ALMS @ Lime Rock July 12

[Don]

" The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix is race is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 12 at Lime Rock Park. SPEED will televise the race from noon to 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 13. XM Satellite Radio will air the event live on XM Sports Nation Channel 144. Additional live coverage from American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring also will be available at americanlemans.com. "


Lime Rock: Michelin preview
Racing series: ALMS
Date 2008-07-08
MICHELIN READY TO ATTACK FRESH LIME ROCK TRACK
Newly Configured and Repaved Track Brings Several Unknowns


LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 8, 2008) - A freshly repaved and reconfigured Lime Rock Park circuit awaits Michelin and its technical partner teams as Michelin returns to action in the fifth stop on the 2008 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season, the Northeast Grand Prix, July 11-12 at Lime Rock Park.

Fresh from their unprecedented 11th consecutive win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Michelin faces new challenges here at the shortest and quickest lap time track on the ALMS schedule.

The new Lime Rock Park configuration; chicanes, and track surface all represent unknowns for Michelin and its partner teams, with no testing until race week. "The reconfiguration of some corners and addition of the chicanes lead us to expect that there will be a slower overall lap speed and even heavier than usual race traffic," said Karl Koenigstein, Michelin motorsports technical team leader for ALMS.

The other unknowns are related to the repaving project which is expected to be completed mere days before the race. "About half of the Lime Rock Park track will have fresh paving, which typically offers higher grip levels, but that usually also means higher track temperatures and increased tire wear. If tire wear and loading have changed with the paving; new chicanes and reconfiguration, then we may move one range harder on our tire selections for the race," said Koenigstein.

"Scenarios like this, with lots of new variables, reaffirm the importance of the Michelin tire engineer that we place with each of our technical partner teams," said Silvia Mammone, Michelin motorsports & sponsorship manager. "The teams and our tire engineers will be sorting out a lot of new data and looking to evaluate their options to make the best choice. Tires are very important at Lime Rock Park, due to the heavy traffic and demands for stability under braking; crisp turn-in; efficient power down and consistency lap after lap," said Mammone.

The biggest change may have little to do with the track changes and paving. "We are coming from our longest track,

Le Mans, at over eight miles long, to the shortest track, Lime Rock," said Koenigstein. "Lime Rock requires a completely different mindset than Le Mans. Here, you have to be pretty aggressive, especially in traffic, and drivers are hustling the car harder. They are taking more chances. This is a sprint race and you need to be quick. Le Mans is a 24-hour mechanical war; Lime Rock is a knife fight in a dark alley."

-credit: michelin

[Bob In Ct]

Don:
Noreen and I will be in our usual spot (in my Lime Rock chair) behind the telephone pole (horizontal) on the outside of turn #1. Look for the spinner shirt from Vintage. Stop and say hello.

Bob

[Roger Cormier]

I thought they could not run races on Sundays because of a town bylaw, and the Church across the street?

[Don]

Bob.....thanks, will be at the track only on Friday July 11th. Will be interesting to see how everyone adapts to the new layout and the fresh paving.

Roger....you are correct, the race is on Saturday July 12th, delayed TV broadcast on Sunday. The track also enforces the rule on not starting engines before 9:00 AM

http://www.limerock.com/files/pdf/20...ntSchedule.pdf

[Maurice Johnson]

Should be interesting to see how the changes improve the racing. We (Kinetic Motorsports) out of Buford Georgia, ran Grand-Am in ST and GS classes (330i and M3) over Memorial Day weekend. With 46 cars in each class, exiting the straight and running the uphill was tight. We used to run 3 997s in GT3 Michelin Cup but changed to Grand-Am for less cautions.

[Don]

Lime Rock: Series drivers pre-race quotes
Racing series: ALMS
Date: 2008-07-08
VOICES OF LIME ROCK PARK

The American Le Mans Series returns from its annual Le Mans break and heads to the shortest circuit on its schedule - historic Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. The 1.51-mile, 10-turn venue has undergone major renovations for this week's American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Many of the track's original characteristics remain, however. It's still short, fast and extremely busy over the course of a single lap.

Ben Devlin, B-K Motorsports
Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R (LMP2)

"It's going to be really difficult. By three or four laps into the race, we'll be passing the back-markers and that makes the race strategy that much more difficult in picking your ways through the traffic."

Jim Tafel, Tafel Racing
Ferrari F430 GT (GT2)

"It's really hard. It's like putting a two-pound salami in a one-pound bag. You're constantly turning. You never get a rest at Lime Rock. It's bumpy and hard but it's very historic and you have to appreciate all the work that has gone on there and all the racing that has been done there that enables us to do what we do there now."

Chris Dyson, Dyson Racing
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)

"I'm really excited. Every year Lime Rock is great. We really treat it as one of the most important events on the calendar. Probably half the people on the hill watching are from the area and know us somehow. Last year we had a good race but it wasn't the result we wanted. We were up front running all weekend. If we can duplicate that, it will be a good weekend."

Seth Neiman, Flying Lizard Motorsports
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2)

"It's important to understand that it's completely impossible to manage the traffic at Lime Rock. Coming out of Le Mans and going to Lime Rock is a huge shock. It's fascinating to me that all the drivers in every car and every class are so conscious of the challenges there that we usually have a pretty clean race."

The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix is race is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 12 at Lime Rock Park. SPEED will televise the race from noon to 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 13. XM Satellite Radio will air the event live on XM Sports Nation Channel 144. Additional live coverage from American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring also will be available at americanlemans.com.

-credit: alms

[Don]

ALMS Race Results:

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=298112

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=298113