European Le Mans Series: Guy Smith races on to Nurburgring
7 July 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Guy Smith's rookie year of Sportscar racing continues this weekend in
Germany at the Nurburgring race track, with the second European Le Mans
Series race on July 9th. Hot on the heels of Smith's first Le Mans 24
Hours experience, this 1000 km race will be another new test for the
young driver at another new circuit.
Smith is encouraged by the team's recent performance at Le Mans, despite not finishing the race, saying, "Although the final placings at Le Mans don't really feature the Johansson Matthews Racing Reynard 2KQ-LM, we felt that we had a good week in France. The car was very competitive and certainly up with the big boys. We ran very strongly during the race right up until engine problems put us out of the race. Nurburgring should be a great opportunity for us to prove just how competitive we can be. We've still got the might of the factory teams to contend with, but there's no reason why we can't mix with them."
The original Nurburgring circuit was a daunting14 mile test of driver skill, but the new track, opened in 1984 is a much safer, more technical challenge for today's racing drivers. Commenting on his first visit to the location, Smith says, "I've seen this track many times on television watching the F1 races, but I've never raced there. I'm looking forward to continuing my track education with this event. It's good to have Stefan Johansson as a team mate with all his experience of racing here and I know he'll be a great help and will share his knowledge with me, which makes my learning curve much quicker."
Smith is keen to get back on track with the Reynard 2KQ-LM and is convinced that there is a podium place at stake, as he says, "We know we can be quick with this car and proved that at Le Mans. The team has been working with Reynard, continuing to develop the package, so there's no reason why we can't be on the podium this time. I'm feeling very bullish about this race and want to see us winning. All my efforts will be directed to making this reality."
Text provided by Alison Hill
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