Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell will make the inaguaral start for theNo. 23 Lotus Alex Job Racing/Battery Tender/Yokohama/Lotus Evora GT in 11th for tomorrow’s running of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Long Beach Grand Prix.
The qualifying session was cancelled five-minutes into the GT session by the ALMS officials due to rain. The field was set according to points.
Sweedler (Westport, Conn.) and Bell (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) did nothing but rain laps all day at Long Beach. The early-morning practice, starting at 7:15 a.m., was run completely with Yokohama rain tires. The team, running the Evora GT, for the first time will be starting the race with very minimum time on the car.
“We had totally wet practice this morning,” Sweedler said. “That makes things tough with a car you are running for the first time. We have a car that really handles well. We had a little issue with our traction control this morning, but we got it worked out. Qualifying was nullified and we will start by points. We have no points, so we will start from the back and have a lot of cars to pass. The test at Button Willow was very productive. The car handles like a prototype in GT clothing. We are excited for what is to come with the Evora GT.”
Bell knows there is a learning process with a new car.
”This has been the most bizarre weather week I have been involved with in racing,” Bell said. “At our Button Willow test on Tuesday, we had a sand storm. Then we came here and had a wet practice with rivers running across the track this morning. It looked like it would be dry for qualifying and then the rain returned. The car is fun to drive. We are learning about it with every lap. We just need some more time to play with it.”
Sweedler and Bell have had success at Long Beach. Sweedler has been on the podium the last two years in an AJR Porsche and Bell has won here in Indy Lights in the past.
Team principal Alex Job is excited and cautious about the Lotus Evora GT debut.
”The fan appeal of the Evora GT is really strong,” Job said. “Everyone has been stopping by and taking pictures of the car and asking questions. We didn’t get in any dry running today. Townsend and Bill did a lot of wet laps. Our qualifying position is about what we expected the first time out. The GT class is stacked with full factory effort teams and is the toughest class in the series. We are in a development program and are doing it at the track.”
Source : Alex Job Racing