Jim Lowe has successful January test at Daytona with StarWorks DP team
- January 12th, 2011
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Roar Before the 24 — Day One
Starting off the “Roar before the 24,” Grand Am’s official three day test leading up to the season-opening Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona (January 29-30, 2011), Jim Lowe summarizes his thoughts about his new teammates, the StarWorks Motorsports team, and especially the driving experience in the #8 Ford Riley Daytona Prototype.
“We just completed the first day of practice here at Daytona International Speedway at the Roar Before the 24, and my first day with the new team was, in a word, awesome. The car was fast right off the truck, and co-drivers Ryan Dalziel and Mike Forest ran some of the session’s fastest laps. I’m proud to say that we finished the first day P2 in practice.”
As far as his own initial experience in the DP, Lowe had this to say: “I feel like I made great progress and got more comfortable with the car. The No 8 Ford Riley Prototype is real easy to drive and, during each of my stints, I felt like I was driving it, instead of it driving me. It’s nice to be going around the GT cars for a change.”
Lowe is also getting his first quality time in with the StarWorks crew and team: “Working with Peter Baron and the StarWorks team has been an enjoyable experience so far. This is a real laid back crew and everyone is melding together nicely. Tonight Ryan and I will go over the data from today and find those spots where I can pick up time and then get more comfortable with the longer stints. Tomorrow will include night practice, which everyone is looking forward to. This weekend is all about seat time and really getting comfortable with the car and the added speed over the GT cars. I am really confident and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Roar Before the 24 — Day Two
With the help of his teammates and engineer Bill Riley, Lowe made good progress with his laptimes on Day two of the test: “After reviewing the data from day one, we found lots of room for improvement. When you compare it to the fastest guy on the property, Ryan Dalziel, it’s clear to see where I am braking too early or lifting. Most of my time is lost in T1 and the Bus Stop, like anyone else who is off the pace a bit. However, it is reassuring to see the areas on track where Ryan went flat through the kink and you say, “I can do that” and then give yourself permission to go deeper and faster in the places where you want to be better.”
“Probably the best part was actually seeing results on the timing sheet, as I shed over one second off my previous time to 44.5, whereas yesterday my times were 46’s and 47’s. The car is really easy to drive and it is just so perfectly balanced, and the braking is simply outstanding. You are not arm wrestling the car; it behaves well everywhere on track.”
After completing the evening test session, Lowe observed, “I am so excited to be back here at Daytona for night practice. My favorite thing to do is drive at night, especially at Daytona when I have not been here for a year. It looks a bit different, it smells a bit different. It’s been going great and all the guys are scrambling for better times. We’ve been running P1/P2 all day. I am really pleased with this weekend’s test days so far, and look forward to a strong result in the Rolex 24 Hours with the StarWorks Motorsports Team.”
Roar Before the 24 — Day Three
The final practice sessions on day 3 left Jim Lowe feeling confident and ready to come back to race at the end of January for the 49th running of the Grand-Am Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. “My sessions really helped me establish a good personal race pace; I know where I need to go, and how to get there. The No 8 StarWorks Motorsport Ford Riley is set up so well and ran near flawless with the exception of a 5 minute suspension part change on Saturday night. It was exciting to see the car run up front all weekend. To top it all off, Ryan Dalziel established an unofficial track speed record today of 1.39.780, with the fastest time of the whole weekend. What else could you want?”
Lowe also noted his simple enjoyment to be back on track in the DP: “Managing time in traffic was easier today with the slower GT cars, as everyone is getting used to the track and settling into a solid rhythm. Driving the Porsche GT3 here at Daytona is a huge challenge and has its own set of thrills, but being in the Prototype was even nicer. Each time I passed that Mazda I thought “Woo hoo!” It’s not that difficult being faster in the Ford Riley DP, but it is just so much fun!”
Jim Lowe will be returning to Daytona International Speedway the weekend of January 29-30, 2011 for the 49th running of the Grand-Am Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, driving in the No 8 StarWorks Motorsport Ford Riley Daytona Prototype along with co-drivers Ryan Dalziel, Mike Forest, Tomas Enge and Colin Braun. Be sure to tune into SpeedTV to cheer Jim and his teammates on during their run to the podium!