With a victory at the 2013 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and a second place podium finish at the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, PR1/Mathiasen enters the third round of the ALMS season holding the LMPC class team championship points lead with team driver, Pleasant Hill, CA, resident, Michael Guasch, leading the LMPC class driver’s championship. Mexico City, MX resident, Luis Díaz, will rejoin Guasch in the #52 Molecule FLM09, looking to add another victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the renowned 11-turn undulating Northern California track featuring the notorious “Corkscrew” at Turns 8 to 8A.
For Guasch, the four-hour American Le Mans Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca endurance race in Monterey, CA is a hometown event with a significant challenge.
“There’s just no grip there,” Guasch explained. “On one hand, I love coming to Monterey, it’s truly beautiful. On the other hand, Laguna Seca is just one of those tracks that hardly has any traction out there. It requires absolute focus as the car can slip and slide all around the course, and the sand trap runoffs built for the motorcycle events are completely unforgiving. Staying on the racing line is crucial, as even though there’s barely any grip on the line, it’s completely nonexistent off of it! I’ve been racing here for years, and have won quite a few times, but it has never been easy I can assure you. My only solace is the fact that we’ve been testing extensively lately, and the PR1/Mathiasen guys have our car about as close to perfect as I’ve ever witnessed. We’ll be able to unload with a fast setup right away, allowing us to focus on our race pace for Saturday.”
Díaz is eager to help his teammate keep, and extend his points lead at one of his favorite tracks on the schedule.
“I’m very happy to be back in the car this weekend, and I really have to give big thanks to the team for making it happen,” Díaz said. “I have had so many great battles and victories here, it really is one of my favorite tracks. It is easy to see why this track is so beloved around the world. Laguna Seca is a beautiful natural terrain circuit with the perfect mix of fast and slow corners, plus the signature Corkscrew to mix things up. We’ve got a great partnership with Michael, and I am really going to push myself to help him and the team stay on top of the championship standings this weekend.”
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Team Principal, Bobby Oergel, has initiated an all-new testing program that he believes will net his team their first ALMS LMPC class podium at Laguna Seca Saturday night.
“Since Long Beach, we’ve had the #52 running at Thunderhill and Buttonwillow, pushing our drivers, crew, and engineers to the limits to see what was possible,” Oergel said. “As it turns out, a few innovative ideas presented themselves to us while we were exploring new possibilities. It may seem foolhardy to mess with the traditional formulas that got us the championship lead in the first place, but our second at Long Beach showed us that we still have plenty to learn. Sometimes second feels like a lost victory, and that was definitely what we were feeling after we got home and reviewed the data. Needless to say, the competition in the LMPC class is fierce, so there is nothing we won’t try within the regulations to find an advantage out there, especially at a track as grueling as Laguna Seca.”
Source : PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports