6/24/2011
Bill Lester
Autohaus Motorsports Hopeful to Extend Podium Streak to Four in a Row at Elkhart Lake’s Road America
The Autohaus Motorsports team arrives at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for round seven of the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 hopeful to continue the hot streak they have been on. The team finished the Six Hours of Watkins Glen with their third podium finish in as many races, earning the team the points lead in the GT championship race.
The No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro driven by Jordan Taylor and Bill Lester will be heavier for the third race in a row, and more heavily restricted on their engine, as GRAND-AM continues their trend of competition adjustments for the Chevrolet Camaro teams. The teams received additional weight prior to the race at Lime Rock Park and again just before The Six Hours of The Glen. GRAND-AM issued their latest round of competition adjustments earlier this week adding weight to the Chevrolet teams, and more heavily restricting the LS3 powerplant.
“It’s genuinely frustrating that they keep making changes to take our power away and slow us down,” explains team owner Bob Kirland. “This most recent change is especially frustrating, because it was issued within less than a week of the race weekend. It puts our engineer back to square one with setup and only a couple days to make the decision. The transporter had already left, so the team will have to completely change everything before we put a wheel on the track. The additions to our weight we have been able to handle from an engineering perspective with set-up on the car; Pratt & Miller has been spectacular with that. I am concerned about the restrictor; we have already been at a disadvantage in top speed compared to the Porsche and BMW and now that disadvantage will be increased. I’m concerned, but I have confidence in my team that they will figure it out.”
This is the first time since 2001 that the GRAND-AM Rolex Series has seen competition at Road America. The classic 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course is a high-speed track with several high-speed kinks, a couple of long uphill straights and a fast sweeper, putting a premium on horsepower. Car set-up to take advantage of exit speed onto the long straights, and pit strategy with a shortened race time should be key for success at Road America.
Racing action at Road America begins on Thursday, June 23rd with practice followed by more practice and qualifying on Friday, June 24th. The green flag flies on Saturday, June 25th at 12:00 PM EST with live coverage on SPEED.
Submitted By: Philip Hampton
