 |
|
 |
| Road America Preview: VICI Racing |
|
|
VICI RACING - ROAD AMERICA PREVIEW
Miami, Fla - VICI Racing and development partner Kumho Tires are preparing to head next week for one of the American Le Mans Series' most popular and historic events, the 4-hour duration Generac 500 at Road America, with one Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and a further strengthened driver line-up with Marco Basseng joining Nicky and Francesco in the cockpit of the #18 car.
The team will be back on track for the seventh round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) three weeks after it recorded yet another solid top-ten classification at Mid-Ohio, keeping up a highly consistent record for the Miami, Florida-based team which has seen its cars classified amongst the finishers in every ALMS race it has entered this year, apart from St. Petersburg where the team endured an early practice setback. Most importantly though, there were real, tangible results from the tire program at Mid-Ohio, where the latest development compounds from Kumho achieved a consistent level of traction over the full 53 lap opening stint. The event brought an improvement in lap times of around 2 seconds a lap. VICI Racing and Kumho Tires are both very pleased that the program is going in the right direction, but we are aware we have a long way to go.
Now the driving strength of the Hughes Telematics and Hughes Network Systems-supported #18 car will be bolstered further for this long-distance race by the experience of Marc Basseng, a proven sports car driver who needs very little introduction. Marc has been racing Porsches on both sides of the Atlantic throughout his successful career, and his intimate knowledge of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR will provide invaluable to the Kumho Tire development program. He arrives to join highly-rated Dutch brothers Nicky and Francesco Pastorelli who have piloted the #18 VICI Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, which is also supported by LuxuryMotors.com and Wempe, during the last two ALMS races the team has entered (Utah and Mid-Ohio).
VICI Racing and Kumho Tires have teamed up this year to run a new tire development program in the ALMS, and it's been a fast moving first half year for a project which has been carried out in the full racing glare. Fresh out of the box and with most staff members unfamiliar with each other's names at Sebring, the team far exceeded its own expectations during the famous 12-hour marathon as the new #5 car ran in a podium position for over four hours, and eventually clinched a sixth place finish after overcoming a catalogue of late race dramas that were outside the team's control. However, motor racing brings highs and lows, and at St. Petersburg (round 2) the team came crashing back to earth and went home early after a practice accident which caused damage that couldn't be repaired at the track. Following that setback a huge dose of professionalism and hard work was called for to make the grid at Long Beach a fortnight later, and another helping of points was a perfect reward for many late nights. Round four in Utah saw the line up double as the #18 car joined the #5 in the paddock and getting both cars to the finish in the points sent the team into the early summer break continuing to make steady progress. The team skipped round 5 at Lime Rock to concentrate on technical developments, before another points finish at Mid-Ohio beckoned during the last round.
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
