Wednesday, April 27, 2016 – Fresno, CA – After a short week and a half break from the Long Beach Grand Prix, the PR1 Motorsports team is ready to get back on track at the closest circuit to their home facility on the Weathertech Sportscar Championship schedule, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
The team had a bit of work to do on the car after being hit from both sides on a restart at the Long Beach Grand Prix, but because the track surfaces at Laguna Seca are less grippy than most of the tracks on the schedule, much of the car set up from Long Beach can be carried over for this weekend’s events.
“It’s actually very nice that we went to Long Beach before going to Laguna Seca, because Laguna is another very low grip track. The Long Beach circuit is probably the track with the least grip that we will see all year, but Laguna is definitely the second lowest grip track,” explained driver Tom Kimber-Smith.
“There probably won’t be a lot that we have to change on the car set up going into Laguna. Last year was a disappointing result for us there as we had a mechanical failure, but we’ve had a great car this year and been really quick, so hopefully we’ll have some redemption there this year.
“It’s always nice to be back at Monterey. It’s probably one of the best tracks we go to, so it’s always a pleasure to be able to race there and enjoy the surrounding area. Robert (Alon) can hopefully keep doing what he’s been doing. He’s super quick, and I think he’s probably the quickest Silver out there, so as long as he continues to do what he does, and I can hopefully do what I do, we should have a good result at the end of the weekend.”
For Kimber-Smith’s co driver Robert Alon, this will mark his first trip to Laguna Seca in a PC car. Although he has raced F2000s at the famous California circuit, he’s looking forward to his first laps there in the #52 PC car.
“I’m definitely excited to go to Laguna. It’s going to be a lot different than the last time I was there in the F2000 car with the added down force, but I’m really looking forward to turning my first laps there later this week with the PR1 car,” said Alon.
Sunday’s race will be a split class race with the GTLM and P cars racing together and the PC and GTD cars racing together in a separate event. With the split class, the PC cars will be the fastest of the two classes for their race.
“I think the split race will be a nice change up for us. It’s always fun to be out there with all four classes of cars, but I think it’s going to be really cool for us to be the fastest cars on the track for this race,” explained Alon.
“Traffic will definitely come in to play as there are 17 GTD cars that will also be out there with the seven PC cars, but I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge that awaits this weekend and know PR1 is going to give Tom and I a great car, and we can hopefully make a trip back to the podium on Sunday.”
The Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix kicks off on Friday, April 29 and continues through the weekend, concluding with the PC/GTD race at 3:45 PM PST on Sunday, May 1. You can watch the race LIVE and in it’s entirety on Fox Sports 2 within the USA and on imsa.tv for international audiences!
About PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
In paddocks packed with excellent teams and quality drivers, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports has established itself as one of motorsport’s premier organizations. The operation is based in Fresno, CA where PR1/Mathiasen occupies a 5000 square foot facility that houses a stable of F2000 Zetec, F1600, GRAND-AM, and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship racecars, plus a full-time crew of technicians and engineers. Since 1990, PR1/Mathiasen has won over 45 championships in a wide assortment of world-class series before joining the American Le Mans Series full-time in 2010. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ latest championship win was the 2015 Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup Championship with drivers Tom Kimber-Smith, Michael Gausch and Andrew Palmer. The team’s alumni and active driver roster includes an impressive list of accomplished drivers including IndyCar stars J.R. Hildebrand and Charlie Kimball, sports car legends Luiz Diaz, Butch Leitzinger, and Marino Franchitti, and rising stars Dane Cameron, Jonathan Bomarito, and Ryan Lewis.
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