We’re not going to be previewing all of the GA races here – although to be fair, we did post a short one before Long Beach, with the entry list. But Virginia
International Raceway, over the full two and three quarter hours,
is a proper event, in ways that Long Beach wasn’t –
and there have been some developments since Long Beach anyway.
The format is considerably different from the Rolex Series norm: for the first time, the Rolex Series will use a qualifying race to determine the starting positions in the 250-mile, 77-lap main event on Sunday afternoon. The qualifying race will be held on Saturday afternoon at 1:15 pm ET and will be 50 miles in length. Starting positions for the qualifying race will be determined by practice speeds during a designated practice session. Finishing positions in the qualifying race will determine the starting grid for the VIR 400. Either driver listed on the entry form may start the qualifying event; however, the driver of the qualifying race cannot start their car the next day in the main event. Driver, team, and manufacturer championship points will be awarded for both the qualifying and main events races… using the same scale as for every other race (35, 32 etc.). A rotten weekend in Virginia could destroy someone’s championship challenge.. as it could at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Phoenix International Raceway, Mid-Ohio and Barber Motorsports Park, where qualifying races are also planned. Why is a 30 minute race considered to be as important as a 165 minute event, in points terms? And the final newsy item is that, as Alex Job was hoping, he has secured a significant sponsor, for the #23 AJR / Emory Crawford Porsche. Alex Job Racing and Ruby Tuesday have joined forces to form the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team. The team will compete in the remainder of the 2006 and full 2007 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. They sell burgers…. but their "passionate employees take pride in delighting guests with an excellent dining experience". “Ruby Tuesday's effort, led by its strategic partner Brad Blum, CEO of BLUM Enterprises, has provided us with a comprehensive program that puts our team in an excellent position to compete for this year's Daytona Prototype championship as well as carry us over to 2007,” explains Alex Job. Virginia should provide a better guide to Porsche-powered form than did Long Beach. VIR – a great race track, a fast race track, a beautiful race track, and perhaps in places a scary race track too. The run-off areas are huge (and grassy).
"For the
last three years I have been driving all over the world on tracks
I had not seen before, so this is no different to any other race
for me," commented SAMAX's Rob Bell (fresh from a first experience
of Istanbul – in an LNT Panoz). "I will make sure I get
there early so I can walk the track and look at some of last year's
data to try and get an idea which gear I should be in for each corner.
The important thing is not to push too hard too soon because you
can't learn anything if you're in the gravel or your car is being
repaired." Action begins with testing on Thursday. Driver
Points – expect some significant changes to the order
by the end of the w/end GT
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Ruby
Tuesday, based in Maryville, Tenn., is one of the nation's leading
casual-dining restaurant companies, with more than 800 restaurants
worldwide. It features what is described as a “burger-centric
menu” which includes “an assortment of handcrafted burgers”.
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