27.08.2008 vici racing - detroit sports car
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Detroit, Michigan - VICI Racing and
development partner Kumho Tires arrived on Belle
Isle in Detroit yesterday ready to bounce back from
last weekend when the most competitive weekend of
the inaugural American Le Mans Series (ALMS) year
for the racing team ended abruptly less than a third
of the way through the race after the #18 Porsche
911 GT3 RSR crashed out following a suspension
component failure which was beyond the team’s
control.
It
was a bitter pill to swallow for everyone and
followed on from the team’s best qualifying showing
of the year, which came despite limited practice
time on the Canadian circuit; and the car and tires
were showing very well during the opening stint of
the race. But motor racing delivers highs and lows,
and the step forward in competiveness at Mosport was
a pretty good reward in what has been a demanding
first year in the series.
VICI Racing is now hoping that lady luck will smile
more favourably on the Miami, Florida based team
this weekend in unique, and so far warm and sunny,
setting of Belle Isle in Detroit. Back-to-back races
are demanding of any team in the most optimum of
circumstances, but with a car that has hit the tires
barriers at high speed it becomes an even more
testing undertaking. However for a team that prides
itself on its professionalism and attention to every
detail it has simply been a case of methodically
working through the relevant issues once the team’s
brand-new transporter had made the 250-mile road
trip from the Mosport International Raceway
(Toronto, Canada) to Belle Isle (Detroit, Michigan)
where it arrived in the temporary paddock here early
yesterday morning.
The driver line-up in the #18 car, which is
supported by Hughes Telematics, Hughes Network
Systems, LuxuryMotors.com and Wempe this year,
remains unchanged going into the ninth round of 2008
ALMS this week. Nicky and Francesco Pastorelli will
start their fifth consecutive race for VICI Racing,
the rapid Dutch pair being joined once again by
experienced sports car star Marc Basseng, who will
be entering his third ALMS race with the team,
having joined at Mid-Ohio.
None of the drivers have taken part in this race or
seen the track before; however Nicky does has street
circuit experience, having raced in ChampCar at
street circuits including San Jose, Long Beach,
Denver and Long Beach, as well as tracks in Europe.
Team Manager Tim Bumps has been coming to Belle Isle
since 1992, and was on the winning team here in
1996, so he brings experience of this unique
challenge.
The ALMS series is returning to the streets of Belle
Isle for the second consecutive year, and just like
in 2007, the sports car are racing on a
double-header with the Indycars. A 982-acre island
in the Detroit River, Belle Isle, was home to the
Detroit Grand Prix from 1992-2001, utilizing a
temporary street circuit that was constructed
specifically for the CART races. In 2007, it once
again hosted world-class racing with both the
open-wheel cars of the IndyCar Series and the sports
cars of the American Le Mans Series competing at the
event. Connected to Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge,
various entities call Belle Isle home, including the
Dossin Great Lakes Museum, the Detroit Boat Club,
the Detroit Yacht Club, a municipal golf course, an
aquarium and a Coast Guard post. The island also
includes a half-mile swimming beach, the only one in
the city, and a nature center.
The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix is organized and
promoted by a subsidiary of the Downtown Detroit
Partnership, whose chairman is Roger Penske. A
special charitable organization has been established
that enables all net proceeds raised by the Grand
Prix to fund measures for the improvement and
preservation of Belle Isle. New for 2008 is that the
races are being held over Labor Day weekend.
The track action on the 2.9-mile, 14-turn temporary
course is set to get underway on Friday morning
(August 29th) with a 90 minute long practice session
(9:00-10:30 AM) that is open to all the ALMS
classes. This will followed by a further hour’s
practice in the afternoon (3:20-4:20 PM), again open
to all classes, before a brief 15 minute break leads
into the 20-minute qualifying session (4:35-4:55 PM)
reserved for the GT1 and GT2 teams. Race day
(Saturday August 30th) will get underway with the 25
minute long morning warm-up session (9:50-10:15 AM).
The Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch,
round 9 of the 2008 American Le Mans Series, will go
to green flag conditions at 2:35 PM (ET). The
chequered flag is due to be waved on the 2 hour 45
minute duration race at 5:20PM.
SPEED will broadcast the race live, and XM will air
it from 5.00 to 8.00 PM (ET) on Sunday, August 31.
Qualifying will be shown live online starting at
4:35 PM (ET) on Friday, August 29 on
americanlemans.com and SPEEDtv.com.
Roland Wall, Technical Director, VICI Racing: “I was
satisfied by how well we were running at Mosport
before the incident. To go out at that point was a
disappointment, but the important thing was that we
made further progress all round. It was also
satisfying that we found a good pace although many
teams tested at the track earlier in the week and in
fact we also missed out on the Thursday sessions.
This is a development year using the races foremost
as testing opportunities, we’re not targeting
eye-catching results, but we want to make real,
tangible progress at every race and this was the
case at Mosport. Now we have to carry this
competiveness into Detroit this week and face the
challenge of a completely different type. Belle Isle
is a mix of concrete and asphalt surfaces and we
expect it to be a bit slippery to start with. But I
think we can get a good set up for the race and the
team has bounced back well from the damage at
Mosport.”
Tim Bumps, Team Manager VICI Racing: “We’ve all
worked really hard to get here and have the #18 car
repaired in time for the first practice sessions
which start on Friday. The logistics of being away
from our Miami base for most of August have been
tricky and having to repair a damaged car this week
has added to our schedule, but we have a very strong
crew under crew chief Alex [Zaric] and the guys have
pulled together superbly as I know they would. I’ve
been coming here since 1992 and enjoyed some very
good results so I hope we can get another solid one
this weekend and this time load up an undamaged car
at the end of it. I must also say that the
improvements to the venue made last year by Roger
Penske have been excellent and provide a very
welcome upgrade.”
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Nicky Pastorelli
(Holland): “I’m looking forward to this race, I like
street circuits generally and this one looks very
interesting for sure. I was disappointed not to get
to drive at Mosport but the car was working well
there and it’s important that we are making steps
forward. For sure we had a good set up and race
strategy but these things happen. We have quite a
way to go but we are going in the right direction
and for me it’s both exciting and very challenging
being a part of this big development project. I
enjoyed my time as a test driver in F1, and this
project this year is very motivating for sure. Now
we’re all focused on Detroit, and I hope to help the
team to a good result on Saturday.”
Marc Basseng (Germany): “The race [Grand Prix
of Mosport] was going great, the strategy went right and we were more
competitive, and as in Road America, the car felt very good. The crash was bad
luck for all in the team. However the damage wasn’t
too bad so I was happy for the team and now I’m
pleased to be racing in Detroit. Thanks to the whole Team and Porsche that they
managed the repair the car and get the parts quickly. It will be my first race
in Detroit so that’s going to be interesting. I feel really involved and
pleased with the team and I’m impressed by Engineer Roland [Wall]. I hope my
team mates and myself, we can show a good result like we wanted to do in
Mosport.”
Francesco Pastorelli (Holland): “It wasn’t ideal for
me at Mosport as I didn’t get a lot of track time in
the car in practice and then our race ended before
my stint. However I hope that it goes better for me
this week and I get much more cockpit time. I
haven’t driven on a street circuit before so I’m
quite excited by driving here, the circuit looks to
be nice from videos that I have seen. I hope I can
contribute to a successful week for the team and we
can all put Mosport behind us.”
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
Hughes Telematics
Hughes Telematics (www.HUGHEStelematics.com)
is a leader in developing the next generation of
telematics solutions. The company designs, engineers
and manages vehicle- and driver-centric solutions to
increase vehicle value, ownership experience,
convenience, efficiency and safety and security.
Headquartered in Atlanta, HUGHES Telematics offers a
portfolio of proprietary consumer, manufacturer,
fleet and dealer services designed to set industry
standards for intelligent vehicle interaction and
information exchange.
About
Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global
leader in providing broadband satellite networks and
services for large enterprises, governments, small
businesses, and consumers. HughesNet® encompasses
all broadband solutions and managed services from
Hughes, bridging the best of satellite and
terrestrial technologies. Its broadband satellite
products are based on global standards approved by
the TIA, ETSI and ITU standards organizations,
including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A and GMR-1. To date,
Hughes has shipped more than 1.5 million systems to
customers in over 100 countries. Headquartered
outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland,
USA, Hughes maintains sales and support offices
worldwide. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Hughes Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGH). For
additional information, please visit
www.hughes.com
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
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
LuxuryMotors.com
As
the world largest e-commerce automobile retailer,
LuxuryMotors.com strives to provide customers with
the best selection of new and pre-owned luxury cars
through a unique and convenient online buying
experience. Our website provides the largest
selection from our inventory on the market today. A
team of car experts constantly searches the web to
guarantee the lowest possible price and the best
value for our customers. Purchased vehicles can be
conveniently delivered to any location worldwide.
Our selection of over 2000 luxury cars are being
showcased at different locations and can be test
driven at your convenience in a customer friendly
atmosphere. Financing and Leasing are also available
online or at any our retailer locations. For further
information please visit
www.luxurymotors.com
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