Ali Makes Progress at MCAS New River Despite the Lack of Results

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With one-third of the Red Bull Global Rallycross Lites season complete, Nur Ali sees progress despite not having the finishes to show for it. In the fourth event, held over the Fourth of July weekend at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in Jacksonville, NC, Ali displayed his ability to be quick but minor errors prevented him from scoring a solid finish.          With a ninth place finish in the final, the Trophy Club, TX resident sits seventh in the championship standings.

     “I’m frustrated with our results,” said Ali. “But I’m seeing progress every race so I know we are going in the right direction. History has shown that new rallycross drivers need time to adapt to this style of racing, I’m no different. I’ve shown that I can be fast. I just need more consistency.”

     The race, the first for the series on an active military base, started with a setback. A faulty valve stem caused a flat tire before the No. 42 Valvoline/Tweaker Energy Shot entry left the paddock for the morning warmup. Heat one didn’t go much better.

     “In the first heat, I got a good start and was settling in when I missed my braking point and stuffed it in the tire barrier,” said Ali. “Aldo and the rest of the team did an awesome job of getting the car race ready for heat two.”

     In heat two, Ali battled with his teammate Alejo Fernandez for the duration of the race. It was a clean, tight battle that gave Ali a boost of confidence. Despite the solid performance it was not enough to transfer to final. Next up was the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).

     Ali made a strong start in the LCQ and found himself once again battling Fernandez, this time for the win. Knowing that a fourth place finish or better is all that was need to transfer, he made the wise decision to hold his position and took the checkered flag in second.

     “After the day I had, I knew the smart thing to do was to bring the car home in second,” added Ali. “As much as I wanted to win, I never lost sight of the big picture.”

     In the final, Ali once again made a strong start but the elation was short lived. Entering the dirt hairpin on lap four, a small miscalculation caused him to find the tire bundle on the inside of the corner. While sitting in the middle of the track and trying to reverse, Collete Davis struck Ali’s driver side door. The damage to the No. 42 car was minimal but unfortunately ended Davis’ race. Ali continued on and finished ninth.

     “It was disappointing to have trouble in the final,” said Ali. “This series is so competitive that one small mistake takes you out of contention. I need to apologize to Collete since it was my mistake that ended her day. The weekend wasn’t a total bust though. My lap times continue to improve and now I need to work on being more consistent.”

     To watch the action from MCAS New River tune to NBCSN on Wednesday, July 8 at 6:00 p.m. (ET).

     The next race for Ali is Red Bull Global Rallycross Detroit, a doubleheader event held at Belle Isle in Detroit, MI on July 25 and 26.

     For more information on Nur Ali visit NurAli.com.
Adam Sinclair
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