24.01.2007 XM SATELLITE RADIO VICI RACING PREPARING FOR ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

Daytona, Fla., - The build up to this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona got underway in earnest early this morning as the teams’ trucks rolled into the Daytona International Speedway, along with the engineers, crews, personnel and some of the drivers; signalling the start of three days of intense activity before the forty-fifth running of the world famous sports car race gets underway this Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM EST.

Although the daunting 3.56-mile road course was completely silent today, there was a frenzy of activity in the pit garages and the technical scrutineering areas as the teams prepared for the commencement of on-track action tomorrow (Thursday). And in the pit garage of the #18 XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing Porsche-Fabcar, it was a hive of activity all day.

Once the teams had been given the signal to commence operations, the #18 Porsche-Fabcar was unload, resplendent in the stylish black and yellow colours of the team’s official partner at Daytona this week, XM, America's number one satellite radio company with more than 7.6 million subscribers. The car was rolled out of the transporter and into the pit garage where the crew immediately got to work on final preparations ahead of tomorrow morning’s first practice session, and also readying the car to comply with the mandatory Grand American scrutineering procedures.

VICI Racing’s engineers have been busy working to revise the settings of the Fabcar package, and coupled to the proven ability of the fast and very durable Porsche engine, the team are relishing the challenge that lies ahead. “The ingredients are in place,” comments Team President Ron C. Meixner, “we have an excellent bunch of drivers, an international crew that is starting to gell, and a package that shows much promise.”
 

This is a completely new project with the Porsche-Fabcar only just rebuilt over Christmas, and with just two days of track time under their belts mostly spent ironing out shakedown issues, the team know they face a big game of catch-up. The Fabcar also presently gives way to its rivals in the key area of aerodynamics.

However no one is fazed by the daunting task in hand and with a crew well versed in the rigours and tribulations of long distance racing everyone immediately goes about their task professionally and without fuss.

"Twenty four hours is always a long time to be racing flat," comments Ron, who includes driving for the factory-supported Joest Porsche team at Le Mans and Daytona during a successful racing career, "firstly we have to make sure we are around when the checkered flag is waved. Simply anything can happen in a race like this and on a track that has flung aside many vaunted past challengers. We have got to work hard to put our package together in the best possible manner, but facing the biggest challenges is what motivates us and drives us forwards, the VICI team thrive on these situations."

Tomorrow the legendary Daytona International Speedway will reverberate to the sound of racing engines as the horde of sports cars, divided into the Daytona Prototype (DP) and GT categories, take to the circuit for an intense day of practice sessions, qualifying runs, and night time acclimatisation.

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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