Orbit Racing - Birmingham race

first family podium

Orbit Racing scored a 2-3 GT finish in the Rolex Sports Car Series race at 
the new Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.  Local drivers Grady 
Wellingham and John Lewis finished second in GT, driving the No. 205 Porsche 
911 GT3 RS.  Orbit regulars Joe and Jay Policastro of Latrobe, Pa., finished 
third in the No. 44 Classic Industries Porsche - their first podium finish 
together.  

Jay Policastro qualified the No. 44 Porsche fourth in class, after going off 
track with a brake problem.  The crew made repairs overnight, giving the 
Policastros a strong car for the race.

Heavy rains left water on the 2.3-mile track, adding an extra level of 
difficulty.  Jay Policastro drove the first stint, moving up to second in 
class in the first 15 minutes of the race.  He pitted for a driver change 
during a caution period, but the caution was immediately withdrawn, costing 
the team valuable track position.

Father Joe Policastro took the second stint, but was hampered by contact from 
a prototype car trying to recover after a spin on the wet track.  The 
Porsche's rear bumper was torn, unknown to Policastro, who incurred a penalty 
and another pitstop to remove the bumper.  Jay Policastro drove the final 
stint, moving up to secure the final GT podium position.

survival race

"It rained until one hour before the race so there was a lot of water on the 
track," Joe Policastro noted.  "It was almost like survival of the fittest!  
But we were able to keep it together.  We tried some different moves with the 
car and made some good improvements, which will help with other courses that 
have similar turns with blind entries.

"It was a fun weekend for us.  The best part was just enjoying the track.  
The facility is really something to see and it's a treat to drive the course. 
 It's a hell of a track, a very demanding track on the driver.  But once you 
know the track, it's not bad.  I turned my fastest [lap] times during the 
race!"

skills and systems

Jay Policastro was also impressed with the race venue.  "It's a fantastic 
track!" he enthused.  "The track is extremely challenging technically, which 
is what we wanted to hone our skills and test ourselves against other drivers 
who knew the track.  By the end of practice, we were faster than all of them!

"I'm delighted we had our first podium together," he said of the Policastro 
father-son first.  "The Orbit team, as usual, did an outstanding job and we 
had a great weekend.  We honed our driving skills and we developed a system 
mindset and thought process, so we can optimize test days and practice when 
we go to other tracks we haven't been to."

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945