 2003 SEASON :::
MORE RACING NEWS
Sebring Test, Feb 1-2, '03
Is it me or has this winter just dragged on and on !!??? We finally got to do some testing down at Sebring, and I think the entire team would agree that it was great being back at the track. Everyone on the Pratt and Miller team worked very hard over the winter making changes to things on the cars, and we certainly hope that once again we are going to be tough to beat.
 In the off season there have been a few changes, some that you may already know about. Probably the biggest change is that Andy has been asked to take on the responsibility of representing the team at a lot Corvette 50th Anniversary celebrations, and as such will only be available to the team for the longer races. His place will be filled by Oliver, and then Frank will move over to share the car with Ron and I. For the regular ALMS races Kelly will now pair up with Oliver.
As far as the cars go, well the rules have changed again like they always do, and we will have even smaller restrictors for this season. The Katech guys really did do a great job over the winter, and we still have great power…but they still need to find us more !!!! You can never have too much power. Another change is that we can now run sequential shifters in the car, and the team is working on getting that ready for us. That is a big benefit in that you can shift up the gearbox without releasing the throttle, and you would be amazed at how much lap time that saves you. Hopefully that will come in line soon.
One other change for this year is that the HANS device or something similar is now mandatory for all drivers. Ron and I have not used them before as they have been quite uncomfortable for us both, hurting our backs and collar bones. GM sent down their racing Safety Director, Tom Gideon, and we spent a lot of time customizing our seats and devices to make them work better for us. It is definitely going to take some getting used to, but I’m sure that we will soon get them so that it is manageable.
As far as the testing went, we learned a lot like always, and went quite quick despite the rules changes that were made to slow us down. We had a few minor problems, which you always do with the first test of the year, but left after two days knowing what we needed to focus on, and are secure in knowing that we will have two competitive cars for the race once again.
2003 is going to be another challenging year for us at Corvette Racing. The Ferrari you know will be strong, the Saleen is always a threat, and the Viper guys are always pushing hard as well. From what we hear, more factories are looking at the GTS category, and I think the future holds a lot of positive things for the sport. When you have had the type of good fortune we have had over the past two years, everyone is gunning for you. Ron and I go into the season as focused as ever, and know that our new crew chief Dan Binks is as hungry as we are to win races….and we will. Hope we see you all at Sebring.
Johnny O
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