Jay Herbert
Enthusiast
May 20, 2004
Immediate Release
3R-Racing Prepared for Lime Rock
Englewood, Colorado -- 3R-Racing has not wasted time since the World Challenge GT season opener more than two-months ago at Sebring. The team has been working ******* their Vipers and Corvette to better meet the challenge of the competitive GT field at Lime Rock for next weekend's race.
After finishing all three of its entries in the top 10 at Sebring, 3R-Racing has taken another step toward answering the GM challenge that was posed in Florida in March. "We went and tested for a few days and improved the Viper and the Corvette," said Bob Raub, team manager. "We had the opportunity to work on the list that we came away with at Sebring, but did not have time to do prior to the season opening round."
The layout of the Lime Rock circuit offers some very different challenges than the much longer layout of historic Sebring. Lime Rock is a tight seven-turn, 1.53-mile track that sees the faster GT cars turning lap times in the 60-second range. At first glance this track does not seem like it will fit the V-10 Viper and large displacement of the Corvette Z06. "The key to Lime Rock is getting down the hill fast to take advantage of the front straight," said Tommy Archer, driver of the number 22/c3controls/Viper. "You have to be careful of the bumps at the entrance of turn-one. If you upset the car you can lose your position going into the turn. We have to set the car up to give a little in the left handers to take full advantage of the all of the right hand turns. I gauge the handling of the car at Lime Rock by how it handles through turns one and two, if it works well through there we will have a good weekend."
Tim Wiens, driver of the number 33/1st Interstate Inns/Viper, is coming into Lime Rock looking to improve on his ninth place finish from last year. "I had a mixed weekend here last year, I finished near last in the first race with a mechanical problem and then came back in the second race to finish ninth. The Viper will be a different ride around here compared to the Porsche 911s we raced last year. More horsepower is not necessarily what Lime Rock demands. We need to balance the power with a lot of handling."
In 2003 the 3R team was able to put two cars in the top ten with Phil McClure leading the charge and finishing fourth. This year Phil is driving the new number 73 Aggregate Industries/Corvette Z06 and is coming off an impressive fifth place finish at Sebring. "Lime Rock is not one of my favorite tracks, even though I have done well there in the past," said McClure. "It is important that we qualify well and start at the front since the top guys in the GT field are tough to pass. Even though all of the turns except two are right handers, you still need a balanced car. Of course it is crucial to get down the hill and down the front straight as fast you can."
The race will be run on Monday, May 31 at 12:10 p.m. and televised on Speed Channel on Sunday, June 6 at 1:00 p.m.
Speed GT Top 10 Driver Point Standings:
1. Max Angelelli Cadillac 34 points
2. Andy Pilgrim Cadillac 27
3. Michael Galati Audi 26
4. Tommy Archer Dodge Viper 24
5. Phil McCLure Corvette 22
6. John Young Saleen 20
7. Leighton Reese Corvette 19
8. Peter Tonnelli Viper 18
9. Bob Woodhouse Viper 17
10. Tim Wiens Dodge Viper 16
For more information reference the team web site at www.3r-racing.com or contact Kyle Chura at [email protected] or (248) 821-0468
Immediate Release
3R-Racing Prepared for Lime Rock
Englewood, Colorado -- 3R-Racing has not wasted time since the World Challenge GT season opener more than two-months ago at Sebring. The team has been working ******* their Vipers and Corvette to better meet the challenge of the competitive GT field at Lime Rock for next weekend's race.
After finishing all three of its entries in the top 10 at Sebring, 3R-Racing has taken another step toward answering the GM challenge that was posed in Florida in March. "We went and tested for a few days and improved the Viper and the Corvette," said Bob Raub, team manager. "We had the opportunity to work on the list that we came away with at Sebring, but did not have time to do prior to the season opening round."
The layout of the Lime Rock circuit offers some very different challenges than the much longer layout of historic Sebring. Lime Rock is a tight seven-turn, 1.53-mile track that sees the faster GT cars turning lap times in the 60-second range. At first glance this track does not seem like it will fit the V-10 Viper and large displacement of the Corvette Z06. "The key to Lime Rock is getting down the hill fast to take advantage of the front straight," said Tommy Archer, driver of the number 22/c3controls/Viper. "You have to be careful of the bumps at the entrance of turn-one. If you upset the car you can lose your position going into the turn. We have to set the car up to give a little in the left handers to take full advantage of the all of the right hand turns. I gauge the handling of the car at Lime Rock by how it handles through turns one and two, if it works well through there we will have a good weekend."
Tim Wiens, driver of the number 33/1st Interstate Inns/Viper, is coming into Lime Rock looking to improve on his ninth place finish from last year. "I had a mixed weekend here last year, I finished near last in the first race with a mechanical problem and then came back in the second race to finish ninth. The Viper will be a different ride around here compared to the Porsche 911s we raced last year. More horsepower is not necessarily what Lime Rock demands. We need to balance the power with a lot of handling."
In 2003 the 3R team was able to put two cars in the top ten with Phil McClure leading the charge and finishing fourth. This year Phil is driving the new number 73 Aggregate Industries/Corvette Z06 and is coming off an impressive fifth place finish at Sebring. "Lime Rock is not one of my favorite tracks, even though I have done well there in the past," said McClure. "It is important that we qualify well and start at the front since the top guys in the GT field are tough to pass. Even though all of the turns except two are right handers, you still need a balanced car. Of course it is crucial to get down the hill and down the front straight as fast you can."
The race will be run on Monday, May 31 at 12:10 p.m. and televised on Speed Channel on Sunday, June 6 at 1:00 p.m.
Speed GT Top 10 Driver Point Standings:
1. Max Angelelli Cadillac 34 points
2. Andy Pilgrim Cadillac 27
3. Michael Galati Audi 26
4. Tommy Archer Dodge Viper 24
5. Phil McCLure Corvette 22
6. John Young Saleen 20
7. Leighton Reese Corvette 19
8. Peter Tonnelli Viper 18
9. Bob Woodhouse Viper 17
10. Tim Wiens Dodge Viper 16
For more information reference the team web site at www.3r-racing.com or contact Kyle Chura at [email protected] or (248) 821-0468
