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Thread: Risi seeks to build on Utah win at Lime Rock

  1. #1
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    Smile Risi seeks to build on Utah win at Lime Rock

    Its central aims will be to not only secure a back-to-back ‘sprint’ victory, but also to consolidate its position in the championship points’ battles. Melo and Bruni currently lead the Drivers’ Championship by two points over Bergmeister/Long, and Risi/Ferrari are one point away from leading the Teams/Manufacturers’ chase.

    With a view to breaking the stranglehold that the Flying Lizard Porsches have had on class victories over the last three years, the Houston-based Ferrari team has drafted in a second F430 GTC to be driven by Finland’s Mika Salo and Germany’s Pierre Kaffer, racing alongside Miller Motorsport Park winners, Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni.

    The duo will undoubtedly be popular returnees to North America’s leading, manufacturer-led sports car series, just as Giancarlo Fisichella was a popular debutant two weeks ago. The quiet Italian who, along with his driving partner Toni Vilander, thoroughly enjoyed the entire US racing experience, has prior commitments for Ferrari in Europe this weekend, and Vilander is getting married in Finland.

    The scenic 1.51 mile (2.48km), 10-turn track will provide a tight fit for the 30 cars on the entry list, and one of the key challenges for the weekend will be to qualify well to avoid being in the center of the highly competitive pack come race day. Melo was the fastest GT qualifier at the North Western Connecticut road course in 2009 and set the fastest race lap in 2008, but a victory has so far eluded him. The last Risi-run Ferrari to secure a class win at Lime Rock was the 360 Modena of Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro in 2004.

    Ten of the 13 cars in the GT class are now powered by cellulosic E85 and the longer stint runs this can offer will be critical when it comes to strategy. With a lap of Lime Rock Park being under a minute (Melo’s 2009 GT pole was 54.665 seconds), and with the likelihood of multiple full course caution periods, flexibility and slick pit work will be crucial elements for success.

    Brazilian Melo and his Italian team mate, Gimmi Bruni, are riding the crest of a victory wave at the moment, having followed up their Utah victory with another for Ferrari in the Portuguese round of the European-based Le Mans Series last weekend. Lime Rock Park will be the last of the ‘unknown’ tracks for Bruni, although he efficiently proved with his pole position in Utah that it takes little time for him to learn a new layout.

    Jaime Melo has barely had time to breathe since the beginning of July but that’s the way he likes it. He knows exactly what is required for success in this picturesque part of the country. “Normally Lime Rock is okay for us; it’s not a difficult track but it’s a completely different kind to all the others we race at. It’s very small, slow and physical, and you have got to try to work to get mechanical grip. You have no rest because there’s so much traffic and the main strait is only 500 metres. Maybe with the LMPC and GTC cars it will be busier than last year, but the lack of prototypes will balance that although they will be fast. Tire wear here is okay and usually it’s good for Michelin’s medium tires so we can keep consistency throughout a stint. This year with the bigger tires, we’ll have to see how it goes in practice. The main thing is that you’ve got to be fast in qualifying and try and avoid too much contact. It will be so competitive that you can’t afford to make any mistakes at all.”

    Pierre Kaffer has only driven at Lime Rock once but finished on the second step of the podium last year. “Of course I’m looking forward to going back to race in America, especially with Mika as I think we will be a strong combination and we’ll have a chance to fight for a podium finish. Every championship I’m racing in this year has strong opponents, but I like the American race tracks a lot more so I’m excited to be back in the ALMS. Lime Rock is quite a challenge because of its size; last year we had quite a fight with the #45 car and this year I’m sure we will have a great battle again with all the competition. Hopefully we can be first and second in the race. I think we have all the skills to beat them, and that’s our target.”

    Mika Salo finished third at his last Lime Rock outing in 2008, but is looking forward to going racing again. “Lime Rock is not the nicest circuit in the world but it always produces good races. The chance to do this race came about quite suddenly but I’m looking forward to it. With so many cars it’s going to be like a rally cross race or something – there will be lots of contact. We have to try to avoid other cars from the first practice onwards and I expect all the sessions to be interrupted by red flags because of incidents. I’ve only driven this configuration of the F430 for a few laps in Le Mans, but Risi is a good team and they know what they are doing so I don’t think it will take long for me to get back into it.”
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  2. #2
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    LIME ROCK: CRITICAL SET-UP & TIGHT TRAFFIC

    Thirty-one cars at this small 1.51 mile track will make practice and the race a bit of a crap shoot. Clear laps will be few and far between with a GT lap of around 55 seconds. Traffic was a big issue last year, especially in the chicanes which have been the source of most of the full course cautions since we changed to this configuration.

    Track particulars: We'll run the same circuit configuration as last year and the track should still be smooth so bumps won't be an issue. It will still be all right turns with one left plus the two chicanes. The chicane curbs are important for a quick lap time. Turn 1 will be the biggest passing opportunity, and the hill leading down onto the front strait will be important to get a good run onto the strait. The last two years this corner was flat (full throttle) for GT cars.

    Setup: As at most ALMS tracks this year, cars will be run at the legal ride height limit of 55mm as opposed to higher. Depending on the car, you'll also run some cross weight; normally more right front weight will let you trail brake longer (or more aggressively) into T1 without inside front wheel lockup, and it also helps reduce the mid to exit under-steer on right hand corners. We'll run the cars a bit asymmetric as there's only one left hand turn. We'll spend some time optimizing the chicanes as they are important for lap time. It goes without saying you run maximum down force here, top speed is quite low, about 150 mph.

    For GT cars that means running as much wing (rear down force) as you can balance with the front downforce.More downforce at Lime Rock increases the exit speed in the last corner and actually increases the front strait top speed. Trimming aero actually reduces top speed here. The two key corners are the first and last; you need a good exit off the last for maximum speed on the strait and good braking and entrance stability into Turn 1 to overtake.

    Competition: Any of the four leading makes could win here: Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche or BMW. Top speed doesn't come into play here as the track is so small and the straits short; it's all about getting the setup right with the limited test time. The teams will only have two one-hour sessions to sort out the setups.

    The race: Calling the race (race strategy) with the cautions is tricky here. The green lap is so short that the caution laps are only 100 seconds. It takes roughly 30 seconds to traverse pit lane, 25 for fuel and around 10 for tires. Not a lot of change left from the 100 seconds, and where you come out on track all depends on where you are relative to the pace car when the pits open. You can easily go down a lap if you get it wrong. Each stop isn't automatically full service if you want to stay on the lead lap.

    We'll have two "Red" Ferraris for Lime Rock and what we feel are good starting base setups, and three of our four drivers have all been here before.It's only Gimmi Bruni who is new to this track and he's shown at all the races so far that he doesn't need long to get up to speed. The team is coming off a dominant win at Miller. Let's just hope the momentum holds and both cars can finish up front and we can solidify our position in the Championship points.
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  3. #3
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    here's few pictures from last years race...







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  4. #4
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    Risi Competizione’s two Ferrari F430 GTs paced the GT class with Jaime Melo’s lap of 1:04.008 (84.364 mph) just 0.237 seconds quicker than Mika Salo. Melo – driving with Gimmi Bruni – was a teammate of Salo for three years at Risi although the pairing never won at Lime Rock.

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  5. #5
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    23.07.2010 Stormy Lime Rock Halts Risi Charge For Pole

    In intensifying rain and extremely poor visibility at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, Jaime Melo qualified the Risi Competizione #62 Ferrari 430 GTC in third position for tomorrow’s Northeast Grand Prix. His best time of 1:04.391 was just two hundredths of a second from a front row position, and he will start the race behind the pole winning Flying Lizard Porsche of Patrick Long and the Falken Porsche of Wolf Henzler.

    Former Risi regular, Mika Salo, coped admirably with the difficult conditions on his return to ALMS competition to place the #61 Ferrari in 5th position on the GT grid. His quickest lap time of 1:04.929, set on his fourth flying lap, sees his ‘Rosso Red’ Ferrari sandwiched between the two yellow Corvettes.

    The weather has played a crucial role in all the sessions so far this weekend, and each of the two one-hour practice sessions have been wet. Hoping to emulate the time sheet for the first practice session, which saw the Risi Ferraris in a front row lock out, a red flag stoppage 8 minutes and 32 seconds into the qualifying session effectively prevented Melo and Salo from making a further bid for pole position this afternoon. Despite a final five minutes of green flag running, the conditions were so wet and treacherous that none of the runners were able to improve upon their times.

    Jaime Melo: “It was wet in every session, all day. At the end of the last practice session we normally we do a pre-qualifying run but this time we didn’t so we were on completely new tires at the start of qualifying. It took a few laps to get them up to temperature but just as they were at their optimum, the red flag came out. It’s quite disappointing as we had a very good car in all sessions, and I think we could have been on pole or at least firmly on the front row; the circumstances were just against us.

    “Lime Rock is so narrow and difficult to overtake at so we really have some hard work ahead of us to get back some positions. Tomorrow is supposed to be a hotter day and hopefully it will be dry so we will have to put 100% into everything to try and win.”

    With tomorrow’s forecast being for dry weather, but still with the threat of thunderstorms, it appears the race will be a lottery and luck will play every much as big a part of the outcome as skill and strategy
    CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE

  6. #6
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    Risi Competizione's No. 61 takes 4th place at Lime Rock, after a very difficult race. See Risi Comp site for details. #ALMS #limerockpark
    just now
    Thanks to our Tifosi for hanging with us today! We'll be back at Mid-Ohio. #alms #limerock

    Long/Bergmeister claimed the championship lead from Risi Ferrari crew Jaime Melo/Gianmaria Bruni. Melo was put into the tyres early on by Johnny O'Connell's Corvette, which later retired.
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  7. #7
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    Lime Rock Fails To Favor Risi
    Coming into this weekend’s race at Lime Rock Park, hopes within the Risi Competizione team for another GT success were running high following round four’s win in Utah. Those hopes were, however, dashed in the cruellest fashion when the #62 Ferrari F430 GTC in the hands of Jaime Melo was pushed off track by another competitor just 24 minutes into the race.

    The damage to the right rear of the car after heavy contact with the barriers was too severe for it to continue running, and the Ferrari was retired. The outcome was the worst possible for Melo and Bruni who not only saw their GT Drivers’ championship lead slip away, but also – crucially – the opportunity to score any further points today.

    The team’s second car, this weekend in the hands of Pierre Kaffer and Mika Salo, finished fourth in class behind the Flying Lizard Porsche and the two BMWs in a race full of incidents and attrition. After electing to continue running during the first and second of the three caution periods, the timing of the third full course yellow unfortunately didn’t favor the strategy of the #61 car and it dropped from the class lead to fourth after its pit stop. Despite some strong and steady stints by both Salo and Kaffer, the gap from third to fourth was just too great a distance to make up in the time available.

    After heavy rain during the two practice sessions and qualifying yesterday, today’s race took place in dry, hot and humid conditions – although a sprinkling of rain in the last 20 minutes threatened, but ultimately failed, to shake things up. The lack of running in the dry meant that the chance to find a good race set up was limited and the #61 car’s handling suffered throughout the 2 hour 45 minute event.

    Mika Salo drove the middle of the three stints, and said afterwards, “It was really hot in the car. You don’t feel it so much when you are driving, but when you stop it really hits you. Our car was suffering from bad understeer; we needed some more laps in the dry to get the set up right, and this was my first race in the Ferrari since last year so I probably needed some more laps also but it was good to be backing racing here again.”

    Pierre Kaffer was pleased to have got to the end of the race unscathed. “We’re obviously a bit disappointed that we didn’t get a podium finish, but we managed to get some good points today for Ferrari and for Risi Competizione so that was our main target. It was pretty fierce on the track at times, so I think we should consider ourselves lucky to have got to the end of the race without any damage to our car.”

    A bitterly disappointed Jaime Melo said afterward his on-track incident: “After the race went green again [following the first full course caution period], I overtook the #3 Corvette in Turn one and he just pushed me off the track. We were running second behind the Porsche and had a very good chance for this race. I can’t explain how disappointed I am.”

    Gianmaria Bruni’s experience of Lime Rock has been brief, and none too memorable. After Friday’s rain, he at last had an opportunity to run in the dry this morning in a brief, late-scheduled warm up session. This is what he had to say before the race:

    “It was a shame we lost out on a good position on the grid because of traffic and the red flag during qualifying. Today (Saturday) is dry for the first time and I had about 10 laps in the car so I think we will be okay. We are taking a bit of a gamble on set up because we are changing the car after warm up and we won’t know until the race how it will be but at least the track will improve as some rubber goes down during the race.”
    CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE

  8. #8
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    BUGGER!!! ruddy vettes!! will check the standings and post them later Think Melo and Bruni still can do it. Race will be on Motors next Sunday. Will post times later aswell.
    CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE

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