After leading in their first race, and securing seventh position in Saturday's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen race at Watkins Glen International, the Supercar Life Racing team continued on track Sunday, June 7, turning in some of the quickest lap times in a full-day test session.
The Daytona Prototype and Grand Touring car classes tested on Watkins Glen International's short course. Its 2.45-mile circuit offered quite a different run than Saturday's longer, 3.4-mile race course. While the shorter track has fewer corners, it shares the straights with the longer circuit. This configuration let the drivers really excel on the straightaways, producing faster lap times and faster top speeds throughout the test day.
"The different tracks and their nuances are one of biggest challenges we face as professional drivers," Supercar Life driver Christophe Bouchut said. "But the No. 55 has proven to be a top competitor since day one, no matter the track. These test days give us a chance to stretch our legs and try out different strategies we've been working on. With the competition as tough as it is this season, fans are guaranteed an exciting fight for the podium."
Bouchut was first behind the wheel of the No. 55 Supercar Life BMW-Riley. After Saturday's long endurance race, the team used this time to warm up the tires; the Frenchman clocked in a fastest lap time of 01:06.170. The Supercar Life Racing team's fastest lap time on Saturday's course had been 01:42.579; race winners Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas of TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates turned in the fastest time during the six-hour event-01:41.426.
Early afternoon track temperatures were good, creating a nice surface for traction, but rain began to fall as the day progressed, making for slick conditions. The team had no problem modifying their set-up to accommodate these changes; the No. 55 BMW-Riley chassis was designed with the ability to quickly adapt, allowing the team to get the best performance on course.
Team principal Scott Tucker was next to drive the No. 55 DP during the session's Trueman-Akin Award segment. The Jim Trueman Award recognizes the talented and determined individuals in the Rolex Sports Car Series' Daytona Prototype class who have established their driving credentials in the racing community. Points are earned based on the finishing position of the car driven in each round of the Series' races; one point is also awarded per lap driven by the competing driver. Tucker was third quickest overall, turning in a time of 01:06.614-only six-tenths of a second away from position one (01:06.00). He currently sits in sixth place in the Trueman-Akin standings with 906 points.
Bouchut ended the team's session on a high note. The Frenchman turned in a time of 1:05.253-the second quickest overall up to that point in the test session-just before catching a plane to France, where he is preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which runs Saturday, June 13. Bouchut won the race back in 1993 with teammates Geoff Brabham and Eric Helary.
Test sessions like Sunday's have proven to be extremely successful for Supercar Life Racing. In preparation for the 2009 season, the team participated in the October Test Days at Daytona International Speedway, breaking an unofficial circuit record of 1:39.9 at the 3.56-mile course. During January's "Roar Before the Rolex 24" test session, the No. 55 was at the front of the class once again. On day two of that session, Bouchut led all of the Daytona Prototype drivers with a fastest lap time of 1:41.884 (125.790 mph); Grand-Am officials announced that Bouchut's speed was unofficially better than the existing track record for the DP class. During the two-month layoff between the 2009 season-opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and April's Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway, the Supercar Life Racing team kept up the momentum: Bouchut broke yet another unofficial track record (01:12.421) at Homestead-Miami Speedway during a March test session.
The Rolex Series again hits the track Saturday, June 20, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the EMCO Gears Classic. The race will be televised live on the SPEED television network at 5:00 p.m. EST.
No comments:
Post a Comment