Alex Job Racing Heads to Lime Rock on a Quest
Alex Job Racing
(AJR) is
heading to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut for the American Le Mans
Series (ALMS) presented by Tequila Patron Northeast Grand Prix. A
recent shake-up within the team has Job running just one car, the No.
23 Battery Tender/Tequila Patron/Alex Job Racing/Porsche 911 GT3 in GTC
and on a quest for the championship.Bill Sweedler and Romeo Kapudija will be looking to get their finishing performance back with their No. 23 Battery Tender/Tequila Patron/Alex Job Racing/Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry. The duo started the season with a strong second place at Sebring and followed that up with a near win at Long Beach, finishing second. Sweedler and Kapudija are currently third in the GTC point standings.
Lime Rock, known for being a tight track, just 1.5-mile and seven turns, two of those left hander's, will see the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars lapping in the 60-second range. This also means that the cars in the faster classes will be an increasing factor in the race.
"Lime Rock is the closest track to where I live," Sweedler said. "I have driven at Lime Rock over the past 20 years and have always enjoyed it. The funny thing is I never realized how small Lime Rock was until I started driving other tracks throughout the country. While it is not the first track I drove on originally, I consider it my home track and the one I absolutely can't wait to drive. Surprisingly I love the new configuration, but definitely have an affinity for the original track.
The Downhill and Big Bend are still the same with all their quirky nuisances, especially the Downhill with its big compression at the apex, it always puts a big smile on my face.
The 2009 Porsche GTC race was unbelievable. My teammate, Ed Brown, and I came in second place. The traffic and speed differentials are significantly more than any other track we race. The prototypes are flat out on the throttle in Big Bend when we are hard on the brakes. It makes for 50 plus mile an hour speed differences and adrenaline pumping traffic. This lasts the whole race - there is no time to relax at Lime Rock in the ALMS.
Sweedler on the 81 and 80 cars no longer running with AJR.
"I'm
sorry to lose the 80 and
81 cars as teammates. I enjoyed their camaraderie and friendship
while they were on the AJR team. I feel so fortunate to now have
one of the best teams in the ALMS focusing on the Battery
Tender/Tequila Patron No. 23 car going forward. Alex and the whole team have done a spectacular job this year in prepping the cars. Romeo and I will be extra focused and motivated going forward to do our part and try to avoid any on track mistakes. We look forward to making AJR proud for the rest of the season."
This weekend will be Romeo Kapudija's first visit to Lime Rock.
"I actually have never been to Lime Rock," Kapudija said. "I have been watching a lot of onboard videos and I am sure I will be up to speed quickly. It seems to have a fast pace where you need to get into a smooth rhythm. Lime Rock is Bill's (Sweedler) home track and I am sure we will be very consistent and quick in the race.
I look forward to the challenge of the quick pace and the high speeds at Lime Rock. I am sure that traffic will play a major role during the race and we will have to be careful not to get tangled with any faster cars. Unfortunately, we already have had two races where we have been hit from behind and our attention will be focused on a fast and incident free race."
Kapudija on the 81 and 80 cars no longer running in the series.
"The Alex Job Racing guys are the best in the business and they have given us a great car every weekend thus far. I don't think that the two others cars dropping out will change much from the team side, as they guys have always been attentive and focused on having all the team cars be as fast as possible. Having less data will be a factor. However, Greg Fordhal is one of the best engineers in the business and has so much experience with Porsche's that we will quickly be on pace at every race. There is no substitute for experience. AJR is the most professional group of guys that I have ever raced with and Alex is the most dedicated team owner I have ever driven for in my entire career. It's sad to see the other cars leave, but I am sure it will be business as usual at the track with AJR boys. Bill and I as drivers will increase our focus to keep the No. 23 car in the points hunt and I am sure we will be on top once again! "
Alex Job, team owner, has spent the week reshuffling his troops and is ready to soldier on with the 23 entry.
"Losing the 81 and the 80 car was a blow to our team and the series," Job said. "Bill and Romeo are a strong pair of drivers and we have become a one car team. We are in the hunt for the championship and will put every effort behind winning the remaining races. We have the capacity to field another entry. That may be in our future. The same effort put into going one-two-three at the Sebring 12 Hour and going one-three at Long Beach, as well as being on the podium at Miller and Laguna will go into having a successful rest of the season with the No. 23."
Round five of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron will be run at Lime Rock Park on July 24. The race will be televised live on the SPEED Channel starting at 2:00 p.m. ET.
