American Le Mans Series
Patrón Highcroft Racing complete ‘Wheels Down’ test
© American Le Mans Series
Patrón Highcroft Racing’s 2009 American Le Mans Series preparations continued at the historic Sebring International Raceway today as Scott Sharp, David Brabham and Dario Franchitti completed the final day of action at the ‘Wheels Down’ winter test.
The trio recorded a total of 69 laps of the 17 turn, 3.7 mile Florida circuit with the new LMP1 class Acura ARX-02a – recording the second fastest time of the day.
David Brabham was behind the wheel in the morning session when the #9 Patrón Highcroft car recorded a time of 1 minute, 46.157 seconds.
Sebring International Raceway will host the opening race of the 2009 championship on March 21 – 48 days away.
This year’s event will be the 57th running of the famous 12-hour classic at the Sebring circuit which began its life as a United States Army Air Forces training base in 1941.
The new Acura ARX-02a had its public debut at this week’s American Le Mans Series test. Patrón Highcroft Racing has graduated to the LMP1 class in 2009 with Acura after recording four LMP2 victories last season including an overall win at Lime Rock Park.
Scott Sharp: “It was another good day for the Patrón Highcroft team. We were able to run a bunch of laps and I did a long run which is always good to accomplish. “I was able to get a really good feel for the direction of both the car and the tires. “We continued to learn more about the car and work on different issues. “We still have one more day in Sebring where we will get to run on the short course tomorrow and we should be able to pile on a lot more miles. “The team will then come back in a few weeks time to do some endurance running. The gap between this test and the next will allow the team to affect a few different areas and hopefully we will be able to cure a couple of the gremlins we have had before returning to Sebring.”
David Brabham: “We are making good progress and we are getting to understand the car a lot more as we run. “The Acura ARX-02a is getting more and more reliable and we are learning so much about the car which is ideal, because we haven’t got much time before the Sebring race. We only have one more test to go, but this week has been very good. “We have jumped into a new car which is very different in concept and we are at the very beginning of the learning process. It doesn’t respond the same way the old car does and it certainly has its strengths and its weaknesses but we have to keep working on being as competitive as we can before the first race.”
Dario Franchitti: “I doubled the amount of laps I had done in the car today which is always a good thing. I am getting the hang of it and getting my seat sorted out which is a big thing for a 12 hour race to ensure all the drivers are comfortable. “We are starting to understand and know where we need to improve the package. It is also becoming more reliable. “There is always a certain amount of compromise in sharing a car with two other drivers in a race like Sebring – for starters, both David and Scott left foot brake, and I right foot brake. “I am really particular about my seat and cockpit padding. Making sure everyone is secure and comfortable in the car is really important.”
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“or starters, both David and Scott left foot brake, and I right foot brake.”
Now that’s odd :O
Maybe that’s a common thing. I don’t think there is a clutch. That would be tricky to brake with the left and use the clutch.
I meant right foot braking is odd… or at least very rare. LMPs do not have clutch pedals (instead paddle of button on the steering wheel, mostly for getting out of pits and so on).
Did IndyCars have clutches (when they still had stick shifters) still in 2000s? Odd, that Franchitti has not adapted left foot braking.
A dose of Nascar took him back to the stone age of car racing.
The Dallara Honda in the IndyCar Series got paddle shifters recently.
more on HPD and Wirth Research:
http://www.gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/theway/2009/the_way_it_is_no169.html
Honda has a hand in Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti running with the De Ferran and Patron team. They’re calling the shots. I remember when Tony Kanaan was Indy Champion they requested that he races in Super GT race in Japan (I think it was Super GT).
They pulled out of F1 simply to focus on LeMans. Not a bad change of course.
Aside from the guaranteed 1-2 finish (save for the occasional P2 spoil) they will also have the premier sports car series in the world cornered, not to mention the biggest car market.
“They pulled out of F1 simply to focus on LeMans. Not a bad change of course.”
incorrect.
Dude, this is how it goes: you wanna bash others’ opinions you need to be able to offer better wisdom. I don’t see any explanation from you.
Care to give a better reason other than they wanted to save cash during this economic downturn or that they were backmarkers?
Honda is the second biggest manufacturer in F1 after Toyota so they can very well afford to stay in F1 rain or shine.
By the way in F1 they’re the only team without sponsorship on their cars. They use their own money.
Now that Honda pulled out of F1, they can save ALOT of money. I guess they can give more effort to there LMS, SuperGT, IndyCar, MotoGP and MotoCross teams. And whatever type of racing there in.
“Dude, this is how it goes: you wanna bash others’ opinions you need to be able to offer better wisdom. I don’t see any explanation from you.”
Well, sorry…
“Care to give a better reason other than they wanted to save cash during this economic downturn or that they were backmarkers?”
How is this cash saving same as “simply focusing on Le Mans” like you said? You might as well as say then they quit F1 to simply focus on IRL or MotoGP…
Especially when Acura DO NOT have a plan to race at Le Mans. Like Honda Performance Development’s Erik Berkman puts it, they do have “a dream” or “aspiration” to race at Le Mans some day. (I hope that’s 2010!) The fact that there is no Acura brand in European car market obviously doesn’t help though.
The cars can simply be rebranded as Hondas for LeMans, that’s not a hurdle.
In IRL they don’t battle other makes. And MotoGP is only for 2 wheelers.
As far as their best marketing tool for their vehicles in the U.S, it’s the ALMS, because that’s where they prove their superiority against other makes, at a cutting edge level.
Without F1, the ALMS becomes their most technologically advanced racing program.
I don’t think that (rebranding) is going to happen. Might cause certain kind of PR credibility problems. If you see Highcroft or De Ferran at Le Mans in 2010, it’s still going to be Acura.
I still don’t see good enough reasoning for your original claim: “they pulled out of F1 simply to focus on Le Mans”.
Even if you meant to include ALMS, the whole program only requires very small portion of their F1 budget, especially since Acura has taken this “works supported private teams” approach instead of running in-house factory team. I just don’t see why would they NEED to quit F1 to be able to concentrate on LMP program. It just doesn’t add up.
Toyota quit LeMans to go to F1, why can’t Honda reverse the Formula???
Timo Glock actually still drives the Toyota GT-One LeMans car at exhibition events.
Toyota might have had F1 in its sights already when the GT-One program was started. And they also quit rallying before going F1. Also Toyota Team Europe that did WRC and Le Mans programs became Toyota F1 Racing.
Explain me why Honda would have NEEDED to quit F1 to be able to do LMP program? Espcially with the approach Acura has taken with semi-factory teams, it only costs a fraction of their early F1 budget. And I don’t see that 300-whatever million dollars suddenly going to HPD’s bank account.
Honda pulled the plug because of lackluster results and bad economy. End of story, imho.
Anyone cares to guess what kind of engine is in the Acura?
They’ve kept it a very close secret so the Diesels wouldn’t know the thrust they might be packing.
It could be anything from a 6 liter V12 to a 4 liter turbo charged V8. But those are the old P1 regulations and are to be phased out in 2011. But for maximum power to beat the diesels they have to go that route for now…till 2011.
The judd 5 and 5.5 liter V10’s are light and compact and give good power. But it doesn’t seem like there’s anything light about those acuras. They are brutes. Check out those front tires.
I would say they have 6 liter V12 engines.
That would be the best way to match those diesels. If that’s true that might be Honda’s first north american built V12.
Let me know what you all come up with as far as engine choice. Unless anyone here has inside scoop.
As stated in press releases and seen in photos, it’s a NA V8. Its basically the LMP2 rebored to 4 Liters.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090126/FREE/901269971