BRASELTON, GA (September 26, 2009) – The RSR Jaguar XKR GT2 put on a show of its own with an official unveiling and running demonstration laps ahead of today’s Petit Le Mans endurance event at Road America.
The car made its first on-track appearance on Friday morning completing three demonstration laps followed by the opportunity to go out for another lap in the afternoon. A final session was scheduled on Saturday morning to give the race day crowd one last look, but heavy rains lead to the cancellation.
“This weekend was all about the unveiling of the Jaguar XKR GT2 race car,” said RSR team owner Paul Gentilozzi. “We came out here to do just that. We decided to take advantage of running some demonstration laps as a shakedown and to give the fans and all of our supporters the opportunity to see the car. We decided that we didn’t want to rush into things and put ourselves at risk doing our first laps in a timed session. We have planned for private testing this week in preparation to race the car at Laguna Seca, the ALMS season finale en route to our full season effort in 2010.”
Upon completion of the on-track session this weekend, Gentilozzi commented, “We are pleased with the performance of the Jaguar XKR. We didn’t expect any surprises with the car, and we didn’t have any. It went very smoothly.”
Gentilozzi was behind the wheel during all demonstration laps, but right by his side during the runs was announced development program drivers Scott Pruett and Mark Goossens. Both drivers were impressed by the car and look forward to their opportunity to get behind the wheel and aid in its development.
“The thing that has been most exciting for me is seeing the passion behind Jaguar; the passion from the Jaguar executives that were here this weekend to the passion from all the fans,” said Pruett. “I hadn’t appreciated that because I drove for Jaguar in the past. I think that sometimes you forget when you are so close to things just how much passion is behind that marque. It is just great and to be a part of this program is exciting. Now with that being said, it also comes with a pretty high standard to be held, one that RSR and Paul Gentilozzi will embrace and one that I am excited to participate in. This weekend marks the beginning, but there is still a lot of work ahead. We will be doing a lot of testing and development getting the car prepared for 2010, but we are on it – it will be a winner.”
Goossens added, “I am proud to be part of the program. The car looks very good. It was exciting to witness the shakedown this weekend and I look forward to seeing what it will be capable of in a few weeks. You can tell a lot of hard work has been put into it and a lot of great team work right up to the support from Jaguar Cars. I don’t see how it wouldn’t be able to hold up to its potential.”
The American Le Mans Series will race into darkness again on the Monterey Peninsula at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, October 8 – 11. The Monterey Sports Car Championships brings a fitting end to the Series calendar. The 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit is home to the world-famous Corkscrew, described by many drivers as the toughest and most challenging turn on the Series schedule.
Source : RSR