Orbit Racing - Road Atlanta race

tough race

Orbit Racing finished ninth and 10th in the American Le Mans Series race at 
Road Atlanta after encountering problems with both cars.

Peter Baron started the No. 43 YES Network Porsche 911 GT3 RS sixth on the GT 
grid set by practice times when qualifying was cancelled.  He moved up to 
third in the first hour of the two-hour 45-minute race on the 2.54-mile road 
course.  Leo Hindery drove the second stint, but was slowed by a problem with the 
car's clutch hydraulic system and dropped back to 12th.  Baron drove the final 
stint, moving back up two positions to finish 10th.

Jay Policastro drove the first stint in the  No. 42 Classic Industries 
Porsche, starting 10th in class.  Running a conservative strategy, he pitted after 
45 minutes and Joe Policastro took the second stint.  He lost the right-front 
tire of the car after contact with a GTS car and had to drive a full lap on the 
rim before he could pit for a new tire.  Jay Policastro drove the final stint 
and the pair finished ninth.

Peter Baron  "It was just a bunch of unfortunate circumstances.  The car 
oversteered the first stint and we were trying to conserve the tires, but the crew 
made some great adjustments.  We had a great car, it's just unfortunate the 
clutch went - we lost four or five laps.  But we were reeling down the fast 
cars at the end.  The good news is we obviously have a good car and that's 
encouraging for the next race."

Leo Hindery  "You win some and lose some, and this was one of the lose-some.  
The car ran well and the tires and handling were pretty good.  We just had a 
gearbox mess around on us.  It would go in and out of gear and it was hard to 
get in gear sometimes.  It was just one of those days - a top-10 against a 
field of this quality, you feel okay after and yet you realize you could have 
been a lot better."

Jay Policastro  "We started off pretty good.  The heat was wicked in the 
first stint and the tires went away a little bit, so we stopped early and Joe got 
in the car.  Unfortunately, a Corvette cut him off and we lost a tire.  We 
lost a lap, which cost us some positions, but the rest was incident-free.  I 
think we both drove a good race and the team, as usual, did a wonderful job."
 
Joe Policastro  "It was a heck of a race.  There was really a lot of traffic 
out there - it was like playing football, contact sport.  About halfway 
through my stint, a Corvette cut me off coming down [turn] 12 and I lost a tire.  I 
don't think it was intentional, but it cost me a couple of laps and some 
positions.  But the team did an outstanding job getting me back out there.  It was 
a little scary - I didn't want to have to pull off, I wanted to get the car 
back.  I had to make a full lap around without a tire.  Thank goodness the rim 
held up, we got the tire back on and we didn't miss a beat."