Thursday Evening Report

The schedule was shuffled due to the Highcroft wreck and the damage to the fencing, but the 1 hour, 45 minute session started at 7:55 pm, as the skies were darkening. All cars made laps in the session, except the Jag and the Highcroft Acura.

The ECO Radical had limited time on track. Hideki Noda reported that something didn’t feel right and the car was parked, turning only 3 laps in the session. A broken flange at the junction of the driveshaft and the rear axle was discovered, meaning a long nght for the crew.

Overall, it was the Peugeots that were fastest. Stephane Sarrazin set the fastest lap, a 1:07.912, the only car into the 7’s in the session and actually of all of the recorded sessions. The Audis were over a second back, settling for 3rd and 4th best times in the session. Marco Werner had an off in the No. 1 Audi in the esses, which brought out a red, just over an hour into the session. The damage appeared to be confined to the left part of the nose. The car did return to the track.

Another short red was brought out by the stoppage of the Drayson Lola, which came to a stop on track from a reported failed fuel pump.

The No. 20 Dyson Mazda made it out on track, a moral victory for the team, which had just received the new motor at 2:00 this afternoon.

The fastest car in the P2 class was the Muscle Milk Porsche, in which Klaus Graf recorded a 1:12.107. In GT2, Dominick Farnbacher set the fastest time in the PTG Panoz. As usual, the Yokahama tires responded well to the cooer track conditions. Not unexpectedly, the class was again a shoot out, with 9 cars all having best times in the 1:22 range.

Thursday Night Paddock Quotes

Ian Dawson, (#10 Radical) “The hot air is just killing the horsepower. The engine is absolutely heat soaked. We did quite of bit of testing with no problems in the U. K., but it was cool and wet. We were trying to build an entry level LMP car using a diesel powered production based engine. Bigger heat exchangers and radiators would probably make a difference but I’m afraid this engine just can’t handle the heat.

Ian James, “We tested here in the rain and the car was fantastic. In the hot sun it’s pretty good, but if it’s cooler or wet for the race we will be golden.” (After the night practice and the quickest time in class) “I told you! Cooler track and we are in P1. Japan might be the land of the rising sun, but Yokohama is the tire of the setting sun.”

Bryan Willman, “We’ve been really working hard on our engine tuning. We changed the RPM and rev limiter setting, and I think we’ve found an engine configuration that works for us. Our straight-line speed is excellent, and our cornering speed is improving. The race engine was installed last night, a little earlier than planned but it should be fine.”

Johnny Mowlem, “I’m disappointed of course that I’m not here racing, but the car was just not going to be ready in time. But I am here to represent Corsa Motorsports and let everybody know that the team is going through the car top to bottom and we will be back at Laguna.”

Johnny O’Connell, “It just not handling right. There is no grip. I wasn’t unhappy with it this morning, but Jan said it was terrible in the next session. We have some really smart guys working on it, but we need some more track time. All the stoppages are killing us. We have tested here with this car, but that was the first test ever for the car back in March.”

Clint Field, “The car is good, it has lots of grip tonight. Probably that way for everybody since it cooled off quite a bit with the darkness. But we are pretty happy so far and have not had any problems.”

David Robertson, “The car is good, we just need some more track time to smooth some things out. We are still playing with the set-up. Tonight they put on the high-downforce nose. We’ll see how the car responds to that.”

Romain Dumas, “I am very happy to be back, to be here racing at Road Atlanta. The car seems ok, it’s very different than the Spyder. It’s heavier, and has more power, but I will have to adjust and adapt my driving to suit this car. This is also the team’s first time here with this car. So they are learning also. They have just changed the gear ratios for the night practice.”

Mika Salo, “I have only had 10 laps or so in the car, and I have not raced since Le Mans. But I have driven the Ferrari here many times and it’s a long race so I should be ok.”

Rick Mayer jokingly added that red flag abbreviated previous practice sessions have been “great for saving tires and fuel, but not much else”. “We have aero and chassis work to get done, but we need some uninterrupted track time to do it. There is definitely some speed left in the car.”

“It’s been a long week,” said Patrick Long with a wry smile, “we are pacing ourselves. Not so much on the track, but personally we need to keep our energy levels up. The Porsche has been pretty good, but the BMW’s are fast on the straights. But that’s ok, we love the competetion.”

Greg Pickett, “I think P1 in class is all you can ask for. We are real happy, we’ve been making steady progress with the car. I have two great co-drivers in Klaus and Sascha, and they have made some subtle tweaks to the car that have helped. It’s about as much fun as an old guy like me can have!”

Chris Dyson, “The car is good, and has been all week. The balance is perfect. We are going to run a new butanol bio-fuel from BP in our car this weekend. It will cause us to be unclassified, which is tough for Guy and myself as drivers to take. But we’re looking a the big picture and forward to next year. It’s new fuel technology and very relevant to what this series is trying to do with alternative fuels. It’s cutting edge and that’s what this series is all about. We are very excited about the new rules package for next year and the opportunity to race for the overall victory again. It’s the way it should be and I think everybody recognizes that now.”