 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Flash report: Rolex Daytona 24 Hours
Nine RX-8 GTs Ready To Race
Friday, January 28, 2011. Daytona International Speedway was bathed in beautiful Florida weather and warm temperatures in excess of 68F.
In qualifying, although the Mazda RX-8 GTs were behind the Porsche GT3 and Chevrolet Camaro entries, none of the RX-8-equipped teams cared very much. The 2009 Star Mazda Championship winner, 21 year-old Briton Adam Christodoulou, who has advanced through the Mazda driver development ladder, will be driving the ace #70 SpeedSource RX-8 in this race. “I have participated in the Grand-Am GT series since last year. The car is not much different from last season, but it has definitely improved in terms of reduced weight and is more refined over all. Continental became the official tyre supplier this year, so I've just begun to get accustomed to the feel and performance of the new rubber. In qualifying yesterday, the Porsches were really fast; but this is a 24-hour race of endurance. Reliability and stability are extremely important in such a long distance race. The Mazda RX-8 is performing exceedingly well.”
The Mazda RX-8 GT teams confirmed their final settings through the 45-minute morning and one-hour afternoon practice sessions. All crews worked hard, examining every one of the parts and cleaning up the cars. The most beautiful RX-8 GT out of the eight is the #70 SpeedSource entry. The brand new, freshly-painted outer panels have been mounted to the new chassis introduced at VIR in just half a year ago. Technical Manager Dave Haskell, who is in charge of race engine tuning and performance management include the 20B, kept a sharp eye on the car as he made a final check.
The Rolex Daytona 24 Hours starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 29th.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
