Daytona Rolex 04/02/2001   Thursday Night Round Up   ©Andrew S. Hartwell The weather has settled into a cool night with no rain and no thunder. Wait a minute, that’s no thunder from above. There was plenty of thunder from below as the SRP and SRPII cars put in some hot laps under the white lights of Daytona. Walking the pit lane brings a veritable smorgasbord of scenes and activities to the eyes and ears. Approaching several of the ‘stars in cars’, including one P.L. Newman, I sought their take on the evening’s cacophony of air guns and roaring engines. Andy Wallace: “Daytona is a pretty good way to start the year off. And if it does rain, well our car is really good in the rain. Changes to the car this year include a 6-litre engine instead of a 5.5, and some minor set up changes. We have really taken this car about as far as it can go development wise. It has been a really good car. At Daytona, it always seems to go far but not always far enough!” (Is it a 6.0? Ed.) Allan McNish: “I spent four laps in the car this morning but I was lucky, I ran in the dry.” When I asked him which he preferred, wet or dry, he gave me his best look of incredulity and replied, “I prefer dry!” Eric van de Poele: “I was in the car earlier today. We had a little problem in the afternoon trying to find the right set up. Tonight, the car is much better.” The Risi team is bringing their (new) workhorse back for one more try and this time they have called in all the aces. Joining van de Poele are Ralf Kelleners, Allan McNish and David Brabham. Eric: “For me, the Risi team is one of the best to be with. Everything is always well prepared and ready. And my co-drivers! They are terrible! Of course, I’m joking. They are a great team of drivers to be with.” David Brabham: “This is a great team. They have always done well with the Ferrari so it was great when they rang up to ask me to join them. At first I wasn’t sure I could do it. First it got put off but then it got put back on so here I am, and I’m glad to be with this lineup.” How does the Ferrari compare with the Panoz? “It is a completely different feel. When I first drove it I really felt detached from the car. The rear of the car felt like it was way back there. I’m not yet confident with the car but I’m getting there.” “The car is fun to drive and I think we have as good a chance as anyone. We just have to keep it going. This race has proven that the one who has the least amount of problems wins, so we just have to stay out of trouble. I’ve seen this team work before and they work very well.” “We are here to win. And I think for any driver to win in a Ferrari is a special day. This team has flogged this car to death so it would be nice to come out with a win.” Dennis Spencer: “We have done fairly well. We worked ourselves down to the 1:50’s. We will be happy with a 1:52 / 1:53 race pace. We are just trying to get the feeling back in the seat of our pants and deal with the traffic and the lights. Before, some of the track lights were set up that they would shine in your rear view mirror so you think someone is coming up behind you. They have most of that squared away. “The chicane, where everybody tears out the dirt, they have some asphalt there now so everything is staying clean. Right now it is a very safe chicane so I hope it stays that way. You can overtake in the middle of that.” “For the most part, our session tonight was just to see how everyone else was doing with their different driver combinations and such, and just get a feel for it. We are probably running around second. We had a good session in the wet that rich (Grupp) ran. Rich is very good in the rain. If that qualifying time were to stick, if it rains out tomorrow, that would put us second in the SRPII class and 16th on the grid. Anytime you start 80 cars out here, starting 16th feels pretty good to us!” “We don’t have the torque some of the other cars have so we always lose a few positions at the start but it doesn’t take long to catch those cars again. We really aren’t worried about where we start. We aren’t worried about winning the pole. We are worried about hour 25 and where we are celebrating!” “We think we have a good chance. We have a good team that has gelled well. We have 3 of the top 4 drivers in SRPII from last year and we think adding Ryan Hampton will certainly make us a story to watch. We are all together in one car, which has traditionally been considered a dark horse. The car is competitive. We rebuilt the entire car and we are ready to go.” Boris Said: “This is the V8 engine we are going to run in Grand Am not the one we will run in the American Le Mans Series. This one is an M8 that Tom Milner built at PTG. The other one is built in Germany. With the V8, it definitely makes the straightaways shorter!” Paul Newman: “I would just like to keep us close.” Marc Duez (Red Bull Porsche): “The car is competitive and this team has proven themselves in the past so I hope we will be in contention throughout. This team knows what it is doing.” On being a part of the Viper team: “The quality of the engine and the chassis and the Oreca team was what made it a successful team. I was with them for 4 years. They have a different target now so it was time to move on. I’m going to run in a Ferrari in the FIA GT championship.” Fredy Lienhard and Mauro Baldi talk about the new Crawford: Fredy: “Max did an excellent job. You can see how solid it is.” Mauro: “I am surprised at how much speed the team found for us in just a few days. We have a different nose and engine cover from before and the amount of work they have put into the program is outstanding. I never thought I would ever come to drive a new car and have no problems. I just cross my fingers that it stays that way. From the first day there have been no major problems. “ Fredy: “The car is very strong.” Mauro: “I can tell you this car is more ready to race than when the Ferrari was new. There were so many things to be changed or fixed, but this one is so good.” Fredy: “Kevin Doran put in a lot too. He has had a good relationship with Max Crawford from the start. This car is also more economical than a Ferrari.” Mauro: “We want to finish the race!” (Mauro was 47 on Wednesday – the cake said 39!) Rob Dyson: “This is our 16th or 17th shot at winning this race and you just have to come in with moderate expectations. You have to keep the car running and you stay out of trouble and give way to traffic. You are always cautiously optimistic when you start this race and you hope that optimism rises as the race goes on.” “This race is a classic example of man against machine. If you finish this race you are elated. And if you win, well, there is nothing quite like that. After the birth of my two kids, the race wins we got here are right up there!” On Friday morning, Tom Volk explained how his team had had a bitty day on Thursday. “We didn’t go for a time in Qualifying. We don’t have hand cut tires, so we were happy to get a time in and settle the car in. The race engine is in now, and the engine builder thinks he has the same power as the Q engine, but a little more torque. We’re looking at five or six real rivals in the Prototype class, but we’re looking at a top three. “Amy here is calling the race for us. This her fifth year at the Rolex, and she’s going to do a great job.” Amy is Tom’s daughter. Things didn’t go quite to plan for Cirtek. “John Young deranged the rear of the ex-Barbour car, and John Young and Bernardo Sa’Noguera both went off in the GTS, after a glitch when the power suddenly came in,” said Rob Schirle. We’re doing a routine engine change. Haupt wants a top three in Qualifying. He’s really on it.” All was plain sailing at Chamberlain. A gearbox change on one car, and Christian Vann happy with the torquier engine since he last drove a V-10 – here a year ago. “I’d forgotten what fun these cars are.” No fast times from this team yet – they’re real 24 hour men. Now, where does this sticker go? We’re not up to speed here on all the Thursday times yet – we may have to concentrate on Qualifying times. Jon Field as up to speed though. He was quickest at night with a 1:43.152. Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport