15.10.2008 MONTEREY
SPORTS CAR CHAMPIONSHIPS, PREVIEW
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Monterey, Calif. - Following a real race
against time over the last week-and-a-half VICI
Racing arrived at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,
California, this week for the final appointment of
their inaugural year in the American Le Mans Series
(ALMS), the Monterey Sports Car Championships. The
team is raring to hit the track when action gets
underway tomorrow afternoon having battled back from
the adversity suffered during the recent Petit Le
Mans.
When the ALMS teams take to the famous Laguna Seca
Raceway, a two hour drive south of San Francisco on
the Pacific coast, on Thursday for the first
unofficial Promoter Test Session, the #18 Porsche
911 GT3 RSR, piloted, as usual, by Marc Basseng,
Nicky and Francesco Pastorelli, will be a new car,
required following the major accident during the
closing hours of Petit Le Mans; an incident that has
necessitated a replacement chassis being utilised.
Also, with the conclusion of the season-long tire
development program, VICI Racing will start the
final race of the ALMS season using Dunlop tires.
With the support of key partners Hughes Telematics,
Hughes Network Systems and Wempe, and following a
string of long nights for the crew, VICI Racing can
now face the concluding race of the 2008 ALMS
season; and we will be looking to round out a
demanding first year in the series with a
respectable result. Also factored into the
all-to-short short time gap between Petit Le Mans
and Laguna Seca is our truck’s journey right across
the country from our Miami HQ, to Monterey,
California. However, despite several setbacks during
recent races, VICI Racing has shown all its
deep-seated professionalism and dedication in our
determination to make the grid at Laguna Seca for
this final race of the year, and, as has been the
case all season, the team has pulled together
perfectly to achieve this.
The Laguna Seca Raceway in California is another
famous and demanding venue; another date in an ALMS
calendar that boasts some of North America’s finest
and most challenging motor racing circuits. The four
hour race this coming Saturday, which ends with the
cars racing into the gathering dusk, will be the
perfect way for the team to end a long, tough season
that started back in March at the 12 Hours of
Sebring, a race which seems so long ago now. It will
be another interesting test for the team, and for
all three drivers it will be their first time at the
2.238-mile track that boasts a bit of everything,
including sharp elevation changes and of course the
famous downhill ‘corkscrew’.
Ron C. Meixner, Team President VICI Racing:
“Following the big setback at Petit when we were on
course for a decent finish, we were totally
determined to make it to Laguna Seca. We’re had some
real setbacks this year as we made the step to ALMS,
in fact every race has felt like a battle, but each
time we have had a setback we come back with grim
determination and I think this really says
everything about the team and the new personnel we
have drafted in to supplement our core staff this
year. I firmly believe that at VICI Racing we have
the best guys in the business and few professional
teams could have got through the season the way that
we have done. I’m very proud of everyone, I think
they all epitomize the fighting spirit and will to
succeed that I have always tried to instil in the
team. It is said that you learn when the pressure is
on, and we have learnt, we have a team that can go
on to confidently challenge in ALMS next year and
we’ve proved we can live with everything that
top-class racing can throw at you. I’m now looking
forward to rounding out the season with a good
result at Laguna Seca. I think we’ve learnt a huge
amount this year and once Laguna is out of the way
we can focus on 2009 knowing that we can hold our
own at this level.”
Roland Wall, Technical Director VICI Racing: “We
have worked very hard all season to develop the
Kumho Tires package to suit the RSR and I think the
evidence shows that we have been successful in
closing the gap to the front runners. I’m sure we
can now step forward satisfied with what we
achieved. We look forward to using Dunlop tires at
Laguna Seca and it will be very interesting to see
how we progress with them over the next few days.
The crew has had a really short period in which to
build up a new car following the crash at Petit.
We’ve really had our backs to the wall this year and
every time adversity has struck we have come up
fighting. I’m delighted with the efforts of the
crew, they have had so many late nights this year,
so many cars to repair, but spirits are always high
and they go about everything with enthusiasm and
professionally. Alex is an excellent crew chief, and
his mechanics have been brilliant, everyone wants to
win and I’m delighted that we have assembled such
good personnel.”
Marc Basseng (Germany): “I’m happy to be going to
Laguna [Seca], I think we can push in the race to
end the year on a good note, we have four hours
which will be good for the drivers too. Petit was
tough, we had a good race pace and Roland [Wall] got
a good set-up that made the car very driveable. What
happened in the race with the tires was frustrating,
especially as we were on course for a nice finish.
There was no warning when the tire failed, and it
unfortunately happened on the fast decent to the
last corner, I went right up the tire wall. I was
disappointed for the crew as they had worked hard to
get us to the race and we were into the ninth hour
so we didn’t have far to go.”
Nicky Pastorelli (Netherlands): “I’m looking forward
to getting to try the RSR on Dunlops at Laguna Seca
for sure, it’s going to be a great benchmark for us,
and it will be good to run on to end the season on.
It was a shame that we couldn’t reach the finish
line in Road Atlanta as we were going well it the
race and it was all coming towards us. I really
enjoyed Petit though, it is a classic race, and
every driver wants to take part in these sorts of
events. Last year I drove for VICI at Daytona [24
Hours] so now I have drives in two of the big
events. The atmosphere was great at Road Atlanta and
the action was for sure a little bit crazy, cars
were crashing everywhere from the moment the
practice sessions kicked off. The [ALMS] series is
really good though, it’s very professional, lots of
big name manufacturers are involved in it, the fans
are knowledgeable and I’m pleased I made the switch
this year, for sure it’s the place to be, and I’m
really happy that this is a good place [to be] for
my career.
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"There are many
excellent drivers racing here so I’m competing
against the best. Marc and my brother, Francesco,
are great team mates and it would be good if we can
get a good result to end the year, it would be nice
for everyone, all the team has been working hard for
sure.”
Francesco Pastorelli (Netherlands): “The end of the
season is coming round very quickly, and I think
with the experience we have built up all year we
will hope to get a good result. I was pleased with
my pace at Road Atlanta, I was able to run a race
pace that the team wanted and the car felt always
good. I’m enjoying driving the RSR a lot, it’s a
rewarding car for the driver, and [at Petit Le Mans]
I got plenty of cockpit time that I had lacked a bit
over the summer. The team has been great, I’m
feeling settled here and I’m confident they have the
ability to get a winning car together so it seems a
good place to be for me. I’m very happy I have made
the switch from single seaters to sports cars. The
atmosphere at Petit was great too; you could see all
the fans lining the banks and cheering and even
smell the barbeques! We had a good set up and it was
a shame to go out late on, but we all know we can
crack this series so we look forward to the race
now. Now it’s going to be exiting to race at this
track and I’m looking forward also to getting to
drive on the Corkscrew which is a famous turn.”
The action on track at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
gets underway tomorrow (Thursday 16th October) with
two Promoter Test Sessions, the first half hour
session (4:40 – 5:10 PM) (PT) is reserved for the
GT1 and GT2 cars, while after a half hour break, a
full hour (5:40 – 6:40 PM) will be open to all the
ALMS classes. Friday (17th October) will kick off
with an hour long practice session (10:05 – 11:05
AM) open to all classes, before another hour on
track, again open to all the classes (1:55 – 2:55
PM) leads to the 20 minute qualifying session (3:05
– 3:25 PM) reserved for the GT1/GT2 cars. Race day
(Saturday 18th October) sees the race warm up
session (9:55 – 10:20 AM) before the Monterey Sports
Car Championships, the final round of the 2008
American Le Mans Series gets underway. The four-hour
race into darkness is scheduled to start at 2:45 PM
with the checkered flag scheduled to be waved at
6:45 PM. NBC Sports will air the race from 2.00 to
4:00 PM on Sunday, October 19. XM Satellite Radio
will air the race from 4:00 to 8:00 PM (ET) on the
same day. American Le Mans Radio will have live
coverage on
americanlemans.com,
which also will feature Live Timing & Scoring.
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
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
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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
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online or at any our retailer locations. For further
information please visit
www.luxurymotors.com
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