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| Sahlen Six Hours of the Glen Preview: Pontiac |
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Pontiac Teams Looking Forward To Six At The Glen
Pontiac GXP.R teams going for sixth season win
Pontiac GXP.R zapped with weight and balance penalty
SunTrust regroups after transporter fire
Detroit, Mich., June 3, 2008 - Pontiac Daytona Prototype (DP) and GT teams are looking forward to racing six hours in round six of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 to be run at Watkins Glen International Raceway on June 7. Pontiac GXP.R teams have won a Rolex Series record five races in a row. This type of performance now comes with sanctions.
Following the success that the Pontiac GXP.R has enjoyed, winning a record five of six GT races, so far this season Grand-Am officials have added weight and balance sanctions against the teams. One hundred pounds has been added to the overall weight, bringing the total to?? and a balance percentage of no more than 49% of the cars weight on the rear wheels.
The adjustability of the GXP.R combined with the quality of the teams campaigning the cars has resulted in the five wins so far this season, Steve Wesoloski, GM Racing, road racing manager said. The new Pirelli tire has offered the series better competition and the team's better performance. The ability of Banner Racing, Stevenson Motorsports, Autohaus and PR1Motorsports to fine tune their GXP.Rs to take full advantage of the new series spec rubber is a tribute to their professionalism, driver talent and competitive edge. The free flow of information between these teams has accounted for five times as much setup data to be shared. This has lent itself to a well balanced car able to take full advantage of the performance attributes and consistency of the Pirelli tire.
The No. 07 Banner Racing team of Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards are leading the GXP.R charge with three wins on the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park. The duo leads the GT drivers points and realize that every championship season has its obstacles.
The 100lbs. and balance difference will affect us everywhere, Edwards said. Watkins Glen has been a good track for us in the past. We won the race two years ago in the GTO.R. The weight is a negative at any track you go to. We will do the best we can. We need to focus on maximizing our points in the rest of the races. The weight distribution will affect the car all the way from the entrance to the exit of the corner and then the weight will slow us on the straight. We will be pretty slow down the straights. This will also affect tire wear. The Glen could be our last track to have a strong result. The race is long, our pits stops are faster than our competitors and in six hours there are a lot of stops. Kelly and I run consistent laps times which helps over a long race. I love The Glen, I hope we are not running mid-pack and having to make desperate moves to stay in contention.
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