Wednesday, January 11, 2017 – Fresno, CA – After three days of testing at the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona International Speedway, the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports team looking forward to making the final preparations to the #52 machine looking ahead to the Rolex 24. The Roar before the 24 marks the first test for the team with their new Cosworth powered Ligier JS P217. Although they have completed several hours of testing with the Ligier development car at Sebring International Raceway, this was the first outing for the brand new #52 team car.

“We just finished up the third day at the Roar, and it’s been really productive so far. Our main goal for this test was to get all of the bugs out of the car and get a baseline set up for the car,” stated driver Mike Gausch.

“We have a really great car, but we’ve just been working through a few electrical issues and some small mechanical issues, but we’ve made a ton of progress with each day. We’re not exactly where we need to be yet, but I have no doubt by the time the race day rolls around we’ll be ready to go.”

“The Roar has been going really well for our team,” said full season driver José Gutierrez.

“We’ve been going through a lot of different items, but today we’ve been working on the aerodynamics and trying out medium down force and low down force configurations, so we’re making improvements. We’ve had to manage a few mechanical issues, but the PR1 team has been doing a great job with the car, and I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel in two weeks for the race.”

PR1 veteran and two-time Le Mans LMP2 class winner Tom Kimber-Smith did not turn many laps in the car over the weekend which allowed his co-drivers to get more familiar with the new P2 machine. However, Verizon IndyCar driver RC Enerson, drove his first laps in the Ligier and was pleased with the car’s performance.

“Driving this car is definitely different than what I’m accustomed to. I come from all open wheel racing, so the biggest thing for me to get used to is the vision,” explained Enerson.

“You really can’t see a lot out of these cars, or at least when compared to what I normally drive, so it definitely takes some getting used to. Overall, we’re definitely moving forward with the car, and I’m picking up some pace. We’re still trying to figure out a few more things, but I think we’re going to be in a good position when we’re back here in two weeks.”

PR1/Mathiason Motorsports returns to the track in two weeks for the 55th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. On track action begins on January 26 with the race starting at 2:30 PM EST on Saturday, January 28. Be sure to tune in the Fox at 2:00 PM EST for pre race coverage and the start of the race! And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for all of the team and driver updates throughout the weekend and for all of the updated tune in times!