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Lotus Alex Job Racing Heads To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lotus Alex Job Racing (AJR) is heading to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the American Le Mans Series Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge to be run Aug. 2-4.
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The team is in the heart of the ALMS schedule, with races every two weeks. The development of the Lotus Evora GT is being done at the track and on TV. Bill Sweedler (Westport, Conn.) and Townsend Bell (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) have a lot laps at Mid-Ohio and like the undulating layout of the 2.25-mile, 13-turn circuit located 40-minutes north of Columbus.
"The Lotus Evora GT is getting better at every track we race as the development of the platform continues at Lotus AJR," Sweedler said. "Mid-Ohio should be the perfect venue to exhibit the strong handling and braking characteristics of the Lotus, which is a necessity at this technical track. Our supporters from Battery Tender, Yokohama, William Rast, and Schecter Guitars have lots of local guests, and we plan to give them a strong race! Last year's race was exciting, when the rain came. While I enjoy racing in the rain, last year's couple of laps in the downpour turned into the equivalent of ice racing, with the many slippery patches throughout the circuit. Yokohama is ready with their awesome rain tires if needed to conquer what is widely considered to be the toughest track in the rain!"
Bell likes the challenge of Mid-Ohio and has a lot of open-wheel laps on the circuit.
Mid-Ohio is one of my all-time favorite tracks," Bell said. "I consider it a real driver's track. It has nearly every kind of corner, and I love the elevation changes. I've won there in Indy lights back in 2000 and 2001. I think I still have the track record for Indy Lights. I also had my first IndyCar (CART) test there. I remember coming away thinking wow! The most important section for the Lotus will be Turn One. Turn One leads on to a long uphill straight, so we will have to set-up the Evora to get through there fast."
Team principal, Alex Job, is slowly putting the pieces together with the Lotus while developing on the fly.
"We are in the middle of the season and racing just about every ten days," Job said. "That makes it difficult to make big changes to the Lotus. We are taking one step at a time, trying small things every weekend. We are also going to tracks for the first time with the car. So when we tick a few things off of the list before Mid-Ohio, we will come with 10 more to work on before Road America. I like the dependability we have in the car now. We have not missed a session or lap due to mechanical issues since Laguna Seca. That helps with where we are at with the car."
The team travels to central Ohio for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge to be run Aug. 2-4. Qualifying can be viewed live Aug. 3 at 12:15 p.m. EDT on ESPN 3.com, the race broadcast can we viewed Aug. 4 at 2:00 p.m. EDT on ABC with live streaming available Aug. 4 at 12:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN3.com.
Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in sports car racing. The team's resume includes: ALMS GT series championships in 2004, 2003, 2002; a record 22 consecutive ALMS GT pole positions; two-time 24-Hour of Le Mans GT class winners; Eight 12-hour of Sebring wins in 2012, 2010, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1999 and 1995.
The ALMS GT Class is production-based, moderately-modified two-wheel drive race cars comprise the GT class - BMW M3, Corvette C6.R, Ferrari F458 GT, Ford GT-R, Jaguar XKR GT, Lotus Evora and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The GT cars share many similarities to their showroom brands. With top speeds of up to 180 mph, these elite GTs produce between 450-500 horsepower and have a minimum weight of 1,145 kilograms (2,480 pounds). All GT race cars have green Leader Light System race position lights and green car numbers.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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