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DAYTONA, FL, 27 October- Spirit of Daytona Racing is looking to get a fast start to the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series season with three days of testing this week at Daytona International Speedway.
The familiar Spirit of Daytona Racing No. 09 Porsche-V8 powered Coyote will be put through its paces by regular team pilot Guy Cosmo as well as three superstars from the world of motorcycle racing as Ricky Carmichael, of Clearwater, FL, Jason Pridmore, of Ventura, CA, and Scott Russell, of Atlanta, GA will all be behind the wheel during the test days on the 3.56-mile road course at DIS to continue preparations for the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona to kick off the Rolex Sports Car Series season.
This weeks test marks the second time this month that Spirit of Daytona Racing has hit the track, as Pridmore and Russell joined Guy Cosmo in testing in Savannah two weeks ago.
“The guys ask a lot of questions and are very methodical in their approach,” said Cosmo. “They progress exactly how you would expect professionals would. They have no ego whatsoever in terms of what they are doing in the car, even though they’ve all had the careers that they’ve had on bikes. There is no reason not to expect them to be good at this as well. The other important thing is that they are having a lot of fun, and I think that’s helping to feed their progression. Hopefully we’ll be able to get a good baseline set up and that the guys get a lot of good track time this week.”
Utilizing a motor-chassis combination that showed both remarkable reliability as well as flashes of speed in a partial 2008 Rolex Series campaign, Spirit of Daytona Racing will focus on another strong result in this years Rolex 24 At Daytona after bringing home a top-ten finish in the 2008 event. The team is still working to finalize plans for the 2009 Rolex season, but is excited about the opportunity to be involved as two-wheel stars become four-wheel Rolex Sports Car Series racers.
“From what we saw at Savannah, they definitely have the talent to be doing this,” said Flis. “We are looking forward to the test this week to just keep moving their curve along and getting as much seat time as possible for these guys. We’re not really focused on these guys getting in a super lap time nearly as much as we are concentrating on just getting them comfortable with the car, and being able to find the limits of what they can do, and what the car can do.”
The test will not only be a good exercise for the guys getting time in behind the wheel, but the team is also looking forward to the chance to gel in preparation for one of the sport’s greatest challenges.
“We’re building our team up and this test isn’t just about getting the guys more experience on this track, because it’s also a good opportunity for them to get to know the guys working on the crew as well and get everyone working well together as a team,” said Flis. “That’s a small thing, really, but you never know what the 24 might throw at you, and the team has to be ready for anything so that chemistry and teamwork can turn out to be really important, so we’re happy to get this chance to test here on the home track.”
The testing runs from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Event information: http://grand-am.com/rolex/schedule/event.cfm?eid=855
This is the first of three off-season tests for the Rolex Series at Daytona. Teams will test with 2009 specification Pirelli tires Nov. 11-12 and then again for the Jan. 2-4 session, the last major session prior to the 2009 season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, set for Jan. 24-25.
For additional information:
www.spritofdaytona.com
www.sundaymanagement.com
Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (mobile)