Corvette DP car at Rolex 24 practice 1/26
#3
Le Mans Master
Looking good: http://andyseipos.com/p133018450/h2b539ac9#h2b539ac9
#4
Cheering was heard in my living room when the Suntrust Corvette bodied Dallara tossed in the towel!! (even with friends on the team)
#6
Racer
Thread Starter
This car's 5th place was not too shabby for a first time out, IMO: http://andyseipos.com/p164652565/h2c5dc771#h2c5dc771
#7
Race Director
Car:
No. 10 SunTrust Racing Corvette Dallara DP
Engine:
Earnhardt-Childress Racing-built 5.0-litre (305-cubic-inch) Chevrolet V-8
Horsepower:
500 hp at 7,000 rpm
No. 10 SunTrust Racing Corvette Dallara DP
Engine:
Earnhardt-Childress Racing-built 5.0-litre (305-cubic-inch) Chevrolet V-8
Horsepower:
500 hp at 7,000 rpm
And according to the team owner:
"We've never had an engine problem in all the time we've run the Chevrolet engine program, so this is the first time," team owner Wayne Taylor said. "There was truly nothing we were worried about. In fact, this is probably the one 24 Hour I think we all felt the only thing we were worried about was traffic, and we didn't have any issues. Really caught us by surprise."
The engines are made by NASCAR's Earnhardt Childress Racing organization. Taylor said the problem was in the valve train, and was "catastrophic."
I think Earnhardt-Childress Racing knows how to build an engine.The engines are made by NASCAR's Earnhardt Childress Racing organization. Taylor said the problem was in the valve train, and was "catastrophic."
The car qualified 2nd, so it was very fast and had a lot of potential.
So....I'm not sure how you figure it was "poorly prepared". Unfortunately, parts break.
Bob
#10
Actually, I'm working there again, since Red Bull closed up. There is a bit of rivalry between Riley Tech, and the Suntrust team, since they switched to Dallara.
#11
Race Director
Butt....sometimes competition is a good thing - it can lead to doing things better to beat the other guy.
OTOH, I suspect the Grand-Am specs are so limited that's it hard to do much without getting it approved by them.
They want things so evenly balanced out that nobody can get much of an advantage through better ideas and innovation.
Anyway, I LOVE the Riley "Track Day Car" concept, but it's still waaaay too expensive for the average track hound to field for a few track events per year.
Can you get Riley to do some of those "Corvette Features" on the bodywork of the Track Day Car???
After all, there's a lot of Corvette in the car with the base engine configuration!
Bob
Riley Mark XXII "Track Day Car" - a 2 seat DP car!!!! CL
Last edited by BEZ06; 02-01-2012 at 01:44 PM.