SAMAX - Barber race

The SAMAX/ Doncaster Racing crew prepared a strong race car for the Rolex
Sports Car Series race at Barber Motorsports Park, but their potential was
zapped by a wheel problem. Dave Lacey and Greg Wilkins drove the No. 17
SAMAX/ Doncaster Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a 14th-place finish, despite
missing the first 32 minutes of the two-hour 45-minute race.

 

Wilkins started 11th on the GT grid, but was stopped on the pace lap as the
car's left-rear wheel hub sheared off. The car was transported back to the
paddock, where the crew quickly replaced the left-rear suspension upright
and wheel. They were unable to replace the rear sway bar, which was also
broken as the wheel snapped.

 

Wilkins returned to the track at the back of the 17-car GT field, then
gained three positions during his 90-minute stint. Lacey drove the last 40
minutes of the race, holding 14th.

 

race report

 

time           driver                        action

 

start            Wilkins                      left-rear wheel hub sheared
off on pace lap – car moved to 

                                                   paddock to replace wheel
hub and suspension upright

32m            Wilkins                      on track

2h5             Lacey in                     pit – driver change, tires,
fuel

 

Dave Lacey:  "I think we would have had an awesome car today. The car was
relatively good without a rear sway bar, so imagine if we had not broken
that sway bar – I think we would have had a top-five car. It's unfortunate,
but that's racing. Sometimes things just go wrong. I think Greg did a great
job hauling it around for an hour and a half. It was disappointing, but we
made some [championship] points up, so that was a great goal for today."

 

Greg Wilkins:  "Obviously, it was disappointing to lose the wheel on the
warmup lap. We had the same problem cracking the wheel studs at Daytona – it
took us out of the race there – so it's a bid odd that it's happened twice
now. On the plus side, the guys did a fantastic job getting the car back out
on the track and we caught three places, which is important for the points.
The car on the track wasn't all that bad, considering we had no rear sway
bar and a diabolical push [understeer]. The fact that we could hang with a
bunch of guys spoke well of the car. I kept hoping for rain – we would have
had a great rain car!"

 

###

 

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