IRL: Riley and Scott IRL 2000 car shines in testing
21 January 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Indianapolis--Riley & Scott's new IRL car, designated Mk VII, was put through its paces for the first time this week at the one-mile oval at Walt Disney World, Orlando. The test sessions with Hemelgarn Racing and Team Cheever gave clear indications that the Riley & Scott will be a strong competitor in 2000 as both cars set impressive times after only a short time of running. Buddy Lazier, driving Hemelgarn Racing's Riley & Scott Oldsmobile Aurora posted a lap time of 21.5 seconds, a highly competitive time for pre-season testing at this track. Eddie Cheever Jr, driving Team Cheever's Riley & Scott Nissan Infiniti recorded a 21.86 second lap to keep him firmly up with the leaders.
Both teams are testing extensively in readiness for the first round of the 10 race Indy Racing League Series which will be held at Walt Disney World on January 30th and are confident that they are prepared for this season opener. Buddy Lazier is looking forward to his first race with the Riley & Scott Mk VII, saying, "We've had a very productive test over the last two days. The car was good straight out of the box and it's very driveable and comfortable, yet also very quick. We've been working on getting a base set up for the race and it's all looking very promising. The car wants to go fast - which is great news! - but we're taking it slowly and moving forward step by step. I'm confident we'll be ready to take on the competition at Walt Disney World."
The Mk VII chassis has been designed and produced for the new Series regulations in collaboration with Reynard Motorsport, which owns Riley & Scott. Extensive research at Reynard's US wind tunnel facility at the Auto Research Center in Indianapolis has been used to develop the aerodynamics of the car in addition to the technical resources of Reynard's specialist research divisions including Computational Fluid Dynamics and Finite Elemental Analysis.
Riley & Scott President Bob Riley, comments, "It's good to see our cars go so well after such a short time on the track. The marriage of Reynard Motorsport and Riley & Scott has certainly helped us to produce a competitive car which has the potential to win races. We're pleased with the positive feedback from both Hemelgarn Racing and Team Cheever and I believe we can look forward to seeing more Riley & Scott Mk VII cars racing this year."
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