Hearn Motorsports Races Through Montreal

LAS VEGAS, Nev., June 11, 2005 � Hearn Motorsports' driver Brian Thienes (Hunting Beach, Calif.) carried the sole banner for the Las Vegas-based race team of Indy car driver Richie Hearn (Henderson, Nev.) at the Grand Prix of Canada-round of the 2005 Star Mazda Series North American Championship in Montreal. It marked the first time that Hearn had not entered the team's primary No. 70. Thienes did an impressive job for the team finishing 18th on the lead lap of the 26 lap support event to Formula 1. The successful weekend moved Thienes up to a tie for 15th in the overall drivers' championship for the formula car series. It also moved him to second, just seven points back, in the Expert Series (for drivers between 30 and 44 years of age). The tight street course required a rhythm that Thienes found early in the second of two practice sessions when he jumped from 28th quick in the 42 car field, to 16th fastest. Due to the limited time on track, the Star Mazda organization set the grid based on driver points. The No. 77 Thienes Engineering Mazda took the checkered flag in 18th and fought to stay there throughout the event. With the series only street course behind them, the Hearn Motorsports group now looks to Colorado for the Star Mazda's only stop on an oval. The 1-mile Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Col. will play host to Hearn Motorsports on July 3rd. The No. 77 has been entered in the 45-minute race while a second seat for a driver in the No. 70 is still being discussed. Richie Hearn: “Montreal is a tough track and Brian did a very good job. He had an accident in one of the sessions but we were able to fix that and move on. It's hard to get so little track time, no qualifying time, and be expected to go out and run lap-after-lap for 45-minutes without any problems on these street circuits. We're happy that we can roll the car on the trailer. Now we'll go to Pikes Peak and worry about that again. Ovals are tough when you only drive one a year. We're confident in what Brian can do there too and we're working to get the 70-car back into the show as well.”For more on Hearn Motorsports and its 2005 Pro Formula Mazda Series' effort please visit www.RichieHearn.com. More on Brian Thienes can be found at www.ThienesEngineering.com .The Grand Prix of Canada Star Mazda race can be seen with tape delay on July 3 at 11 am (EDT).###