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American LeMans
ALMS: Sebring Wednesday Notebook
Bill Riley Joins Jaguar RSR, GTC ‘Pros', Learning to PASS and more!
John Dagys  |  Posted March 17, 2010   Sebring, FL
Alex Job Racing fields three GTC-spec Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars this season. (John Dagys)
Bill Riley Joins Jaguar RSR

One of the more interesting developments this week has been the addition of Bill Riley to the Jaguar RSR effort for 2010. Riley, who along with father Bob runs Riley Technologies, is giving a helping hand this weekend to the Paul Gentilozzi-led factory effort, which is making its Sebring debut with the Jaguar XKRS.

With decades of race car construction experience, including the dominant Riley MkXX Daytona Prototype and Corvette C6 that LG Motorsports campaigned in select American Le Mans Series races in 2008-2009, adding Riley to the Gentilozzi’s organization came as a natural fit.

“Our relationship with Bill and Bob Riley goes back to the late ‘80s,” Gentilozzi explained. “The last time we won Sebring in GT was 1992 in a Bob Riley-designed car. We have a huge amount of respect for what they have accomplished. When you design a car in-house, your objectivity isn’t as open of a scope as you may like it. So I couldn’t think of anybody better in the world than to bring to the table than Bob and Bill.”
Bill Riley has joined Jaguar RSR as a consultant and race strategist for the first half of 2010. (John Dagys)

Jaguar RSR has had a steep learning curve in getting its XKRS up to speed in the highly competitive GT2 category. With numerous teething problems to tend to, the car hasn’t gained nearly as much track time as originally hoped for in pre-season tests and official testing at Sebring this week.

Riley faces a unique situation having joined the team while in the middle of the car’s development, instead of being an influence on the design from the ground-up. In fact, the deal to bring Riley on board as a consultant came together less than 10 days ago.

“It’s only been my third day, so we’re starting to overlook things and give ideas and input,” Riley said. “After this race, we’ll have a list of things to try at the next test or next event and start to develop the car from there.”

While immediate effects are unlikely to be seen here this weekend, with the No. 75 machine of Gentilozzi, Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel set to take the green flag on Saturday, Riley is hopeful of turning the car into a challenger for GT2 honors. He believes further developments will come in stages.

“To start, I think it will be bigger clump out first, then we’ll go smaller and smaller as we move along,” Riley said. “I think there’s a few things we can try and see if they’ll work on the car right away. It’s a little bit of both chassis and aero development, but I’m mostly looking at the chassis development right now. We can’t do a lot with the aero without going to a wind tunnel.”
While Jaguar RSR's development program still has a long way to go, the addition of Riley to the brain trust can be regarded as one of the best moves made for the ALMS rookie team. (John Dagys)

Gentilozzi confirmed the car they have here this weekend is in fact a brand-new chassis and different than the one that was run at the Sebring Winter Test last month. The team is hopeful to have both Jaguars on track by Long Beach, with Goossens and Dalziel as full-season drivers. Due to his GRAND-AM commitments with Chip Ganassi Racing, Scott Pruett will only join the team for the endurance races this year, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

And with Riley on board with the team through at least Le Mans calling race strategy as well, the team will be in good hands for their first full-season program in GT2 competition.

“I know some people think of it as an odd mix, but Bob and Bill and their company, Riley Technologies have helped a lot of people over the years,” Gentilozzi said. “It’s just a natural fit for us. Having looked at the car before making his final decision to get involved, it has to already be a quality car. He’s been very complimentary about the construction.”

GTC Pros?

Ask Butch Leitzinger and Luis Diaz one year ago if they had expected to end up with rides in GT Challenge for 2010 and both would have likely said no. But the tough economic times have had a large impact on the shape of the LMP grid this year.

Despite winning the LMP2 championship with team co-owner/driver Adrian Fernandez, Diaz was left without a ride following the closure of Fernandez Racing. Leitzinger, another prototype veteran, was put in the same situation following Dyson Racing’s downsizing to a single Lola-Mazda for 2010.

Suddenly, both Leitzinger and Diaz were ride-less in the prototype ranks and wound up in the unlikeliest of places, GT Challenge.
Butch Leitzinger chats with Juan Gonzalez, who helped put the program together for the No. 80 entry and his nephew, Ricardo in the No. 81 with Luis Diaz. (John Dagys)

“We’re the pros or the novices, whichever way you want to look at it!” said Leitzinger, who along with Diaz is making their first start behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. “It’s obviously a big change going from one to the other. Both of us are happy to learn a lot. I’ve been getting tips from [co-driver] Juan [Gonzalez] because he’s driven these cars a lot. It’s a lot of fun, but the important thing is to be with a great team like Alex Job Racing.”

Indeed. Both drivers have landed full-season drives with three-time ALMS GT2 champions Alex Job Racing, which makes its Series return this year with a trio of Porsche Cup cars in the GTC class.

Two of the team’s entries have been put together by Historics veteran Juan Gonzalez, who also co-drives the No. 81 Mission Foods-sponsored machine with Leitzinger. Juan’s nephew Ricardo shares the wheel of the No. 80 Car Amigo entry with Diaz. 2009 GRAND-AM Rolex GT champion Leh Keen and Minnesotan Patrick Kelly have been drafted in as third drivers for this weekend’s season-opener.

For Diaz, with a background primarily in single-seaters and prototypes, the move to a GTC car was quite an eye-opening experience after getting his initial laps in on Monday.

“It’s like like I’m learning to drive again,” Diaz said. “It’s a whole new experience for me, big time! Driving a Porsche is a big honor for me and I’m happy to be with all of the guys over here. Hopefully we can do good things like we did in prototypes.”

With Leitzinger and Diaz having years of prototype racing under their belts but are so-called ‘rookies’ to the GT ranks, both drivers have been helping each other with the adjustment to the production-based machines. When one discovers something new, whether it be a certain driving technique or a technical element of the car, they can relate to their experiences in prototypes to help ease the transition.
Luis Diaz still sports his familiar Lowe's Fernandez Racing-liveried helmet. (Marshall Pruett)

“We both have been kind of consoling and helping each other to figure out how to drive a GT car,” Leitzinger said. “I’ve driven a lot of different GT cars, but never a Porsche. It’s a lot different than anything else out there, because of the engine placement. I’m having to figure out exactly what it likes. We’re here for a week, so hopefully by the end of the Twelve Hours, we’ll have a good idea.”

With a full season ahead for both pairings, getting a solid, trouble-free result is the first priority this weekend. Teams have thrown away championships just by a DNF at Sebring, and for these two GTC ‘Pros’, the goal will be to finish and rack up valuable mileage and points.

“No matter what you’re driving, you have to keep the same mentality,” Leitzinger said. “You heard people say that it’s great to run a 12 hour or 24 hour ‘sprint’ race until you break. You have to make sure that you stay out of trouble and the pits.”

Learning to PASS By Sylvia Proudfoot

Learning to pass is a critical element of every driver's education. Learning to PASS is equally important for crew. The acronym means Pull, Aim, Squeeze and Sweep – the essential steps to douse flames using a fire extinguisher. I learned that and many other tips in a class presented by John Zilles and the IMSA safety team on Tuesday evening.
SPEEDtv.com columnist Sylvia Proudfoot got a lesson in fire safety Tuesday evening at Sebring. (Melanie Correll)

The IMSA team are all current or retired firefighters who know their stuff. But fires move fast, so race team members are always the first line of defense. A well-trained crew can respond immediately, saving the crucial seconds it might take for the series or track firefighters to get to the scene. And fires aren't always in pit lane, under the watchful eye of the safety crew. We are equally vulnerable in the paddock.

Our class of 25 used water and alcohol-resistant foam to put out a range of fires fueled by gasoline and an E85 blend. We learned where to stand during car refueling, how to pull the pin and test-spray to make sure an extinguisher is working, then squeeze the handle and carefully sweep the base of the fire – from uphill and upwind – until the flames are out. I played backup, pulling the lever on the big hose to make sure the fire didn't re-ignite.
 
We learned a lot in 30 minutes. Just imagine what we could achieve if every team conducted a mini safety seminar for every crew member! Kudos to the IMSA safety crew for the initiative.

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