January 11, 2012
Ruscitti makes splash at first official Grand AM Test

Remo Ruscitti, 17, enjoyed his first taste of professional motorsports this past weekend at Daytona International Raceway in Florida.

On Friday morning, after meeting the team and going through all of the controls on the 2011 Compass 360 race-prepared Honda Civic Si with team engineers, Ruscitti hit the track for his first of two sessions behind the wheel.

The goal of the first session was to learn the car, find the braking and turning points, and become comfortable driving a car with a roof. After working his way through some traffic, Remo brought the car back to the pits, very happy with his first encounter with the new machine.

"The car was prepared immaculately, so I really have to thank the Compass 360 team. It didn't take me long to get comfortable in the Civic Si," Ruscitti stated.

After a quick debrief with team engineers and a glance at some data, Remo strapped back into the car for his second of two runs of the day.

Remo didn't waste any time taking what he learned in the first session and applying it to his second run. After only a few laps, he was running times competitive with series regulars, and inside the top 10 in the session. "Remo really impressed us, for a kid in his first time in a front-wheel-drive race car, with very little sports car experience; he got up to speed incredibly quickly. I hope to have him in a Conti race with us later this season," stated Team Manager Karl Thompson.

The Saturday morning sunrise brought out another day of testing for Remo and the team. He spent both sessions of the day bouncing around inside the top 10 on the timesheets, ending the day with a time good enough for 5th overall.

"This test was really motivating for myself and for the team. This is only the first weekend for me in the car and we know we are already a competitive package. I again want to thank Compass 360 and my sponsors for giving me this opportunity to show my potential, and I can't wait to see some race action later in the year," Ruscitti added emphatically.

With a few more test days scheduled for Remo and the car, look for some impressive results in the 2012 Continental Tire Series. More information can be found at www.grand-am.com and www.c360r.com. Stay updated for upcoming news releases for Remo's 2012 campaign!

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January 10, 2012
Remo performs very well in Daytona test weekend

(Daytona Beach, FL) -- The high-banks of the famed World Center of Racing, Daytona International Speedway, played host to the first Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event of 2012 this past weekend, welcoming an impressive collection of competitors at the "Roar Before the 24" test days.

Compass360 Racing (C360R), winners of CTSCC Street Tuner championships in 2010 and 2009, brought two new 2012 Honda Civic Si Coupes to the test in the hopes of furthering the development of this new platform begun during the previous fall.

Pilots Andrew Novich and Adam Burrows (#74 Dr. Kimberly Henry / Speed Secrets / HPD) joined Ray Mason and Ryan Eversley (#75 Columbus Truck / Children's Tumor Foundation / HPD) in sharing the on-track driving duties. Over the course of the weekend, the drivers and crew worked to refine the chassis set-up and ECU tuning, improving with each session.

"The new car is a work in progress, but it's going pretty well," noted Technical Director Ray Lee. "The 2012 has a new 2.4L engine, and we've been working to turn a street car's tune into something we can race with. We're hoping to have a good package for the Daytona race in a few weeks' time."

The drivers were similarly optimistic. "It's a change from the 2.0L motor we ran last year," said Novich. "It's got more torque but less horsepower, so you have to drive it a little differently. It's good coming off the corners."

"We've done a lot of testing with this car over the past four months," remarked Team Principal Karl Thomson. "We ran it at Road Atlanta in October, and then did a very successful Press Launch at Willow Springs with HPD (Honda Performance Development). It then went to SEMA where it was featured in the Honda booth, and then back to HPD where additional fabrication of new parts and further testing was done."

Also at the test were long-time C360R driver Bo Roach, who shared the #77 Luna-C Racing / HPD car with Remo Ruscitti, a young karting talent making his first CTSCC appearance. Both performed admirably at the helm of their 2011-spec 4-door Honda, turning the team's fastest lap on Saturday.

"It's great to have Bo back with the team, and Remo really impressed us," said Thomson. "For a kid in his first time in a front-wheel-drive race car, with very little sports car experience, he got up to speed incredibly quickly. I hope to have him in a Conti race with us later this season."

The team returns to its Toronto, Canada shop to prepare its four-car effort at the Daytona race, which will run January 26-27th, 2012. Details can be found at http://grand-am.com.

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January 04, 2012
Ruscitti and Compass 360 Racing Pair Up

Already a standout on the national karting scene, Remo Ruscitti is looking to find success in a different discipline of racing. The 17 year old Burnaby native will take the experience and skills that he has honed in karting, and make his first foray into professional motorsports when he jumps into the drivers seat of a 2012 Honda Civic Si that has been race prepared by Compass 360 Racing (www.c360r.com), a well established and successful Grand-Am Continental Tire Series team based in Ontario, Canada. The Continental Tire series is one of the fastest growing professional car racing series in North America. If the task of sharing the track with some of North America's top racing drivers wasn't daunting enough, Remo will make his Grand-Am debut at an official series test at the crown jewel circuit on the 10-race schedule, Daytona International Raceway this coming weekend. After running a limited schedule in the Skip Barber National Series in 2011, Remo is ready to make the jump to the professional closed-wheel ranks, where he will drive for the first time with a roof over his head.

Remo has always stood out in every series he has raced, whether it be karts or race cars. His raw speed and ability to quickly adapt means he will definitely be one to watch for this weekend.

Ruscitti stated, "I've been working hard all winter trying to put a deal together to get into a race car for 2012. I would like to thank Compass 360 Racing and all of my sponsors for giving me the Opportunity to showcase my talents on one of the biggest racing stages in the world. I've been training hard this winter and I know I will be 100% ready to go when I get behind the wheel of the Civic Si for the first time this weekend."

Remo's progress at this weekend's test can be followed at www.grand-am.com.

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