Orbit Racing - Sonoma test day

solid start

Orbit Racing took advantage of clear, warm weather conditions to work on car 
setup for Sunday's American Le Mans Series race at Infineon (Sears Point) 
Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.  Leo Hindery and Peter Baron, who drive the No. 43 YES 
Network Porsche 911 GT3 RS, raced on the Sonoma track in 2002.  Their teammates 
in the No. 42 Classic Industries Porsche, Joe and Jay Policastro, are rookies 
on the track.

Baron was fastest of the Orbit drivers during the Friday test session, 
covering the 1.53-mile road course in one minute 39.305 seconds, good for fifth in 
the GT class.  

"It's a real education out there," Joe Policastro said.  "It's the opposite 
of what you think is going to happen in some of those turns.  There are a lot 
of off-camber turns and some high-speed ones.  It's very tricky, but it's 
really a fun course.  We just need to sharpen our skills a bit more and hopefully 
the [lap] times will start dropping."

tattoo power

Leo Hindery and Peter Baron are sporting new tattoos, honoring their 
second-place GT finish at the 24 Heures du Mans last month.  Hindery is convinced the 
tattoos contribute to the duo's track performance.

"We're here at Sears Point and it's clear that the tattooed drivers are 
quicker than the untattooed drivers," he said.  "It's the first time Peter and I 
have been in the car since we got our tattoos and, without a doubt, I'm two to 
three per cent quicker than I've ever been in my life.  I shaved my back, as 
did Peter, and I think the friction makes us better."

new brakes

The Orbit Racing cars have new lightweight rear brakes this week, produced by 
AP Racing.  Orbit's technical director, Tim Munday, initiated the development.

"We're trying some new lightweight calipers AP produced especially for these 
[Orbit] cars," he explained.  "They've given them to us because we pushed the 
hardest for them.  With these cars, the rear weight of the car overtakes the 
front all the time.  Anything you can do to get the weight out of the back is a 
good thing."

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945