SRT Motorsports - ALMS Thursday Afternoon Practice Quotes - Road Atlanta

October 17, 2013 , Braselton, Ga. - 

Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager
“Although we skipped today’s morning and afternoon sessions due to the wet conditions, we’ll need to practice in tonight’s session. Each driver must get three laps in so they will be eligible to drive at night during the race. It’s OK though as we’ve got a wet setup ready that we have a lot of background on in case we’re dealt a rainy race.  We’re didn’t want to risk an accident during today’s wet sessions – the cars are so good right now that the last thing we want to do is to mess that up and have to thrash all night to repair the Viper before qualifying”
 
ARE YOU PLEASED WITH WHAT THE DATA HAS SHOWN FROM TESTING AND PRACTICE SO FAR THIS WEEK?  “The cars are really good right now.  The team spent time on the simulator last week and it closely correlated to the actual track data.  It really let us focus and quickly come up with the ultimate set-up for the SRT Viper GTS-R here at Petit Le Mans ”
 
Tommy Kendall  – No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R
“I started racing here right at the very beginning of my career.  I raced here for the first time in 1985, I think, so I’ve been coming here for a long time.   Most of my experience was before they changed the track when they got rid of the dip on the back straightway and put (Turns) 10A and 10B in but the rest of the track is virtually the same.  I ran one Petit Le Mans (1999 in the LMP class) and that was the only ALMS race I’d done until this came about.  It’s a great track.
 
“It’d be a tough place in the rain which is why we’re not out there.  On one hand you’d like to get a look at it but the risk/reward doesn’t make sense.  You put the cars at risk for not much upside.  All of us have driven in the rain.  I think if it rains tonight we’ll go out just because we have to get compulsory laps at nighttime per regulations.  I like racing in the rain but you’d always prefer it to be dry because in the rain, even if you’re good at it and you like it, the chances of mistakes are just way, way higher.  But it is what it is and that’s one of the unique things about sports car racing is you do it rain or shine.”
 
WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE A LOT DIFFERENT HERE EARLIER IN THE WEEK.  HOW DOES THAT AFFECT YOUR RACE SETUP?  “Basically every time you run the car you document what was the track temperature, what was the air temperature, and you put that in your books.  The longer you run the cars and the tires and so forth that you’re on the better you have.  That’s a better question for the engineers but that’s kind of how you do it.  I think a lot of credit goes to Michelin.  The tires are very consistent.”  
 
HOW BIG OF A FACTOR IS LOSING TRACK TIME TODAY?  “For us it’s not a factor.  We’ve done what we wanted to do.  We have our car how we want it and we’re just waiting for the race, largely.  We got through our entire list (during practice earlier in the week).  We ended really happy with where the cars are.  That’s why you don’t see any real anxious looks around here.”
 
DOES RACING IN THE RAIN EQUALIZE THINGS FROM A COMPETITION STANDPOINT?  “It’s an equalizer and it’s a separator.  It’s always said that rain is an equalizer for drivers because a really good rain driver can make a car that’s not so great run well.  But at this point all the cars are good, all the drivers are good.  It could shift it; you might have some more cars that are more competitive, traction control becomes a bigger issue.”  
 
Ryan Dalziel – No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R
AS AN ENDURANCE DRIVER, HOW DIFFERENT IS YOUR ROLE HERE THIS WEEKEND?  “You know I think this weekend has been the most comfortable I’ve been, not just in the car but with the team.  It’s a supporting role and every driver wants to be the lead driver but you know there’s a championship on the line for Dominik (Farnbacher) and Marc (Goossens) so I’m very much here to give them the best opportunity to finish as high as they can in the driver and manufacturer championship for SRT.  I enjoy my time here.  They’re great people.  I love driving the SRT Viper GTS-R.  It’s almost a bitter-sweet weekend for me.  I love coming back and driving this car. 
 
HOW BIG OF FACTOR IS THE RAIN TODAY AND CUTTING SHORT PRACTICE TIME?  “You know it’s good for us.  We ran for two days in the dry on Sunday and Monday and the cars were really good, really strong.  And we also got to run in the dry yesterday and it seems like the speed we showed on Sunday and Monday is translating over to the race weekend.  Sometimes when it rains like this you want it to just rain all the way up to race day.  The less time the other competitors get to tune on their cars the better for us.  We’re definitely confident in the car. 
 
“I think Road Atlanta as a venue definitely suits the SRT Viper GTS-R and our package.  It’s never easy.  It’s nice to get out there and run and get track time and for me it’s nice to get extra laps.  I think we’re pretty confident.”
 
DO YOU GET A LITTLE CABIN FEVER BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT IN A RACECAR?  “It’s surprising how fast time passes when you’re doing nothing.  We’ve got a good bunch of drivers here.  We’re all friends.  We enjoy as much being on the track as being off the track together.  It’s actually been pretty fun sitting here waiting and watching other people drive around.  You don’t really learn anything at this point so what’s the point of risking your equipment and your drivers.  We’re pretty confident the rest of the weekend is going to be dry.  It’s nice to just sit and chill out a little bit.” 
 
IS PREPARING FOR THE RACE WITH CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS A CURVE FOR YOU?  “It’s not a curveball for us because even when we started practicing Sunday we expected rain today and we expected temperatures to be cooler as the week went on.  Everything we did learn Sunday and Monday is information and experience with this car.  It’s stuff that we put in our back pocket.  You can’t always guarantee the stuff you learn at 80 degrees works in 60 degrees but we expected this.  It’s not a curveball by any means.  We were hoping it was going to dry up a little bit for this afternoon’s session.  We’ll get our night laps in, mandatory three laps for each driver at night; we’ll keep the equipment nice and clean and give the guys hopefully a nice, easy night.  They’ve worked a lot of long hours the past few months especially since Le Mans.  It’s nice to relax, team and drivers the night before a weekend.”