Guy Smith

GUY SMITH BEGINS HIS ASSAULT ON LE MANS


Briton Guy Smith successfully completed three days of testing at the
Virginia International Raceway in South Carolina last week in preparation
for his assault on the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.  The 27 year old from Hull,
joined team-mate Marc Goossens in the Jim Matthews Riley & Scott he took to
second place at Daytona and third at Sebring.

“We had a really good test at Virginia,” said Guy.  “I’d never been to the
track before, it’s a great circuit, a cross between Road Atlanta and Laguna
Seca, with the best bits from each.  We ran three trouble-free days and had
some very productive results.  Mainly we were checking out new front
splitters, nose and wings and overall we’re really pleased with how things
went.”

“Panoz were there too with Brabham, Magnussen and Herta, so it was a good
opportunity to see how competitive we were there against those guys, and we’
re really happy with the end result.  We wound up only slightly slower than
them and we were running with low downforce so it’s a fantastic
 performance.”

“We were able to produce some really good top speeds, around 190mph, and it
really was a lot of fun.  I’m looking forward now to pre-qualifying for Le
Mans and feel even more confident that we can do a good job there.”

Pre-qualifying for Le Mans takes place on May 5th, prior to the French
classic event, which takes place on June 15/16th.  The race itself will be
Guy’s third visit to the event, and following two hugely successful outings
so far this year, is optimistic of a good finish.

“So far this year, we’ve been up against all the top factory teams and been
able to finish on the podium in both races, which for a private entry is
really amazing.  In endurance racing the reliability factor is crucial and
the Riley & Scott has impressed me very much on that score.  Hopefully we
can continue that run into the most famous sportscar race ever and get a
strong finish.”


Ref: GS0023
15th April 2002

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


For media information:    Cathy Metcalfe, MPR Associates, The Bothy,
20 Jenkinson Road, Towcester, Northants NN12 6AW
Tel:  +44 (0) 1327 352199  Fax: +44 (0) 1327 352908
E-mail: cathy.metcalfe@btinternet.com <mailto:cathy.metcalfe@btinternet.com>





MPR Associates
Tel: +44 (0) 1327 352199
Fax: +44 (0) 1327 352908
Mob: +44 (0) 7802 332398
E-mail: cathy.metcalfe@btinternet.com