HOMESTEAD, MIAMI, FL, MAR. 8 — The Thetford / Norcold Dyson Racing Team has recently concluded testing its new Riley and Scott Mk3C in the run up to the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 17.
Following its victory in Saturday`s Nextel 250 at Homestead, the team took delivery of the new car on Sunday and worked late into the night preparing it for a two-day test on the combination road course-oval.
James Weaver spent Monday morning testing shocks on the team`s proven Riley and Scott Mk3 and sought to achieve a benchmark time. The team continued to prepare the new car into the evening and eventually Weaver was able to do a systems check in the paddock parking lot. With everything functioning without a problem, the team headed home for some rest.
Tuesday dawned sunny and breezy, and Weaver set out on his initial laps in the new car early in the morning. After a few installation laps, the team attended to some driver comfort issues and James was then off do a few flying laps. Working gradually to learn the new car, the Englishman was able to get down to satisfactory times within the car`s first few laps of running.
During a break in the action, Weaver commented that the car “feels much better on old tires. It is a step in the right direction.” The team spent the first part of the afternoon massaging the car`s setup and then Weaver and teammate Butch Leitzinger were able to resume serious testing for the remainder of the day.
“We are looking forward to running the car next weekend,” team owner Rob Dyson said. “So far things look pretty encouraging, but we need to keep running the car to evaluate its strengths and how we can make it better. Thankfully, the basic package is the same as the car we have been running. It is an evolution of the mk3, and we think it is an improvement.”
The Pat Smith-led crew is taking a short break at home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. before returning to Florida this weekend to complete preparations for the Sebring enduro.
