Growing up, a trip to Belle Isle meant a family outing for Paul Gentilozzi.
For the past two decades, though, visiting the island in the Detroit River means a different type of family outing for Gentilozzi, who co-owns RSR Racing with his sons John and Tony. It means racing on the 13-turn, 2.360-mile circuit through the state park.
“I was born in Detroit at Henry Ford Hospital in 1950 and will always be a ‘Detroiter,’ this is my home track,” Gentilozzi said. “My family spent a lot of Saturdays at Belle Isle as a youth. Enjoying my life’s racing passion there is very special.”
When Detroit hosted Formula One for the first time in 1982, Gentilozzi competed in the IMSA Kelly American Challenge. He became a regular at the event in subsequent years, and was the leading winner in SCCA Trans-Am competition.
“As a driver and team owner, we have competed at Detroit GPs for 18 of the 26 events, beginning with the maiden event,” Gentilozzi said. “I have raced on each of the track configurations, and was very excited to have three Trans-Am victories and many great racing memories.”
Gentilozzi has plenty of reasons to be excited for this weekend, when he returns to the Raceway at Belle Isle for Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers.First, his team, RSR Racing, is coming off its first victory of the season, with Chris Cumming and Bruno Junqueira dominating the Prototype Challenge (PC) class at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Second, the PC class will be racing at Belle Isle for the first time, joining the Prototype and GT Daytona competitors.
Third, East Lansing-based RSR Racing enjoys a home-track advantage, being the lone Michigan-based team in the TUDOR Championship.
Finally, Gentilozzi has plenty of personal experience at Belle Isle, both as a visitor and a competitor.
“We are very proud to be Michigan’s only team participating in this year’s event,” Gentilozzi said. “We feel that the Detroit Grand Prix ranks at the top of important races in North American Motorsports. Great racing traditions and a challenging track entertain real race fans.
For the PC class to remain relevant being at this event is essential. Both of our drivers – Bruno Junquiera and Chris Cumming – have recent experience on this configuration, and we feel our momentum from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and experience makes us a contender next week to make it two in a row.
“I want to congratulate the Grand Prix Association, the Penske Organization, the City of Detroit and State of Michigan for continuing this racing tradition in our nation’s ‘Motor City.’”
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