***********Raceonoz takes on the Petit Lemans***********
Yesterday saw 3 Raceonoz cars take on the 10 hour long Petit Lemans at Road Atlanta.
In the 1st session, Steven Latimore, Michael Kirkham, Damon Mulqueen and Bob King lined up in the Mercedes AMG GT3 #341. A late decision to start from the pit lane saw the team start 2nd last but a solid performance and some great overtaking saw the team make its way up to 25th before an unfortunate spin on lap 64 at turn 4 saw the AMG in the wall. After making it back to the pits and doing the necessary repairs the team came out in 47th. Knowing that there was a long race ahead, the team put their heads down and pumped out solid laps until the finish and ended up 10th in class and 25th overall.
In the 2nd session, Ben Stensrud, Benjamin Smith, Matt Allison and Steven Latimore lined up in the Ferrari 488 GTE #345. The team started 15th overall and made it up to 13th before a spin in Turn 1 on lap 4 left the team vulnerable before another car plowed into them seeing the 488 gain wings and fly through the air. After a lengthy repair, the team came back out in 39th; however, like the team in the first session, kept their heads down and showing determination pushed their way back up to 12th in class and 18th overall where they would finish. Sadly, 5 laps from the end, the 488 engine expired and the team didn't get to see a deserved checkered flag.
Also in the 2nd session, Jesse Varley, debutant Mark Lee and Liam Tipping lined up in the Mercedes AMG GT3 #222. The team lined up in 33rd and had made solid progress. Some great driving by Jesse Varley in the opening stints saw the team have a solid foundation to build upon while other teams in their class retired from the race. In the end, the usually bulletproof AMG engine blew up 6 laps from the end, preventing them from seeing a deserved chequered flag; however, the team finished just behind the 488 in 19th overall and 4TH IN CLASS!
The road racing team now changes their focus to taming the mountain in 2 weeks where they look at fielding possibly 5+ teams for the Bathurst 1000.
FEAR THE ROO!