18.07.2009 THIRD STRAIGHT TOP-FIVE FINISH AS VICI RACING COMES ON STRONG AT LIME ROCK
 

At a hot and dry Lime Rock Park this afternoon T-Mobile® VICI Racing™ collected its third straight top five finish in the American Le Mans Series this year, its latest strong showing coming in the well attended Northeast Grand Prix, and it was a particularly rewarding result due to the multiple adversities that the team was forced to overcome to reach the chequered flag. Richard Westbrook and Johannes Stuck who teamed up for the opening race of our 2009 season at Long Beach in April were back together, a pairing that blends youth and experience with natural talent and speed, and building on their fourth place on the Californian street circuit (and the car's subsequent fifth at Utah) the pair brought the #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2008) over the finish line in fifth place after completing 163 laps of the 1.53 mile circuit.

The team had started the compact two-day event at Lime Rock Park, which nestles in the rolling green Connecticut countryside, somewhat on the back foot having to make up ground on our rivals as we skipped the race here last year during our inaugural ALMS season to concentrate on our development programme, and we had a further disadvantage in that many of our key rivals have tested here. Technical Director Roland Wall had last been here with a prototype team two years ago and we also had to gather data on the Michelin tires we are using for the first time this year. However adapting to rapidly unfolding new scenarios is fundamental to our engineers who strive for technical excellence, and as soon as the #18 hit the track it was clear that the car had a very quick pace. While Richard raced here last year on his ALMS debut and professes to enjoy the challenge of this short - and dangerous track - for Johannes it was his third new track in three races as he learns the traditional North American circuits.

VICI Racing™ is a longtime-established German/US racing team which has set out this week on its second year in the prestigious sports car racing series. T-Mobile USA is a leading innovator and provider of mobile communications. At the end of 2008, T-Mobile USA served more than 32.8 million customers. T-Mobile USA is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AG’s Mobile Communications Business, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, one of the world’s leading companies in mobile communications. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. Michelin is a technical partner of the team.

The race started with the #18 car on the fourth row of the grid thanks to a qualifying run on Friday that had been compromised by traffic and left the magenta-and-white RSR behind the tricky-to-pass Robertson Racing Ford GT but in front of the Panoz which had blocked the #18 with its superior straight line power compared the Porsche at Utah last time out. In the end Richard’s best qualifying lap was the seventh fastest GT2 time and was set in 55.387 seconds (average speed 98.146 mph).

However in front of the large crowds that had come to witness the ALMS field in action at this half-a-century old racing amphitheatre Johannes took the battle to his GT2 rivals right from the start just minutes after the scheduled 2:00 PM kick off time and as the race unfolded it was very clear that Roland had called an optimised strategy. It was also by now really getting ‘hot’ on the track as the air temperature was up to 80 degrees while the track temperature had hit 124 degrees, meaning that not only was Johannes baking in the car, but the huge crowd was also sweltering in the afternoon heat.

Johannes, who had made light of his inexperience at this level by dealing expertly with heavy traffic throughout his stint, was thrown into a spin just a few laps prior to pitting for the first of the afternoon’s two routine pit stops after a brake lock up issue, all of which meant some very fast thinking from Roland.
 

The Technical Director was directing race strategy from the pitwall, and in his own words this maestro of tactics had to keep his plans "pretty dynamic". However the young Austrian driver, son of the legendary sports car star Hans Stuck, took the incident in his stride and at 2:52 PM (45 minutes of running) and with fresh tires and a new fuel load Richard blasted back into the action after an ultra-fast pitstop from our well drilled crew.

With the #18 car now up the order into fifth place it was clear that another top five-finish could be achieved. At 3:05 PM (58 minutes of running) John Baker in the #47-C Porsche 911 GT3 Cup hit the tires in the first chicane, causing lots of damage to the front of the car and leaking fluid. It abruptly started off the first safety car period of the afternoon although it didn't help the team as the yellows came just 10 minutes after our pitstop. Half an hour after the track went back to green conditions again the Englishman had to call upon the skill that has made him one of the world's best sports car drivers today when he was clipped by a lapping prototype and a puncture sent him pitwards. His box visit at 3:45 PM (1 hour 38 minutes of running) was swiftly readjusted to become the second routine stop of the afternoon, and Richard he stayed in the car to double stint and save on vital seconds. Another superb stop from our crew launched the London resident back into the thick of the fray and all was set for him to defend the position as the clock ticked down to the chequered flag.

However in motor racing the cards can be hurriedly re-dealt at a moments notice and Richard found his path blocked by one of the Porsche GT3 Cup cars which are guesting in selected ALMS races this year. Although around five seconds a lap slower here than the GT2 cars, the Cup machines have a high top speed meaning that respect is needed if the prototype and GT2 cars, which are contesting their own races, are to swiftly negotiate these obstacles without compromising their lap times. Richard however found this particular car in truculent mood and he made several attempts to pass with the Cup driver unnecessarily shutting the door and on his fourth attempt unexpected braking by the Cup driver saw contact made with the #18 car which resulted in radiator damage.

However the checkered flag was now just laps away and with engine temperatures rising Richard nursed the car to the finish. There was huge relief all-round in the VICI Racing pitbox - where the crew were coiled and ready to spring into action if a pit visit became necessary - when the battered #18 T-Mobile® VICI Racing™ car blasted down the main straight for the 163rd and final time to take the flag.

Despite a dramatic early race moment from Johannes and an overheating engine, the Miami, Florida-based race team was able to collect its third top-five finish of the year in its third race, a result that was immensely satisfying to the team. Roland was understandably relived that the car had reached the flag intact and in a strong position. "We had a lot of setbacks this weekend but this team is so professional and efficient that we just dealt with issues one-by-one as they arose efficiently, and considering the circumstances we can be pleased with fifth place," said the hugely experienced race engineer. "The drivers performed very well on a difficult track where keeping out of trouble is always such a factor and the crew were brilliant performing such quick stops without wasting a second. I'm very proud of the cohesion we have here and we now look forward to Mid Ohio and hopefully another strong result."

Richard - who like all the team is infused with a steely git and determination to win - was happy to see the flag with the radiator problem. "We had a fast pace all weekend but we were lucky to get home intact,” said the Englishman who posted the team’s fastest race lap in 56.019 seconds on lap 98. “We got another solid result, I think my pairing with Johannes is really working well now, and things are starting to edge our way.”