BAM! - Lime Rock preview

new track

BAM! (British American Motorsport) will race at Lime Rock Park for the first 
time on July 5, chasing a podium finish in the GT class of the American Le 
Mans Series. Crew chief Matt Bishop is confident the team will have a good 
starting setup for the No. 43 YES Network Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, after competing in 
the ALMS race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 27. The 1.54-mile Lime Rock 
road course is shorter than the Mid-Ohio track, but it has similar turns and 
elevation changes.

"We haven't been to Lime Rock before, but going from Mid-Ohio to Lime Rock is 
probably a similar setup," Bishop noted. "The car is prepped to last 24 
hours, so barring any unforeseen act, we shouldn't need any extra preparation for 
the race."

Leo's laps

BAM! driver Leo Hindery, Jr. of New York has enjoyed many races at Lime Rock 
Park, the major track closest to his home. The picturesque countryside and the 
town of Lakeville, Conn., offer welcome relief from his corporate duties in 
Manhattan, but he doesn't want to stay too long.

"Since I started my racing [career] in late-model stock cars on short tracks, 
maybe I can do well at Lime Rock since that is what this race is going to 
feel like," he said. "I don't think we are going to have much time to look at the 
beautiful church across the way as we speed by cheek to jowl - and I hope to 
not be in that church after the race for my memorial service."

24 to 2:45

Two-time ALMS GT co-champion Lucas Luhr of Monaco will share driving duty 
with Leo Hindery in four races this season, starting at Lime Rock. Luhr recently 
finished third in the demanding Nürburgring 24-hour race in his native 
Germany, a race that presented very different challenges from this week's two-hour 
45-minute ALMS race.

"The Nürburgring is a really long track, almost 17 miles long, and it has 
more than 80 corners. At Nürburgring, the team I raced with built the car for 
just that race. Here you go with the same car for the whole season," he said. 
"For a 24-hour race, the first or second stint you watch the competition. You 
don't want to go behind too far, but you are a little bit gentle with the car, 
trying to take care of the brakes, the driveshaft and the gearbox. In a 
three-hour race, you mostly go flat out."

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945