BAM! - Infineon (Sears Point) qualifying

work ahead ...

BAM! (British American Motorsport) took sixth place on the GT starting grid 
for Sunday's American Le Mans Series race at Infineon (Sears Point) Raceway, in 
the series' first attempt at single-car qualifying. Lucas Luhr lapped the 
2.53-mile road course in one minute 35.107 seconds in the No. 43 YES Network 
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

"The car felt okay but it's slow; the gap is too big," he said. "I don't know 
what the problem is. We have to work hard to get the car right for tomorrow 
for the race."

new format

Leo Hindery, Jr., who shares the YES Network Porsche with Lucas Luhr, was 
cautious about embracing the new single-car qualifying format, similar to that 
used in Formula One and NASCAR racing.

"I think the format is pretty much true to form," he noted. "I actually kinda 
like it because it does let you focus on a single car at a time. I worry 
about what happens when somebody wrecks up early. We saw Tracy Krohn get out of 
kilter on his out-laps and I don't know what would have happened if he had hit a 
wall or caused a problem for the guys following him. They have to figure that 
part out because it's clear these tires are good for only one hot lap."

tire talk

Michelin continually develops its tires for race and street cars. This week, 
BAM! and other Michelin GT teams are using a bigger rear tire for the first 
time in North-American racing, after a successful debut at the 24 Heures du Mans 
in June. Michelin ALMS operations manager Jerry Rinaldo noted the tires were 
designed to help maximize performance of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR:

"When they tested the new tires on Porsches in Europe, everything was 
designed for better wear, better handling and better grip. Porsches crank more camber 
into the rear tires for better cornering, but that can destroy the shoulders 
of the tires and the wear goes away. So the larger tire helps. Everything is 
different here. The front tire needs to complement the rear tire, and the rear 
tire being larger, we can go softer on compound. [It provides] better grip, 
especially at this track. There are no really straight lines, so you're always 
working the steering wheel here."

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945