Terry Borcheller - Laguna Seca preview
Laguna Seca Terry Borcheller will happily travel across the United States from his home in Gainesville, Ga., to compete in the final 2005 American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif. The sweeping 2.238-mile road course and the picturesque Monterey Bay area are both favorite destinations. Borcheller and his family enjoyed the area during a sports-car race earlier this year; next week he'll explore with just his wife Tracy. "It's one of my favorite places to be – not just for the race, but for the whole atmosphere. It's a good place to wind down the season," he said. third time charmed? Borcheller will share a Saleen S7R with Johnny Mowlem of London, England, his 2005 ALMS driving partner. The pair led the GT1 class for most of the ALMS race at Mosport International Raceway last month and were contenders in the 1000-mile Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Oct. 1. They are looking for a strong result on Oct. 15 against their season-long Corvette rivals and the Aston Martin team that has entered three ALMS races this season. "It's going to be a great race! The Astons will be there again. All year, we've been trying to beat the Corvettes, so when the Astons showed up at Petit, it was like, 'Okay, we need to show them that we have finished where we belong all year, right behind the Corvettes.' It ups our game a little bit. We don't want them to come in there and take the position that we've been running all year," Borcheller said. "We had a very strong run at Petit. Over the course of a stint, we had the fastest [GT1] car for pretty much the whole race. It would be great to win the finale." safety and comfort Borcheller often competes in two or three races in the same weekend, so he looks for both safety and comfort in his race clothing. He is sold on the products manufactured by two of his personal sponsors – Bell Helmets and Alpinestars. "The helmet needs to fit correctly from a safety standpoint, but also, if you don't have the the right fit, you can get headaches. I've worn Bell helmets for 15 years. Bell will customize my helmet any way I need it to make sure it fits better. It's nice to know if/when things happen, I'm protected by the best in the business, and also the most comfortable. That makes a big difference to me," Borcheller said. "In endurance racing, especially doing back-to-back races, it's important that my hands don't blister. Alpinestars makes sure the palm of the glove is designed so I don't get blisters. In shoes, they reinforce parts of the shoe like the heel, to make sure that the area of the foot that's going to be getting a lot of friction and heat, like on the floor of the car, is protected. The depth of the sole of the shoe is also important so I can feel the pedals. They just do a really good job giving us safety equipment that's very comfortable." details (PT) The American Le Mans Series race is set for Saturday, Oct. 15 from 3:15 pm to 7:15 pm (6:15 pm to 10:15 pm ET) on the 2.238-mile Laguna Seca Raceway road course in Monterey, Calif. The race will air on Speed Channel on Sunday, Oct. 16 from10 am to 2 pm (1 pm to 5 pm ET). ALMS Radio and live timing/scoring will be available at americanlemans.com . online tborcheller.com