Guy Smith Will Start Sebring From 12th Slot

GUY SMITH STARTS 9TH AT SEBRING



Briton Guy Smith will start the 12 Hours of Sebring on Saturday (March 16th)
from 12th place on the grid but remains confident of a strong finish in the
race.
The 27 year-old from Hull, partnered in this event by team owner Jim
Matthews and Belgian Marc Goossens, was delighted with the progress made
since pre-season testing and is looking forward to a good race in this
weekend’s event.

“Of course I’m disappointed not to have been higher up the grid after
setting fourth and sixth quickest times in testing but the car is running
well now and all that matters is getting a good finish in the race,” said
Guy. “We had no problems whatsoever in the shakedown last week and the
paddleshift and power steering systems are working well so I feel quite
confident of having a good finish in the race.  I really felt we could have
been higher up the grid but Marc (Goossens) had problems with traffic during
his qualifying stint and the Michelin tyres seem to be working a lot better
for the other teams than our Goodyears are.”

“But to be honest the grid position in an endurance race is not so
important, it’s all down to reliability and that’s an area in which the
Riley & Scott excels. The Jim Matthews team and Riley & Scott have done a
lot of work on the car since Daytona and it really is great to drive.  It’s
going to be hard work still to beat the works teams but the mood is much
more optimistic now.”

The team know they will face tough opposition from the factory Audis, Panoz
and Cadillacs as well as the Dallara of Daytona winner Max Papis.

The 50th annual 12 Hours of Sebring, America’s oldest sports car endurance
race, takes place at Sebring International Raceway on March 16th and has
attracted the world’s leading sportscar teams plus many of the famous cars
and drivers which has helped make Sebring a legendary name in motorsport.

The race will kick off the 2002 ALMS series with the 12-hour race starting
at 10.30am local time (3.30pm UK time) on Saturday March 16th.

Ref: GS0021
14th March 2002


Editors note:  Further information and photographs are available from the
official Guy Smith website at www.guysmith.com <http://www.guysmith.com/> .


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E-ail: cmetcalfe@mprassociates.net <mailto:cmetcalfe@mprassociates.net>