Q: Guy, the second half of the season got pretty compressed with the tight schedule. You guys had some serious challenges thrown at you in the past three or four races. How are you dealing with that, as a driver?
The 2nd half of the season was definitely action-packed for Ed Brown and me. There were lots of new challenges for Ed, since he had to learn a few tracks he's never been to before. But for me it's been great just to get some momentum going at these races and flex a little muscle in the situation I've been put in. The past few races have shown Ed and I in the 02 car are strong. We're always one of the quickest cars out there come race day. Sure, we've had some lack-luster results here and there, but we're focused on the positives. We've been very fast and our driver changes and pit stops are getting very good. We've really been nailing our pit strategy the past few races. I think things will start coming together for us soon and the results will follow.
Q: Certainly you guys didn't pick an easy class when you decided to take on the GT group. A lot of the teams have quite a bit of development under their belts. How do you mentally ignore that disadvantage and focus on your own contribution as a driver on a new team? Are you able to help cut that deficit?
The key is to focus on my individual contribution as a driver. That's the best thing I can do working with a new team. We have an extremely talented and experienced group of people in thie program. Everyone is committed to doing their part - not everyone else's part. Of course we evaluate and discuss things as a group and speak openly about how to improve as a team. My past experiences come in to play from time to time and I'll have suggestions. But mostly Ed and I work together toward becoming faster and getting our car set up so come race day I can drive my brains out once behind the wheel. As long as I do those things the way I should, then as a team, we've got it under control.
Q: With Petit ahead of us, what was the toughest race this season?
I'd have to say Lime Rock. With it raining on the only day of practice we had no opportunity to develop our race setup. Of course we had no data or setup history from previous years to work from. In addition, I had a shunt in qualifying and that set us back a bit. Ultimately, it was a dry race, and to make matters worse our car wasn't handling very well. Toss in the extreme heat and the trouble that both Ed and I had in surviving inside the cockpit, it's safe to say it was a pretty miserable experience! None-the-less we learned from those events and have come back strong in a number of areas since. You can't always have a great race weekend...!
Q: Did you feel at any time this season your Ferrari was an advantage at one track or another? Did the car favor any particular track?
I can't really say the Ferrari was an 'advantage' at any track in particular, but I can definitely say it's never been a disadvantage. The Ferrari F430 GTC is just an amazing car and really well suited for the ALMS GT class. The reality is IMSA does such a great job of regulating and balancing the performance of the cars, we're all fairly equal. When the top 10-cars in qualifying are all within one second, no one has an advantage.
Q: Keeping 2010 in mind, do you look forward to getting back to any one track in particular for 2011?
Honestly? I can't wait to get back to all of them in 2011. I just love the tracks we go to. Sebring, Laguna, Long Beach, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Mosport, Road Atlanta… I mean, come on... these are some of the greatest race tracks on the planet. How could you love one more than another?
Q: Petit is a 10 hour onslaught… are you bringing anything special for the season close?
Just my "A" game and maybe a new good luck charm... ;)
Next stop for Guy is Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA 2 set for 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 2. SPEED will air the race starting at 11 a.m., with live radio coverage available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. Americanlemans.com will stream qualifying live starting at 3:15 p.m. ET on Friday, October 1. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.