Sebring - MSB final practice

2002 12 Hours of Sebring
Sebring International Raceway
final practice, March 15    

ready to race

An improved No. 33 Ferrari 360 Modena GT is ready for Saturday's 12 Hours of 
Sebring race.  Marino Franchitti of Scotland drove the MSB Motorsport car 
during final practice Friday morning, but his co-driver Ralf Kelleners of 
Germany was thwarted by a black flag that stopped the session.

"I'm a bit disappointed because we made a big improvement in the car during 
the session, but we didn't get a proper chance to try it out because of the 
black flags," Franchitti said.  "Thenanother GT car turned in on me and 
getting out of the way involved me spinning at the next corner.  There's no 
damage to the car, so we just have to go prep the car for the race."

Kelleners was in the car ready to practice when the final black was displayed 
during the session.  Although he didn't get to drive, he was happy with 
Franchitti's report.  "Marino said we improved the car in regards to the 
suspension, so I'll see tomorrow morning in the warmup how I like it," he 
said.  "He told me he's much happier than yesterday."

driver setup

While the team works on car setup, the drivers will work on their race 
preparation.

"I eat pasta for about five days before the race," Kelleners said.  "I try to 
get eight hours of sleep, even though it will be difficult here because the 
warmup is so early and we have to drive 30 minutes to get to the race track.  
But that's all - sleep and carbohydrates."

Franchitti will spend Friday evening with his parents, George and Marina, and 
brother Dario.  His sister Carla is the only family member who will not be 
able to attend the race.

"I'll drink at least two liters of water tonight before I go to bed," 
Franchitti explained.  "It means an interrupted sleep but you've got to 
hydrate because the temperature in the car is about 60C.  I'm just going to 
chill out, go out for dinner with my family, eat the right food and maybe 
catch a movie after."

small world

Prior to his impressive racing career, James Weaver worked in the British 
Formula Ford manufacturing plant, where he helped build the cars raced by 
George Franchitti.

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945