3.38km road circuit in Mundill’s 2009-spec chassis. In chilly but dry conditions on the unfamiliar circuit, his best lap on a set of used Goodyear tyres was within a second of Mundill’s unofficial testing record, with “plenty more to come”.

The test is Daniel’s first experience of a ‘wings and slicks’ openwheeler after three seasons in Formula Ford. Consequently he spent much of the day acclimatising to the rotary-engined Star Mazda’s extra power, gears and traction.

The biggest challenge, according to Daniel, was exploring the limits of adhesion in a car equipped with aerodynamic aids. Unlike a Formula Ford, which relies purely on mechanical (ie. tyre) grip that decreases with cornering speed, the Star Mazda’s inverted wings increase the traction as cornering speeds increase.

This was apparent on MSR Houston’s faster corners, like the daunting 195-degree Carousel that leads onto Pit Straight,and the flat-in-sixth gear righthand kink at the end of the back straight (see aerial photo, below).

Daniel is scheduled to complete the test on Thursday morning Texas time (Friday lunchtime AEDT) before flying home to Sydney.

MEDIA ENQUIRES
Mike Jacobson – Jacobson Communications
It it’s urgent: 0438 590 136 0438 590 136 [International: 61+ 435 590 136 435 590 136] or (02) 9632 2381 (02) 9632 2381 [International: 61+ 2 9632 2381 2 9632 2381]
If you’re on Skype: mike.jacobson6
If it can wait a day: jaccomms@optusnet.com.au

Daniel will evaluate the one-make ‘slicks and wings’ category with leading Star Mazda team Mundill on Tuesday and Wednesday (December 1 and 2) at MSR Houston Raceway. The Australian Motor Sport Foundation International Rising Star will have exclusive use of Mundill’s 2009 Star Mazda entry during the test, which will comprise four sessions each day in both directions around the 3.38km road course.

Star Mazda is one of the most popular USA openwheeler development categories, boasting 20-plus fields at most of the 13 rounds in this year’s IMSA-sanctioned championship. It’s also highly lucrative, with $US1.5M in end-of-season awards and a fully sponsored drive in the USA Formula Atlantic Championship for the overall winner.

Daniel, who completed a successful debut overseas racing season in British Formula Ford last month, is looking forward to trying the rotary-engined Star Mazda car. “Although the British-spec Spectrum Formula Ford that I drove this year had similar dry weather slick tyres to the Star Mazda’s, almost everything else about the two cars is different,” he said.

“To begin with, there’s quite a step up in power – from the Formula Ford’s 115kW to the Star Mazda’s 180kW. The other obvious difference is that the Star Mazda has front and rear wings, whereas Formula Fords don’t have them.

“Changing gears will be a new experience with the Star Mazda’s six-speed sequential transmission, compared to the Formula Ford’s four-speed H-pattern shift. The Star Mazda also has a stronger and stiffer carbon fibre chassis than the Formula Ford’s steel spaceframe.”

Daniel will return to Australia after the Texas test to concentrate on raising the necessary funding for his 2010 racing season.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Mike Jacobson – Jacobson Communications

Our website www.mundill.com has had an ongoing evolution. There have been some minor changes to pages and formatting, cleaning up the look and feel of the site and creating a more prominent venue for our sponsors. One major addition has everyone at MUNDILL talking. We just added blog capabilities for our team drivers as well as the crew. Our goal is to keep the fans involved in the team whether we are between events or at the track.  There have been a few posts, but I expect a lot more as the guys get their fingers warmed up. They have a lot to say, so check back often to find out what is going on behind the scenes.

The new MundillStore went live this past weekend. Everyone is very excited about this new addition to our team. We want the store to compliment our race services and provide one convenient and easy to use site for consumers.  There are tons of products from Red Line Light Weight Gear Oil to G-force Racing Gear to Petersen Oil Filters and so much more. Add www.MundillStore.com to your favorites and make us your go to place for race supplies.

Here at MUNDILL we are constantly striving to improve. Promoting our drivers, their sponsors and the team on our website is a top priority. Providing an easy to use and broadly inclusive site for race supplies is another. If you have any comments or suggestions for either site please let us know and we will add it to our wish list for the future.

Following oval racing traditions, all drivers got two timed laps each in the single car Qualifying session. Krohn had a clean run, but was affected by a heavy gust of wind on the backstretch and only managed to put the car ninth on the sheets. The Mundill crew felt confident for the race and not too concerned about the less than ideal starting position. Two weeks earlier they had started seventh and won the race at the Milwaukee Mile.

After three warm up laps, the race looked ready to start with Krohn on the inside of row five. As the field accelerated for the start of the race, several front runners suddenly slowed down and Krohn had nowhere to go but hit the car in front of him. The other car had to retire from the race following the hit, but Krohn could carry on despite front nose and wing damage. The race was to be one of the wildest Krohn had ever witnessed, but he managed to dodge any further drama en route to a good points scoring race.

“I was very lucky to get away from the start crash the way I did. From there on the car was decent when driving alone, but very difficult to drive in traffic, so I decided to drive a conservative race and get points. All the guys at Mundill did an excellent job, and I feel confident we would have been higher up in the standings had it not been for the damage. I’d like to thank Mundill for their continued support, as well as my sponsors Trallfa Industries, Colosseum Dental, Antenor and ZAT Graphics.” Ended Krohn, who
currently sits seventh in points, only 11 points behind third.

Rounds eight and nine of the Star Mazda Championship will be held on July 25&26 at Autbahn Country

The weekend started in the worst possible fashion for the young Texas-based team. When arriving at the track Friday morning they found their tent destroyed and their racing cars filled with water following a heavy storm that struck the Milwaukee area. The entire team put forth an incredible effort and had Krohn’s #27 Mundill/Trallfa/Colosseum race car fixed and ready for the first of two
practice sessions.

Heavy rain further delayed the on-track program and as a result the qualifying got cancelled, and the grid for the race would be determined by each driver’s best lap time in the two practice sessions. As a result of this, Krohn would start seventh on the grid.

Krohn got an excellent start to the race and was immediately up to third, but was shuffled back to fifth when the safety car came out following a lap one incident. At the restart the 21 year old quickly got back up to third before another full course caution became imminent.

Krohn took the lead on lap 27 and pulled out an impressive gap that he held until a full course caution came out on lap 87. Going green with only 10 laps to go, Krohn pulled away yet again and held off the opposition to win by 1,2 seconds at the line.

Anders Krohn was ecstatic after having won his first ever oval race and having captured his first Star Mazda victory. “This is such a fantastic feeling! The team has been working flat out all year, and this is the best possible reward. Oval racing is a whole new experience for both the team and I, and I’m just so glad to come away with this result. The race was very demanding, but I had a fantastic car that just kept on giving confidence and I managed to hit my marks without any mistakes. I’d like to thank Mundill for
their incredible work and dedication, and my sponsors Trallfa Industries, Colosseum Dental, Antenor and ZAT Graphics for their continued support. Larry Nash also deserves big thanks for making this happen and I look forward to continuing my work with him. As for the upcoming races, we are already head down and ready to battle it out once again!” Ended Krohn who now moves into 6th position in the Championship standings, and 2nd in the Rookie standings.

Krohn will now make a quick trip to Norway where he will be working with his associates and get prepared for the next event, the Pizza Ranch 100, which will be held at Iowa Speedway on July 10th.

New Jersey Motorsports Park double header weekend did not turn out the way Anders Krohn and Star Mazda Championship team Mundill had imagined. After holding onto pole position for most of the first qualifying session, Krohn and Mundill encountered fuel pump issues on their last flyer. This eventually relegated them to third on the grid for Race 1, missing pole position by a mere tenth of a second. With a massive field of 28 cars, 16 cars were within one second of the pole time, showing just how competitive the Star Mazda Championship is.

In Race One, Anders got off to a less than ideal start, but headed into turn one as fourth. However, a car behind tried a poorly executed passing move, jumping over the inside curb and forcing himself into a spin and Anders out onto the grass. Anders lost
multiple positions, but quickly started making passes once back on track. Crossing the line in 12th with an injured car, Krohn and Mundill had at least salvaged some points for the driver and team championships.

In Qualifying for Race Two, Krohn got within two tenths of pole position, but in this extremely tight field it was only good enough for seventh. At the start of Race Two he maintained his position, and a few laps into the race moved up to sixth. Mid race Anders was catching the leading pack, but shortly thereafter his rear tires started going off and he had to settle for sixth in an uneventful race.

“We had all hoped for a better turnout this weekend, especially seeing how fast we were in testing and qualifying. We were really on the pace the first days of racing, and on the last day we just missed out with a couple of tenths, which is huge in this field right now. We’ll regroup and come back stronger for the next weekend at the Milwaukee Mile Oval for sure. The guys at Mundill are working flat out and I am sure we will succeed soon.” Commented Anders Krohn on the past weekend and the upcoming race
which will be held on June 20th.

Round three of the Star Mazda Championship at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT did not go according to plan for Mundill and their driver Anders Krohn. Qualifying seventh, Mundill and Krohn were looking forward to fighting for top honors in the 22-lap race. However, a clutch problem in the start of the race threw the team an unexpected curve ball.

Mundill battled several mechanical issues in the test sessions, but improved the car massively for qualifying. Krohn managed to qualify seventh, a mere eight tenths of a second from pole position. A field of 33 cars took to the grid for Saturday’s race, with Krohn piloting the #27 Mundill/Trallfa/Colosseum car from row four. As the start procedure began, Krohn’s clutch started gripping,
causing him to start moving prior to the green lights being shown. The 21 year old Norwegian spent the first two laps in sixth position before receiving a Stop and Go penalty, relegating him to the back of the field.

Once back on track, Krohn started gaining positions with some crowd pleasing moves. Krohn eventually crossed the finish line in an impressive 12th position, having set the fourth quickest race lap despite spending most of his race in traffic. “This was another difficult weekend for us.” Said Krohn, reflecting on the start of the 2009 season. “We fought through mechanical issues in the test sessions and managed to qualify not too far off the leaders. I was lookingforward to a race where I could fight it out at the
front of the field, but the clutch problem prevented me from doing so. It’s a shame to have another weekend like this, but we will do everything we can to turn our luck around. I’ve got some great guys behind me at Mundill, and with the continued support of my sponsors Trallfa Industries, Colosseum Dental, Antenor and ZAT Graphics I feel confident we can turn it around together.” Ended Krohn, who currently lies 9th in Overall points, and 5th in Rookie points.

The next two races in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will be held at New Jersey Motorsports Park on June 13 and 14.