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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Barber Notebook
News and notes from the second round of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series...
Oryx Racing will be hoping for improved fortunes with its Audi R8 GRAND-AM this weekend at Barber. (Photo: John Dagys)
REBOUND FOR AUDI? — After challenging debuts at the 50th Rolex 24, both APR Motorsport and Oryx Racing head into Saturday’s Porsche 250 with some extra confidence following a recent series of performance adjustments given to the Audi R8 GRAND-AM.
The mid-engined sports car, based off the ultra-successful GT3 model, has received a 1.5-gallon fuel capacity increase, opened exhaust, and most importantly, is no longer required to use a production clutch, a major culprit during the twice-around-the-clock classic.
“I think they're going to help more with race strategy and durability of the car, really,” Oryx Racing’s Steven Kane said. “It's been a long break since Daytona; it's been two months. We haven't really had a chance to test yet, but there's so many different elements with the car [we've learned].”
APR Motorsport, which is fielding a total of seven cars across three different categories (GT, GS, ST) in their home race, feels confident of improved fortunes, having had time to develop its Audi R8 GRAND-AM and drivers Dion von Moltke and Dr. Jim Norman gain additional seat time.
“In a perfect world, we would have debuted here,” said APR team owner Stephen Hooks. “But we've had six weeks since [the Rolex 24] and have done an enormous amount of development. We did a two-day test here three weeks ago, which was fantastic. I think we've unlocked it.”
Both Audis have indeed showed improved pace in practice and qualifying this weekend. Von Moltke qualified the No. 51 APR machine in seventh, only 0.4 seconds off Paul Edwards’ pole-sitting lap, while Humaid al Masaood slotted in 12th aboard his Oryx Audi.
BACK TO 2011 WAVE-BY/CAUTION PROCEDURE — Following the much-talked about new full course caution procedure used in January’s 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona, GRAND-AM has elected to revert to its 2011 format, which eliminates the ‘Lucky Dog’ for the first GT car one lap down.
“We're going back to 2011 [rules] because after long discussions, the situation at Daytona is a process that will not work the same way all the time,” GRAND-AM Managing Director of Operations Mark Raffauf told SPEED.com.
“It was a good effort and could still be reconsidered in the future. But it isn't going to work from track to track and circumstance to circumstance consistently. Our decision was to go back to what we knew that was consistent.”
GET A GRIP — Since unloading on Wednesday, the majority of drivers here at Barber Motorsports Park have been complaining about the same thing: lack of grip. Traction has become a premium around the 2.3-mile, 16-turn circuit, built in 2003, and many think it will play a key factor in tomorrow’s two-hour and 45-minute race.
“It seems like every season the surface gets a little bit more polished and more rounded,” GAINSCO/Bob Stalling Racing’s Jon Fogarty said. “When we rolled out and the sun's low, it's like looking into a mirror; the sun is bouncing off this polished surface. There's really nothing for the rubber to adhere to. We'll see what the cars do between now and the race. It makes it challenging, that's for sure.”
With reduced fuel capacities for the majority of cars in DP and GT (compared to the Rolex 24), it will likely be a three-stop race to begin with, not even factoring in the potential for additional stops for tires.
PHOTOS: Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park
The mid-engined sports car, based off the ultra-successful GT3 model, has received a 1.5-gallon fuel capacity increase, opened exhaust, and most importantly, is no longer required to use a production clutch, a major culprit during the twice-around-the-clock classic.
“I think they're going to help more with race strategy and durability of the car, really,” Oryx Racing’s Steven Kane said. “It's been a long break since Daytona; it's been two months. We haven't really had a chance to test yet, but there's so many different elements with the car [we've learned].”
APR Motorsport, which is fielding a total of seven cars across three different categories (GT, GS, ST) in their home race, feels confident of improved fortunes, having had time to develop its Audi R8 GRAND-AM and drivers Dion von Moltke and Dr. Jim Norman gain additional seat time.
“In a perfect world, we would have debuted here,” said APR team owner Stephen Hooks. “But we've had six weeks since [the Rolex 24] and have done an enormous amount of development. We did a two-day test here three weeks ago, which was fantastic. I think we've unlocked it.”
Both Audis have indeed showed improved pace in practice and qualifying this weekend. Von Moltke qualified the No. 51 APR machine in seventh, only 0.4 seconds off Paul Edwards’ pole-sitting lap, while Humaid al Masaood slotted in 12th aboard his Oryx Audi.
BACK TO 2011 WAVE-BY/CAUTION PROCEDURE — Following the much-talked about new full course caution procedure used in January’s 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona, GRAND-AM has elected to revert to its 2011 format, which eliminates the ‘Lucky Dog’ for the first GT car one lap down.
“We're going back to 2011 [rules] because after long discussions, the situation at Daytona is a process that will not work the same way all the time,” GRAND-AM Managing Director of Operations Mark Raffauf told SPEED.com.
“It was a good effort and could still be reconsidered in the future. But it isn't going to work from track to track and circumstance to circumstance consistently. Our decision was to go back to what we knew that was consistent.”
GET A GRIP — Since unloading on Wednesday, the majority of drivers here at Barber Motorsports Park have been complaining about the same thing: lack of grip. Traction has become a premium around the 2.3-mile, 16-turn circuit, built in 2003, and many think it will play a key factor in tomorrow’s two-hour and 45-minute race.
“It seems like every season the surface gets a little bit more polished and more rounded,” GAINSCO/Bob Stalling Racing’s Jon Fogarty said. “When we rolled out and the sun's low, it's like looking into a mirror; the sun is bouncing off this polished surface. There's really nothing for the rubber to adhere to. We'll see what the cars do between now and the race. It makes it challenging, that's for sure.”
With reduced fuel capacities for the majority of cars in DP and GT (compared to the Rolex 24), it will likely be a three-stop race to begin with, not even factoring in the potential for additional stops for tires.
PHOTOS: Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park
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