Risi Competizione Watkins Glen Pre-Race Preview

Houston, Texas - (June 19, 2015)...Rick Mayer, race engineer of the Risi Competizione No. 62 Ferrari 458 Italia team, gives his run down and preview of Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, Round 5 of the TUDOR United SportsCar Series, June 26 - 28, 2015.

Piloting the Risi Competizione Ferrari in GTLM class are drivers, Pierre Kaffer (Germany) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy).General: Watkins Glen is a 3.4 mile permanent road course. 'The Glen' is a classic American track with decades of racing history. It is one of the few natural terrain road courses we race on. We run the long course, which includes the 'Boot' and the 'Inner Loop'. The track has some long medium to medium-high speed corners with a long uphill section (the Esses) from Turn 1 to the 'Inner Loop' reaching a top speed of 260 kph/160 mph, one of the faster permanent road courses we race.Competition: The BMWs were fast here last year and their BoP (Balance of Performance) has only got better since. They have a larger air restrictor since last year and they will be really fast here. The BMWs had pole in 2014, however had bad luck in the race. The Porsche's still enjoy the best BoP with the most aero (downforce) and the power to pull it. They should be quick but have been inconsistent this season. The Ferrari and Corvette have the least downforce in the field. The Ferrari F458 has had straight speed in the past but the air restrictor reduction starting at Laguna has reduced any previous advantage. The Ferrari's update aero kit (from Laguna) should help its pace here. The #3 Corvette won here last year and had a very quick race pace. It's hard to count anyone out of this race.The Track: It is bumpy in areas due to the varied weather of the four-season climate in Upstate New York. The track has a flowing nature to it with the exception of the 'Inner Loop'. There are many concrete apex sections, in the mainly asphalt track. These two surfaces grip differently, this combined with the many elevation changes and varying camber in some corners makes the track difficult to master for the drivers. The fastest way around the track is not always obvious. The track grip, and ideal racing line, will change or evolve throughout the event increasing the challenge for the drivers. The track is hard on tires until it gains some rubber. There is not much runoff in the majority of the corners, so if you go off-track there is a high probability of damaging the car. The Finger Lakes Region of New York gets an above average amount of rain in the summer, so a wet session or rain during the race is a common occurrence. Setup: Watkins Glen has few low speed corners where you would favor biasing the setup toward low speed grip or traction. The majority of the corners are long and moderately fast. Understeer tends to be the limitation in the long carousel corner (Turn 5). There is time to be gained (or lost) in the 'Inner Loop'; the car needs to be good on the curbs and have good change of direction capability. You need a car that turns but also has good braking stability as you tend to carry a lot of brake into the corners (trail brake). A moderately stiff setup is preferred here but you also need to curb well for the 'Inner Loop'. You need to match downforce and drag to your peers, for top speed parity, to not lose position up the 'Esses' into braking for the 'Inner Loop' or down the front straight into Turn 1, both of which are prime passing areas. The Race: The track will be busy in practice and the race and a high car count is expected. There is a large Pro-Am content for this race and with very little runoff area we can expect several safety cars in the race. The large field will create passing opportunities with traffic but adds higher risk. Staying out of trouble will be a larger challenge than previous races. The six-hour length changes the complexion and strategy slightly, but all the races now, regardless of length, are all sprint races. You will need quick pit work to keep up front, but that has been the case all season and luckily in our favor. The safety car wave-by rules will keep the interclass battles fueled to the end. The race will likely come down to the final stint of the race in all classes.The track layout suits the GTLM Ferrari 458, however the current balance of performance rules slightly favor our competitors. We are anticipating a strong, competitive race. Let's just hope we can continue our run with another good result.