Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Green flag in: 
 
 
 
  • Posted 11.09.09
  • RSR PREPARATIONS WELL UNDER WAY FOR 2010
  • In-shop and on-track development in the cards for full-season effort

  • RSR's Yokohama-shod Jaguar XKR has been in the wind tunnel and will test at Sebring later this month to prep for a 2010 GT2 championship run.
    With its debut, test and first race in the books, RSR is in full prep mode for the 2010 American Le Mans Series. After the team’s Jaguar XKR GT first event last month at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the team returned to its East Lansing, Mich., race shop ready to measure up the results and begin the development process.

    “Now we can focus on making it faster and even more reliable,” said Paul Gentilozzi, RSR team owner and driver. “We have the time to improve the performance of the car as we prepare for the grueling 12 Hours of Sebring in March to kick off our 2010 assault.”

    A test later this month at Sebring will allow RSR to validate recent wind tunnel data in which RSR’s engineering staff got a look at the aerodynamic performance predicted by Jaguar Engineers in their CFD planning of the car. With a good estimate of drag and downforce the XKR generates, RSR can feed those results back to the aero dynamists at Jaguar, where they can interpret that information versus the CFD simulation.

    Paul Gentilozzi: "We have the time to improve the performance of the car as we prepare for the grueling 12 Hours of Sebring in March to kick off our 2010 assault."
    On the engine side, the AJ-133 has had ample time for additional dynamometer development. The ongoing process is important in competition and leads to improving the engine's on-track integration. In an on-track environment, judgments can be made about the tuning and drivability of the engine that can't be observed in the race shop.

    Tire partner Yokohama also will play a key role in the Sebring test as RSR will transfer information about the requirements of Yokohama’s tires in both sprint and endurance configurations. Each day of testing yields not only information about the current status in the development of the tire performance, but it also gives engineers from both RSR and Yokohama new data for the best utilization of Yokohama's current compounds and constructions.

    In the midst of all the preparation and testing behind the scenes, the No. 33 RSR Jaguar XKR GT will have some face time while on display at the LA Auto Show on December 4-12 at the Yokohama display.

    “When you are in the race season, it is more about what is going to improve the performance at the next race,” Gentilozzi commented. “The offseason is about what is going to improve everything about our operation. It is not just about the car; now is the time that you work on the pit equipment and all those other tasks that you wouldn’t normally work on during the race season. The offseason is just as busy as the regular season, however the intensity changes. It requires a different kind of focus and a little more patience. There is no immediate reward for your work in the offseason; you are not going to go to a race and win. You are going to go to a test and improve drivability or take a couple tenths of a second off your average lap time. The work that gets done now pays dividends throughout the entire season.”

    All of these RSR activities will ultimately lead up to the start of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season with the annual Winter Test scheduled for February 22-23 at Sebring. The season officially begins a month later with the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. No race in the world punishes man and machine more than the annual 12-hour classic which attracts thousands and thousands of spectators each year.