Chip van Vurst - Spec Miata

Chip started in competitive racing in Autocross and a year later he took his first SCCA club racing school and started road racing. He has enjoyed much success at the national club racing level, first going to the SCCA Runoffs in the SSC class where he ran a Mazda Miata.

Then while driving a Dodge Viper in the T1 class he achieved a 2nd and 3rd place finish at the runoffs.

Most recently Chip has been racing a Spec Miata and has raced at the last few runoff events. He has driven for teams like Autohaus Motorsports in the Speed World Challenge series and several appearances at the Pro level in the Rolex GT Series and Grand Am Koni Challenge series

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2011 - 4th Place SCCA National Runoffs (started in last place), Spec Miata

• 2011 - 2nd Place SEDiv National Championship

• 2010 - National Points Champion, Spec Miata

• 2010 - SEDiv National Points Champion, Spec Miata

• 2010 - 4th Place SCCA National Runoffs, Spec Miata

• 2009 - SEDiv National Points Champion

• 2009 - 3rd Place National Points Championship, Spec Miata

• Lap Records set at tracks including Palm Beach International Raceway (SM), Sebring (SM), Homestead Grand AM (SM)

Danny Steyn - Spec Miata

Danny grew up in South Africa and started out racing motocross, supercross and enduro events. Success came quickly and in 1980 he became a sponsored Blue Stratos / Kawasaki racer.

Unfortunately a   serious crash at a regional race resulted in a week long coma that ended his motocross career in 1987.

After moving to the USA in 1993, an invitation to attend an AMG Driving Academy event got Danny's passion in motorsports rekindled. Danny got started in Spec Miata's in 2007, racing with OPM Autosports. He is sponsored by Adept Studios, Rossini Racing Engines, and Traqmate.

Danny runs a successful South Florida photo studio as well as a steel fabricating machinery business.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2011 - SEDIV National Champion, Spec Miata

• 2011 - Florida Winter Tour Champion, Spec Miata

• 2011 - SEDiv ECR Enduro Champion, Spec Miata

• 2010 - June Sprints Champion, Spec Miata

• 2010 - ARRC Champion, SMX

• 2009 - SARRC Champion, Spec Miata

• 2009 - SEDiv ECR Enduro Champion, Spec Miata

• 2009 - SEDiv Florida Enduro Champion, Spec Miata

• Lap records set at tracks including Sebring (SM), Carolina Motorsports Park (SM, Barber Motorsports Park (ISM), Road Atlanta (SMX)

• Spec Miata racing results with Rossini Engines (to May 2011) - 99 Races, 25 Poles, 45 Wins, 69 Podiums

Adam Molaver - Spec Miata

Adam has always been into anything motorized and credits his dad for starting his love affair with cars and bikes.

Adam started racing Spec Miata in the NASA Mid Atlantic region in 2005.

Adam and his wife are active with DARE fostering and working with rescued Doberdogs.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2011 - NASA Mid-Atlantic Spec Miata Champion

• 2010 - Sat out 2010 Season due to funding issues

• 2009 - NASA Mid Atlantic Spec Miata Champion

• Spec Miata Liaison to the NASA Mid-Atlantic region as well, acting as conduit between fellow SM racers and the organization.

Manny Dasilva - Spec Miata

Manny's philosophy towards racing is one of pure personal enjoyment and satisfaction. While he likes to go fast and win races when he can, the idea is to have fun. In his own words, "One weekend of racing is like performing brain lobotomy".   

Manny is one of the key drivers under the Rossini Racing tent. He and his fellow drivers are all good friends that enjoy spending the weekend together and love to challenge themselves to be the best without compromise. 

The whole group is relatively new to the racing circuit, and are into their fourth year of racing Spec Miata. Their first race was the 2008 12 hours Enduro at Summit Point, and Manny and his team have raced in many Enduros since then.

Manny and Mike Rossini collaborate closely, working on developing the cars and the engines, and perfecting their setup. 

Manny and his friends now race at many tracks, around the country and their results continue to improve, and while this provides satisfaction, for Manny it doesn't come close to enjoying a great meal and a good bottle of wine trackside swapping stories and enjoying each others company

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2011 - First Place, March Memories VIR SARRC

• 2010 - 2nd place Spec Miata 12 hours Devils in the Dark Enduro

• 2008, 2009 and 2010 -  13 Hours at VIR

• 2009 - 2nd place - 12 hours Enduro at Summit Point

Jedd Fahnestock - Spec Miata

Jedd Fahnestock is one of the top runners in the Mid Atlantic Region and in 2011 is currently holding down 2nd place in the MARRS championship.

Jedd got started running his dad's Honda CRX at track days, and then jumped in at the origin of the Spec Miata class in 2004. He ran for a year and them money ran out. He took 5 years of racing, and then in 2010 with the help of funding from family, stared his Spec Miata career back up. His background in cage building at Piper Motorsports was a great asset.

He campaigns a 1999 Spec Miata that he built himself, and is powered by Rossini Engines.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2011 - 2nd Place in MARRS Spec Miata Championship (YTD)

Amy Mills - Spec Miata

Amy Mills lives in New York City and races in the NE Div SCCA.  Amy started racing in HPDE days in her Z06 Corvette with her husband, Whit Gregg.  Amy has raced a 1994 Mazda Miata for 3 years, largely in SSM class. 

For 2011 Amy will be racing the SM class.  Amy is data coached by Nick Leverone, owner and president of Flatout-Motorports. 

After several top 3 finishes, Amy scored her first pole position and win at a regional race at Watkins Glen in Oct 2010. 

Amy is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Nutrition 911, focusing on nutrition counseling and education.  She is also an adjunct professor at Long Island University in Brooklyn teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in nutrition. 

Amy has been running for 14 years and has completed 7 marathons on 5 continents, hoping to complete a marathon on all 7 continents with her husband, Whit.  Amy and Whit have been married for 11 years.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2010 - New York State Road Racing Championship - 1st place SSM

• 2009 - New York State Road Racing Championship - 2nd place SSM

• 2009 - Charge of the Headlight Brigade 13 hour Enduro - 2nd place SSM (driving with Whit Gregg, Keith & Ann Hammitte)

Donnie Barnes - Spec Miata

Donnie got started racing SM in 2003. He has run in the Southeast in Spec Miata at both regional and national races at VIR, CMP, and Road Atlanta. He has had a few top ten finishes, including a third in a CCPS race at CMP in 2009 and won the Spec Miata class at the 13 Hours of VIR in 2005. 

Outside of Spec Miata he has raced in the One Lap of America, the MX-5 Cup, and Grand-Am ST at tracks including Trois-Riveres, Laguna-Seca, Portland International Raceway, and other tracks around the country

Donnie keeps sharp doing a lot of indoor karting when he can and he has the privilege of owning his own outdoor kart track.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2005 - Winner of the Spec Miata class at the 13 Hours of VIR

• 2009 - 3rd place CCPS at CMP

Ken Quartuccio - Spec Miata

Ken started in motorsports with Drag raced more than 20 years ago and raced mostly heads up racing .

He Won a LS1Tech.com championship and several races. Ken has over the years gone as fast as 6 seconds and 200 miles an hour in the quarter mile.

IN 2006 Ken bought a Corvette ZO6 and a friend invited him to an HPDE event at Limerock Park in CT. After a hour on the track he was hooked. He did more events but realized that using the ZO6 was not the best thing for keeping the car in 1 piece so he sold it and bought a ZR1 just to enjoy on the road. The ZR1 came with a free racing school so In 2010 he attended the Ron Fellows Racing School in Vegas and earned his regional license.

When it came time to buy a race car everybody figured he would get a Vette and race T1. Bought after researching the racing, he decided that SM was the best class to learn because of the large fields, And everyone told him that if you can go fast in a Miata you will be fast in anything .

So just like he did in Drag Racing, Ken chose to build his own car from the ground up, class playing special attention to the little details .And when it came to the engine I did a ton of research looking at others results and how the engine builders handled themselves with their customers in terms of support, and the same name kept coming up, Mike Rossini.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2010 - Started racing Spec Miata

• 2010 - Finished 3rd and 4th in his first two races in SM in NASA at Limerock Regional's.

• 2010 - Finished 12th after starting 33rd due to missing the qualifying session

• 2011 plans - race all NAARC, NER and select ProIT events

Jonathan Boxwell - Spec Miata

Jonathan "Box" Boxwell is an IT Manager for a large Health Care Organization. Box graduate from Virginia Tech in 1996.

In 1999, Jonathan started road racing in ITB and ITC, and in 2000 won the NASA GTI Cup Championship. In 2001 Box went national in a Mazda Miata and competed in the SCCA Runoffs. Box continued racing SSB through 2006 with a 9th place finish at the SCCA Runoffs.  

In 2007,  Box made the switch to the ultra competitive Spec Miata Class. Combined, Box has competed on over 10 road courses around the nation and held sponsors for many of his years in racing.   Box has also worked as a high speed instructor at Bill Scott Racing.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• 2009  - Won the Spec Miata National at Summit Point

• 2006, 2004, 2002 - 2nd Place SCCA SSB NE Division Points Series

• 2005 - 9th Place SCCA Runoffs SSB

• 2005 - Finished all National Races in 1st or 2nd place

• 2002 - 4 National podium finishes in SSB

• 2001 - 9th Place SCCA Runoffs SSB

• 2000 - NASA Atlantic GTi Cup Champion

• 95+ Starts and ZERO DNF's!!!!

Jim Thill - Showroom Spec Miata SSM

Jim might be the senior citizen of the RRP family, enjoying retirement on the motorsports circuit.  Being a former Air Force RF-4C Phantom pilot, and US Airways pilot made for an easy transition to motorsports. 

Jim has been racing Mazda products for 12 years, and has earned a MARRS championship in the highly competitive SSM class.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

Mike Rossini - Spec Miata

Mike started playing with mini-bikes when he was 14 years old, and immediately joined the local scrambles scene. Soon after he went motocross racing and enjoyed many wins at his local track.

After moving up, Mike realized that he didn't have what it takes to win at the pro level, but his love for eh sport kept him fully occupied as a team manager and mentor to many pro riders.

Mike remained involved in competitive pro motocross until 2006 when he decided it was time for a change. He dabbled with a Viper at HPDE track days, but one day a wise old man suggested he put aside the Viper for a few minutes and try out one of his Spec Miata's. One session later and Mike was hooked. It was everything he had ever wanted from a race car and two seeks later the Viper was gone.

True to form, Mike started tinkering with his engine and soon was building engines and cars for customers. Less than 6 years later Mike has built hundreds of Spec Miata Engines for a wide range of customers, as well as many Spec Miata race cars for himself and his friends as well.

Motor Racing Career Highlights

• Mike will tell you that he is quite content to run mid pack and watch the race unfolding ahead of him.

• Despite this laid back approach Mike has had victories in the hard fought Spec Miata Class and has stood on the podium on many occasions

• But what really excites Mike is just how many times his engines have powered racers to the top step of the podium in the short time he has been building his Spec Miata Engines.

• And more than that, Mike just  loves to talk shop with like minded racers, so if you love racing, and you see Mike at his trailer at the races, you have a standing invitation to sop by and say hi. I promise you will be blown over by Mike's willingness to help and generosity of spirit.

Steven Hickham Jnr. - Spec Miata

Motor Racing Career Highlights

For Rossini Spec Miata Engines,   336-595-3413

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