Krohn/TRG - Laguna Seca preview

in search of grip

 

Krohn Racing/TRG will be chasing mechanical grip for the first Rolex Sports
Car Series race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif. The team will
field two Pontiac-powered Riley Mk XI cars in the May 1 race – the No. 66
for Jörg Bergmeister of Langenfeld, Germany, and Italian Max Papis, now
living in Miami Beach, Fla., and the No. 67 for Nic Jönsson of Buford, Ga.,
and Tracy Krohn of Houston, Texas.

 

Jönsson noted the daunting Corkscrew turn isn't the only hallmark of the
2.238-mile road course: "The race track is one of the most famous in the
world because of the Corkscrew, which has a lot of character to it. The
other real characteristic of the track is the low grip. Even if all the cars
are running at the same time, it's always very, very low grip.

 

"It will be very important to try to get the car set up for low grip.
Aerodynamics is always important, but I don't think that will be an issue
because we will have to run as much downforce as we can get from the car,
then try to get the best possible mechanical grip with different tire
pressures, shock settings, springs, bars and combinations."

 

ready to win

 

Max Papis knows where to find the victory podium at Laguna Seca – he charged
from 25th to win the 2001 CART Championship Series race at the track. He
hopes to earn another victory, this year from the seat of his Pontiac-Riley.

 

"The Krohn/TRG [car] seems to be improved a lot, so I'm looking forward to
seeing how the car is going to react. The goal will be to give the first win
to Krohn/TRG and Pontiac. I lived in California and Laguna Seca was my home
track when I worked for PPI [Motorsports]. I always love the atmosphere and
the fan support from California and from Laguna. I'm looking forward to
being there," he said.

 

Krohn credit

 

Tracy Krohn didn't join the professional racer ranks until 2002, but his
performance belies his experience. He has posted strong results this season,
moving up 10 positions in his stints at Homestead-Miami Speedway and at
California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. 

 

"Tracy is showing a lot of determination and a lot of skill. He is very
focused when it comes to the race track," his co-driver Nic Jönsson said. "I
was very impressed by him in Fontana – he ran some lap times that were
within 1.2 seconds of the fastest lap of the race. If we can get some more
testing, I think he will be turning a lot of heads by the end of the
season."

 

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Sylvia Proudfoot
HYPERLINK "mailto:sylvia@spurcom.ca"sylvia@spurcom.ca
403 287 3945