Finding the setup balance key for qualifying at Sebring - Speedway Digest

The Claro/TracFone DeltaWing Racing Cars team continued its forward progress today, qualifying 10th for tomorrow’s 63rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida, race two of the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

The team has worked hard since January’s early exit from the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Two days at Sebring International Raceway have found the team in the same position as most of the other sports car teams; how to reach the balance between the notoriously bumpy 3.74-mile concrete and asphalt surface, and the high-speed corners that see prototypes reach speeds upwards of 85 mph. The team developed a setup for the revolutionary sports car prototype that best achieved that balance and driver Memo Rojas put the DeltaWing in 10th position for the start of tomorrow’s race with a lap of 1:55.223. Rojas, Katherine Legge and Andy Meyrick will pilot the car for the 12-hour event, one of sports car racing’s most grueling test of driver and machine.

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Memo Rojas
“We’ve definitely improved the car, but the track was much slicker in the heat in the afternoon. We know this is a long race and anything can happen. It’s clear that the LMP2 cars have an advantage over everyone else, which tells us this is a high downforce track and we’re chasing that a little bit. We knew that going in, so we’re going to fight hard at the tracks that don’t suit our car and try to win races on the tracks that do.”

Race Engineer Alan Mugglestone
“We’ve continued to improve the balance and all the new bits on the car are working including the gearbox, which is running smoothly. Memo did a good job and that’s pretty much all we can expect on a hot, bumpy, concrete track like Sebring. As they say, it doesn’t matter where you start in a 12-hour race. We’re in with the Prototypes, ahead of the Prototype Challenge cars so we’ll do our best to stay out of trouble tomorrow and finish the race in good shape.”

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida will be broadcast live beginning on FOX Sports 1, then moving to FOX Sports 2 and IMSA.com and finishing on FOX Sports 2. A two-hour recap show will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday. All times Eastern.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.