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Risi’s big weekend, blogging with Brabs and other news and notes
This weekend certainly stands to be one of firsts for Risi Competizione. The biggest piece of news, of course, is Giancarlo Fisichella’s first race in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. He will drive one of the team’s Ferrari F430 GTs with Toni Vilander at Miller Motorsports Park.
The Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix also will mark the first race for the two Risi Ferraris on E85, making the Houston-based team the latest major GT competitor to switch to the energy source.
Fisichella first… Ferrari’s reserve F1 driver, the Italian driver is in his first season of GT racing which has taken place in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he was fourth in class with Vilander and Jean Alesi.
“I’m looking forward to coming to Utah to race with Risi Competizione, one of the best teams in the world, and am excited about racing for the first time in the USA with a GT car,” Fisichella said. “From what I heard the circuit is fantastic and I hope to do well. I’ve watched some YouTube GT footage but obviously need to run the maximum time possible next week to learn it and find the limit of the circuit.”
THE BRABHAM BLOGS: Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham catches us up on his post-Le Mans activities including a race debrief and a look at his training program for the second half of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón season. You can catch more from Brabham on his americanlemans.com blog page.
Highcroft Racing made an impressive Le Mans 24 Hours debut last month, recording a race finish, but a cooling issue sidelined our car for much of the final four hours.
We’ve completed the post-race analysis and from that we could see we had a problem from Lap 4, which explains why the car changed dramatically during my first stint and some other issues we experienced. We also think we had those problems in practice.
That’s the valuable thing about looking back at data and seeing where we need to improve. We certainly got a lot of information that will give us a good boost not only for Le Mans 2011 but for the rest of the ALMS season.
Le Mans was a fantastic experience for the team. It certainly put the guys outside their comfort zone with circumstances they aren’t used to, having to think more on their feet.
I think one of the most important things we learnt is preparation. We weren’t as prepared as we would have liked to have been with the aero kit, with more than 130 new parts it was a bit of a rush.
We’re always learning about preparation but when you get to a place like Le Mans it’s even more crucial to plan ahead. This year’s race is over but now it’s time to start planning for next year. That’s how it has to be done.
PIT NOTES: The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and Utah Clean Cities Coalition join forces this week at the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix. The two groups will reinforce a similar message: the need to develop alternative fuels and energy sources along with sustainable practices and operations. … Velox Racing driver Shane Lewis, and ORBIT Racing drivers Bryce Miller and Luke Hines will be part of the Series contingent that will visit Shriners Hospital for Children—Salt Lake City on Friday morning. The visit is part of the American Le Mans Series’ partnership with the Austin Hatcher Foundation. … The Panoz Abruzzi “Spirit of Le Mans” will be back on display at the historic French circuit this weekend for the Le Mans Classic.
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is ready to kick off the summer stint with the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park. The two-hour, 45-minute race will begin at 2:35 p.m. MT on Sunday, July 11, with coverage beginning on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.
© RIF | ALMS
