FROM HOUSTON TO HOLLYWOOD
Houston, TX, (April 17, 2008) --
The historic Long Beach street course near Los Angeles in California
is host to the third round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series, and it
is a venue that everyone looks forward to visiting – including
the Ferrari of Silicon Valley-supported GT2 Champions, Risi Competizione.
With its picture postcard setting of sun, sea and palms, it is one of
the top motorsport events in the USA, similar in many ways to the equally
historic Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco. The 1.968 mile, 11-turn temporary
street circuit is as challenging as any other, but its situation and
atmosphere make it a favorite for competitors, visitors from nearby Hollywood,
and the many fans who are able to see, hear and experience the most competitive
and entertaining sportscar racing in the world.
Defending GT2 Drivers Champion,
Jaime Melo of Brazil, now residing in Houston, has not had the start
to the season that he and his team mate, Mika Salo of Finland, were
either anticipating or hoping for.
“Our first two races this year were not the results we were looking
for,” says Melo. “But what has helped me to remain so positive
is that we have a very competitive Ferrari 430 GT car and a great team
behind us. I know that we all know our potential, so we must hope we
won’t have any problems this weekend.
“Long Beach is a little bit different from St Petersburg, but
both tracks are bumpy so the most important thing is to have a good car
over the bumps. I think we will keep the set up very similar to St Petes,
but for sure it’s going to be really hard and really tight. The
race is short compared to normal, and strategy/what we do under any yellows
is going to be very important. Our guys must be prepared for pit stops
at any time, but they are very quick and slick on these; we cannot lose
any time in the pits. We will need to push from the first to the last
minute as Porsche will be strong again, as well as the other Ferraris.”
Also looking forward to Long Beach is Risi’s Californian driver,
Harrison Brix. The San José resident, who will be taking his second
start in the American Le Mans Series with team mate Patrick Friesacher
of Austria, is no stranger to Long Beach.
“I’ve been to a bunch of prior races at Long Beach when
my family ran an Indy car there, plus I raced a Daytona Prototype there
with Doran Racing so fortunately I know this one. It makes a huge difference,
especially when it’s a street track and you have a profound advantage
right out of the gate.
“It’s a pretty challenging track,” continued Brix, “especially
when you are dealing with traffic which we will be. I think it will be
a pretty tight race and a hard fought battle all the way through. I don’t
think you will see any one or two lap margins of victory as at some of
the races.
“I was pretty happy with our result at
St Petersburg. Any time you make a debut in a series and finish is
good but to be classified in the top five is great. Patrick and I got
along great and we are with a good team and have a well prepared car
which makes it much, much easier for us; we have the best tools in
GT2.”
Risi Competizione’s Chief Engineer, Rick Mayer, predicts that
caution periods could well be a determining factor in the outcome of
the race. “The event is 100 minutes long, the same as last year,
and the minimum time that a driver must complete is 30 minutes. With
fuel being good for about 60+ minutes, that leaves a big window for a
caution flag, one-stop race. Last year, surprisingly, there was only
one caution.
“The strategy should be pretty straight forward. Pit work will
likely gain or lose the lead out of the pits – and that’s
applicable to all the classes, not just GT2. A green flag stop (late
race pit) will have the entire field short-filling on fuel and, any way
you look at it, the pit stop will be critical here. The Risi team is
very quick on tire changes and the drivers’ change is fast. The
pit work should be good, but we could use some luck at this event. We’ve
consistently had fast cars, but we’re 0 for 2 for the season and
that needs to change.”
The Official Sponsors of Risi Competizione, 2006
and 2007 ALMS GT2 Team Champions, are Boost/Motorola, Michelin, Freescale,
Ferrari of Silicon
Valley, Ferrari Financial Services, Boardwalk Autogroup, Delphi and Ferrari
of Houston.
For Risi Competizione images, copyright free for editorial use, please
go to our website, www.risicompetizione.com. On the home page click any
link for 'media login' and enter the password: risi2008 (lowercase, no
spaces). For high resolution photos please contact fmiller@risicompetizione.com
or dpierce@ferrariofhouston.com
For further information contact Fiona Miller on 863 202 6942 or email
to fmiller@risicompetizione.com
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