Mazda, B-K Banking on Reliability for PLM
09-20-2006, 02:55 PM
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Mazda, B-K Banking on Reliability for PLM
MAZDA, B-K BANKING ON RELIABILITY FOR PETIT RETURN
Braselton, Ga. - The high-pitched wail that personifies rotary power is set to return to the 2006 American Le Mans Series . and beyond. B-K Motorsports is preparing for its first Series race - Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda CX-7 - since a heavy crash at Lime Rock Park in July sidelined the team for the past four rounds.
The Mazda-powered Courage C65 is ready to go for one of the most difficult challenges in the American Le Mans Series: 1,000 miles at Road Atlanta. But armed with a freshly rebuilt car, a redesigned cooling system, engines supplied by SpeedSource Engineering and a recent shakedown, drivers and team members are optimistic for an excellent showing in LMP2 at the Series' cornerstone event.
"We don't have the speed of the Penske Porsches and Intersport," said team manager Marcus Haselgrove. "What we do have is the strength, reliability and talent within the team to keep the car running in the longer races. We have a better chance here than at the sprint events."
It helps that the team has plenty of data to go on from Road Atlanta for its re-entry into Series competition. Last year the team and car made their debuts at the Grand Prix of Atlanta, finishing second in class. The result was the same at Petit Le Mans, where the characteristic reliability of the rotary engine lived up to its billing.
"Being able to go back to a track where we have a lot history is a big deal," said Guy Cosmo, who will team with Jamie Bach. "We have an established baseline there. Plus it's one of the best road-racing tracks in the world. We love driving around the place. It makes it great to show back up and have it at a place where we had our first introduction."
Both Cosmo and Bach spent considerable time in the car during Thursday's shakedown at Road America. Getting drivers back behind the wheel was one of the goals, as were validating all components and making sure the new cooling system functioned correctly, Haselgrove said. "We also practiced driver changes and general pit stops with the crew," he added.
One of the issues in the early part of the season dealt with engine overheating. But that was remedied thanks to crew chief Andrew Armistead and Van Dyne Engineering, a specialist water pump manufacturer that designs a variety of open-wheel systems.
"It's a little relief knowing we have that reliability as long as we run consistently and run trouble-free," Cosmo said. "We don't have any concern that we'll have any engine or cooling issues. It's one less thing to worry about."
Braselton, Ga. - The high-pitched wail that personifies rotary power is set to return to the 2006 American Le Mans Series . and beyond. B-K Motorsports is preparing for its first Series race - Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda CX-7 - since a heavy crash at Lime Rock Park in July sidelined the team for the past four rounds.
The Mazda-powered Courage C65 is ready to go for one of the most difficult challenges in the American Le Mans Series: 1,000 miles at Road Atlanta. But armed with a freshly rebuilt car, a redesigned cooling system, engines supplied by SpeedSource Engineering and a recent shakedown, drivers and team members are optimistic for an excellent showing in LMP2 at the Series' cornerstone event.
"We don't have the speed of the Penske Porsches and Intersport," said team manager Marcus Haselgrove. "What we do have is the strength, reliability and talent within the team to keep the car running in the longer races. We have a better chance here than at the sprint events."
It helps that the team has plenty of data to go on from Road Atlanta for its re-entry into Series competition. Last year the team and car made their debuts at the Grand Prix of Atlanta, finishing second in class. The result was the same at Petit Le Mans, where the characteristic reliability of the rotary engine lived up to its billing.
"Being able to go back to a track where we have a lot history is a big deal," said Guy Cosmo, who will team with Jamie Bach. "We have an established baseline there. Plus it's one of the best road-racing tracks in the world. We love driving around the place. It makes it great to show back up and have it at a place where we had our first introduction."
Both Cosmo and Bach spent considerable time in the car during Thursday's shakedown at Road America. Getting drivers back behind the wheel was one of the goals, as were validating all components and making sure the new cooling system functioned correctly, Haselgrove said. "We also practiced driver changes and general pit stops with the crew," he added.
One of the issues in the early part of the season dealt with engine overheating. But that was remedied thanks to crew chief Andrew Armistead and Van Dyne Engineering, a specialist water pump manufacturer that designs a variety of open-wheel systems.
"It's a little relief knowing we have that reliability as long as we run consistently and run trouble-free," Cosmo said. "We don't have any concern that we'll have any engine or cooling issues. It's one less thing to worry about."
