Lime Rock

LAKEVILLE, CT July 7, 2007 – “We were fastest during the Tuesday test, qualified second fastest yesterday, and were quickest in the warm-up this morning. We had the measure of the leaders all day,” noted Chris Dyson. Even with two drive-through penalties, the #20 Porsche Spyder finished fourth today in the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock. “We still do not understand the penalties. I was black flagged for being out of alignment at the green, but that was not applied until 25 laps after the start. The pole car went hard at the green, and I maintained my position. The starting procedures seem to contradict what we drivers and fans expect at the start of a motor race, which is to go racing. Later, Guy Smith was penalized in his stint for ‘avoidable contact’ but they nailed the wrong party on that one. At Lime Rock, where the real estate is so precious, you have to fight tooth and nail for every square inch. We are all out there driving as hard as we can and to have that negated by unpredictable penalties was very unfortunate.”

Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace finished sixth in the #16 Thetford/Norcold entry. “This is a great area for a track: nestled here in the foothills of the Berkshires,” said Wallace. “The fans come here and watch from the hill sides – it is such a natural way to enjoy a race. But on the track, you have 25 cars in a 48 second lap and there is no chance to catch your breath. There are so many bumps and so many slow cars that you have to constantly be on the attack.” Andy was tagged from behind early in the race resulting in rear diffuser damage. “It made for a very busy race car. It would go from understeer to snap oversteer in a heartbeat. Going down the front straight, which is one of the few places to pass on this track, the rear end was bouncing from side to side.”

Rob Dyson was asked earlier in the day when the team got a handle on its new Porsche RS Spyders and he said without pausing: “This weekend. These are very technical cars. They are very good at what they do, but different than what we are used to. In the old days, you could develop and learn about a car during race weekends. Not anymore. These cars are so advanced, that it takes testing to understand their philosophy, technology and intricacies. These past six weeks of testing and data gathering have been very valuable for us.”