Sebring: Orbit Racing halfway notes

pacing

Orbit Racing is maintaining a solid pace in the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, with half of the 12-hour race completed. Joe Policastro started the No. 42 Classic Industries Porsche from sixth on the GT grid. He pitted just past the one-hour mark and son Jay Policastro took over, followed by Mike Fitzgerald at 2h30. They repeated the rotation at 3h50, 4h45 and 6h10. After losing positions early in the race, the trio moved back up to hold a top-10 class position for most of the first six hours.

Jay Policastro
"The track is a little bit dirty, with all the cars going off and back on, so you have to be pretty careful. For the most part, the prototypes are being real good, we can see them coming. The heat's not too bad and the car is running great! We're just trying to be conservative and sneak up on the field."

Joe Policastro
"The first half was very challenging, with all the traffic. Probably the hardest part of the day, though, is the heat - we're battling the elements as well as the track. We're trying to keep a good steady pace to make the finish."

perspective

Mike Fitzgerald, who has 29 professional victories on his resume, explained why a racing win means so much to him:

"In baseball, you have two teams and one of them is going to win. It's pretty simple. In racing, you have 40 teams and 20 crew members on each one, plus so many variables - cars, equipment, drivers, the track, weather and all the little things that can affect your performance. So many things have to go right for a team to win. When it all comes together and you win, it's awesome!"

welcome

Orbit Racing extends a special welcome to the Sabatello Brothers and their friends, who are guests of the team this weekend.

-or/sp-