16.04.2008 VICI Racing Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach Preview
 

VICI Racing and development partner Kumho Tire are looking forward to bouncing back in the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach Race this week, after the bitter disappointment of St. Petersburg less than a fortnight ago. A free practice incident at the Florida street course that put the #5 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR out of action for the weekend was an even more bitter pill to swallow for everyone as it came straight after the team’s successful ALMS debut in the opening round of the series, the 12 Hours of Sebring last month. 

However, since St. Petersburg the team has worked flat-out to be ready for this Saturday’s 100-minute race on the testing 1.968 mile Long Beach temporary road course, and everyone is looking forward to the challenge posed by one of the world’s most famous street circuits, the second consecutive temporary track on the calendar. Compounding the tight schedule has been the fact that the Florida-based team has had to travel right across the United States for this week’s glamorous Californian event, meaning that the final touches will be put to the #5 car today (Wednesday) in the paddock.

VICI Racing and Kumho Tire have teamed up this year to undertake an exciting, and ambitious, season-long tire development program on behalf of Kumo Tire which aims to evolve new racing compounds for the ALMS GT2 class. VICI Racing is campaigning the new 2008-specification Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Straight out of the box, the team hit the ground running in Sebring (12-15 March) for a week that would see a whole set of new components gelling together. The performance at Sebring, where the #5 car ran for much of the race in a podium position, exceeded all expectations and perfectly set the team up for the coming season.

Fast and experienced with Porsche, Nathan Swartzbaugh and Craig Stanton will once again team up to lead the driving line-up in the #5 car in Long Beach. They are both residents of California and this is literally their ‘home’ race. Both drivers have experience of the tough and demanding track and are looking forward to leading the tire development program forward another step this weekend, as well as performing well in front of sponsors, as well as friends and family. Nathan will also host the ALMS ‘Tech Talk’ at the VICI Racing trailer at 1:00 PM on Thursday, a day after he shares his personalized tips on ‘Winning in Life’ with 150 local elementary school students.

The team is also delighted to announce that Ruben Carrapatoso will be in the car again this week. 26-year-old Ruben from São Paulo began his racing career in karts in 1993, and went on to win the world kart title in 1998 after a season during which he took on and beat Fernando Alonso, who has since gone on to win two F1 titles, and the highly-regarded Team Penske Indycar driver, Ryan Briscoe. A climb up the single seater staircase for Ruben was followed by a switch to fixed roof racing. At St. Petersburg he was making his ALMS debut, driving the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for the first time, and having his first taste of the temporary road course. During the opening practice sessions Ruben greatly impressed the team with his ability to get to grips with the car immediately, and turn in a smooth, fast pace. We’re pleased to have him in the cockpit once again.

VICI Racing is also delighted to welcome designer clothing manufacturer Black Flag Gear as a partner of the team at Long Beach; joining Kumho Tire, Wempe, Tornos and Westway Development in supporting the program.

Long Beach is home to one of the most famous street circuits in the world, and traces its roots back to its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1977. Many reputations have been made and broken on its demanding course. In 1984 Long Beach switched to hosting the ChampCar series. Then last year, the American Le Mans Series arrived in town, the stunning sports cars taking Southern California by storm. The Series’ stars and cars now return for the second straight year to race on the historic street circuit just south of Los Angeles, in one of the most anticipated races of the season this Saturday. This will be the 34th consecutive year of racing on the track.

Nathan Swartzbaugh says: "Racing at Long Beach will be a very special moment for me, both personally and professionally. On a personal level, growing up near the track, we've been coming here for several years as fans, so to be given the opportunity to drive here in the RSR is something incredibly special. A lot of our sponsorship comes from Southern California so we will have a lot of guests and VIP's out to root us on, so it's important that we have a good showing."

Craig Stanton says: "Not driving at St. Petersburg was difficult, so I'm looking forward to this weekend's Grand Prix. I literally live just down the street, so the opportunity to drive at a home race like this will be an experience I've always wanted. I hope all of our sponsors have the experience of a lifetime."

Ruben Carrapatoso says: “It was a pity I had such a short amount of time in the car at St. Petersburg. However the car felt good; it’s very quick and easy to drive. As I hadn’t driven the RSR before so I was quite pleased with my initial pace and I really enjoyed the whole atmosphere; the ALMS series is very professional and VICI Racing seems to be a very good team. I’m now really looking forward to this weekend; I adapted to the St. Petersburg track very well so I think I should be able to do the same at Long Beach. I have been watching lots of videos to get some knowledge of the track. Hopefully I can help the team towards a good result.”
 

Tim Bumps, Team Manager VICI Racing says: “It’s been really hectic for the whole team since St. Petersburg; we have all had to work very hard to recover from the setback we suffered and get back into shape. We will complete the work on the car at Long Beach on Wednesday, but everyone has pulled together very well and shown superb professionalism, so I’m confident we will be back on the pace, and hopefully we can have a trouble free week and turn in a good result; after all the efforts the team certainly deserves it.”

The action on track at Long Beach gets underway on Tomorrow (Thursday 17th April) with two, one hour long test sessions (3:00 to 4:00 PM ET and then 4:45 – 5:45 PM) to acclimatise, and which will be open to all the ALMS classes. On Friday (18th April) morning there will be an early practice session (9:05 – 9:45 AM) open to all classes, before the 25 minute final qualifying session (3:55 – 4:20 PM) which is reserved for GT1 and GT2 competitors. Race day (Saturday 19th April) will dawn with a very early 15 minute warm up session (7:15 – 7:30 AM) for all classes before the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach goes to green flag at 4:10 PM. The 100 minutes duration race, round three of the 2008 ALMS series, is scheduled to conclude at 5:50 PM.

ABC TV will broadcast the race from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 20. XM Satellite Radio will provide coverage on Channel 144 from 7 to 9 p.m. ET Saturday, April 19. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage of the race at www.americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring.

About Kumho Tire

Established in 1960, Kumho Tire Co., Inc., of Seoul, South Korea, had 2007 sales of $2.4 billion. Kumho manufactures and distributes a complete line of tires for passenger cars, light trucks and heavy-duty trucks. The company has manufacturing facilities in Korea and China, and operates technical centers in Birmingham, England, and Akron, Ohio.  Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Kumho Tire U.S.A is the U.S. distribution arm of Kumho Tire Co.  In addition to its 830,000 square foot headquarters and central distribution facility in Rancho Cucamonga, the company operates four additional distribution facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus and Dallas. For more information, visit the Kumho Web site at www.kumhotire.com

About VICI Racing

VICI Racing is a Miami, Florida-and Munich, Germany-based racing team with more than 20 years of experience competing at the topmost levels of international sportscar racing, in both GT and prototype categories, in Europe and the United States. VICI Racing is a wholly owned subsidiary of the VICI Group, which is comprised of technology-led companies. VICI Racing roll call of wins includes GT victory in the Daytona 24 Hours. For more information visit www.viciracing.com

About Wempe

Established in 1878, Wempe is a family owned company that has been in business for over 125 years.  Wempe is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany where Mrs Kim-Eva Wempe took over the reigns from her father, Mr Hellmut Wempe, in 2003.  She owns and operates 25 stores worldwide in 6 countries, with global sales of over $300 million. Opened in 1980, the New York Flagship Store – the only Wempe location in the U.S. – is located on Fifth Avenue and 55th Street.  The boutique is an elegant European style salon at the base of the Peninsula Hotel. Carrying 18 of the world’s finest watch brands along with its own line of exquisite jewelry, Wempe is known not only for its commitment to quality, but also for exceptional service. For more information visit www.wempe.com

About Tornos

Since the company’s foundation in 1880, Tornos has always specialized in high precision turning solutions.  Selling a variety of machines that can include up to eight spindles, the Swiss-born company has developed a growing specialty in providing solutions to the most complex and detailed spinning parts. From miniature bone screws to microscopic components in radio-controlled cars, Tornos machines provide solutions for a variety of industries requiring high precision. 

About Westway Development

Westway Development is a privately-owned commercial real estate company that possesses over 25 years of industry experience. Their team of real estate professionals has developed several million square feet of office and industrial properties. Motivated by its successes in the commercial sector, Westway Development is committed to providing the Federal Government and its contractor companies a blend of traditional office and build-to-suit real estate development solutions, regardless of complexity or degree of specialization.

About Black Flag Gear

P1 Groupe is proud to introduce a new breed of race clothing inspired by the razor sharp edge that drivers walk every day between heroic and insane. Black Flag Race Gear imagines a gritty take on a racers journey into the dark and dangerous unknown. Pilots, drivers, warriors, heroes!  Joint the Black Flag Army and show the world how to accelerate the human race. Check out the exciting new designs for both men and women at www.blackflaggear.com
 

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