28.01.2007 XM SATELLITE RADIO VICI RACING – ROLEX 24 REPORT – RETIREMENT after 8 HOURS

Daytona, Fla., - The #18 XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing Porsche-Fabcar’s bold challenge for honours in the Rolex 24 came to an abrupt end in the gathering darkness of last night; as after just over 8 hours of tough racing, sustained accident damage forced the car into retirement.

It was a big blow for the Miami-based racing team who had put so much work into this event; their exciting new Porsche-Fabcar project rapidly progressing all week, and showing signs of much promise as all the ingredients of this ambitious project gelled quickly together.

The #18 car had taken the green flag of the 45th Rolex 24 at 1:30 PM EST yesterday afternoon along with the other 64 starters in the legendary annual sports car race, and during the opening hours the car had ran perfectly, the team working to their predetermined race strategy, and all the drivers, Terry Borcheller, Uwe Alzen, Gastón Mazzacane, Robert Renauer and Nicky Pastorelli, running very consistent lap times and reporting no major issues arising. For Gastón, Robert and Nicky this was their first 24 hour race, and all three were greatly enjoying the experience and unique atmosphere at the Daytona International Speedway.

However, after 240 laps, at exactly 9:46 PM yesterday (Saturday 27th) and just as the teams were racing into the long night with the threat of rain becoming a very real factor; the #18 car's race came to an end. After 8 hours, 12 minutes and 14 seconds of racing, Gastón slid off the course, hitting the barriers on the inside of Turn 5. The Argentinean former Prost and Arrows F1 driver was immediately taken to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up, which he passed.

“A very disappointing end to the race,” says VICI Racing Team President Ron C. Meixner, “But we are very relieved that Gastón was ok. We put a lot of effort into this week and the wholehearted support of XM Satellite Radio has been instrumental in the project taking shape. I have been really delighted with the way we have progressed, the package is very promising, the car is improving quickly, the Porsche engine is superb, and the team and crew have showed resolution and desire. That’s motor racing unfortunately, but we will bounce straight back from this result.”
 

XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing Technical Director & Chief Engineer Roland Wall comments, “Firstly we are all delighted that Gastón is safe and sound; that is always our primary concern when the car goes off the track. Up to that point the race was progressing very well; the car was running very consistently, and we were able to lap well within our target times. The technical programme that we implemented during the week was really starting to pay off, with an excellent setup in place; we were climbing the leaderboard lap by lap and adhering to our race strategy. I can have no complaints though, everyone was pulling together just great; the team crew and the drivers have all worked so hard this week that I’m disappointed for them.”

“Unfortunately it was a short race,” comments Nicky Pastorelli. “I did one stint which went ok; I had to start when it was dark already so it wasn’t the easiest stint, but I expected it to be difficult with all the traffic and it was. We had dropped back a bit earlier on, but I gained some positions which was good, and I was happy with my stint; but after that it’s a shame the race was over quickly. Hopefully I will back next year, and hopefully I will be able to finish the race. It’s is a great atmosphere, everything is really nice here, I have enjoyed it.”

About XM

XM is America's number one satellite radio company with more than 7.6 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2007 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: commercial-free music, premier sports, news, talk radio, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information.

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