Orbit Racing - Birmingham preview

Orbit to Barber

Orbit Racing will be among the first teams to race at the new Barber 
Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.  The Florida team has entered two cars 
in the Rolex Sports Car Series race scheduled for May 18 on the 2.3-mile road 
course.

The father-son duo of Joe and Jay Policastro of Latrobe, Pa., will drive the 
No. 44 Classic Industries Porsche 911 GT3 RS.  The Orbit regulars will be 
joined by Birmingham locals Grady Wellingham and John Lewis, who will drive 
the No. 43 YES Network Porsche.

prime time

"It's a brand-new course," Joe Policastro noted.  "I've heard a lot about it, 
now I want to see what it's like!  It sounds like an exciting track, very 
driver-friendly.  It's an opportunity to hone our skills a bit more and get 
some seat time.

"It also gives us time to develop the car and continue making improvements to 
achieve our goals for the year - to get better and try to work up to some 
podium finishes.  The track is 45 feet wide and most tracks aren't that wide, 
so it gives us a chance to work with the car more, to make sure we're going 
in the right direction."

Jay Policastro sees the four-day race weekend as prime setup time.  Since 
Orbit Racing is not competing in the whole Rolex Series this year, the team 
can focus on race performance without worrying about championship points.

"We're still developing a new '03 car, so this is a good chance to run with 
other competitors and set a benchmark," he said.  "It's a good opportunity 
for us to develop the car and get to know the team better without the 
pressure of points.

"The track looks fantastic!  I've only heard accolades about it.  The layout 
looks great - it should be a good momentum track as opposed to a high-speed 
track, which will help us to work on our driver skills."