Grand-Am
VIR: Brumos Racing preview
Brumos Ready for Their Return to Racing at VIR Jacksonville, FL: When a race team traces their competitive history in terms of decades rather than years, it is inevitable that many tracks they visit during the course of a season hold a ...
Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:51 PM
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Brumos Ready for Their Return to Racing at VIR
Jacksonville, FL: When a race team traces their competitive history in terms of decades rather than years, it is inevitable that many tracks they visit during the course of a season hold a long list of memories, and no team in Grand-Am's Rolex Series can claim the tenure and legacy of Brumos Racing. Fresh from their emotional season-opener victory at The Rolex 24 in Daytona, those memories are foremost in everyone's mind, but despite the level of attention that 2009's historic 1,3 Daytona finish has drawn, the Brumos team will also be quietly mindful of some more distant memories as they travel to Virginia International Raceway's scenic road course.
Brumos' success at VIR dates back to 1971, when the renowned Haywood/Gregg duo scored the first of back-to-back IMSA GT Championships at that track wearing the famous Porsche tangerine livery. In a unique tribute, the late Bob Snodgrass instituted a tradition in which his Brumos cars carried a flash of their tangerine heritage whenever they raced at VIR. That tradition will be upheld again this year, not only to salute their past victories, but now also in remembrance of Snodgrass himself, as the team marks the second anniversary of their leader's unexpected death on April 24th.
While Brumos has enjoyed celebrating their Rolex 24 success, they have also been working hard to adapt to the post-Daytona Grand-Am rule change affecting Porsche 6 cylinder engine specifications. This weekend's race will see Porsche DPs competing for the first time with a five-speed transmission rather than six, along with reduced RPM. Both Brumos cars took advantage of last month's test days at Homestead to work on adapting to the new specifications and fine-tuning set-up of the cars. The team's level of determination remains high, as they plan to carry their momentum from 2008 and the Rolex 24 win throughout the rest of their 2009 season.
Darren Law, #58 driver, reflected on the return to action, saying "Brumos has done well at VIR often in the past, and we have been hard at work since Daytona getting ready for this race, so we will hope to see a repeat of our past successes there. We are in a good position in points and it is still very early in the season, so we feel confident. Mostly, I think we are all just really looking forward to getting back to racing again." Brumos #59 driver Joao Barbosa agreed with his teammate, saying, "I am certainly ready for what seems to me to be the real start of the season, and can't wait to get back in the car again. VIR is a technical track that I enjoy driving a lot. Last year we had some bad luck there, but I believe we can keep the momentum from 2008 and our podium finish at Daytona going strong this year. We know the competition is going to be tougher than ever and the rule changes will be an added challenge, but I believe in Brumos Racing and all of the hard work everyone has put in. We will do our best and see how it all turns out, but we definitely plan to be back on the podium again."
The second round of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series will take place on Saturday, April 25th, with the green flag set to drop at 2:30 PM ET. The race is set for 250 miles (or 2 ¾ hours) with live coverage on SPEED TV scheduled from 2:30 5:30 PM ET.
-credit: br
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