Davis Racing Mid Ohio Preview

NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing
Davis Racing Mid Ohio Preview
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Turning the corner
RACE ADVANCE-1997 PPG CART WORLD SERIES
Miller 200, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, August 8-10
After scoring a season-high 10th place in the U.S. 500, Davis Racing androokie driver Gualter Salles are prepared for a pair of races onnatural-terrain road courses. First up, the Miller 200 at the Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course. For Salles, who graduated from the Firestone Indy Lights seriesto CART for 1997, the Miller 200 will be his first race on the 2.25-mile14-corner circuit.
Gualter Salles (driver, Indusval-Marlboro Reynard-Ford Cosworth):
"Mid-Ohio is a great circuit, and it's probably the mostdifficult of all the road courses we will visit this year. It's really hardto get any sort of rhythm on this track, but it is the type of track wherethe driver can carry the car if the car is not perfect. This is a realdriver's track.
"Mid-Ohio is also a physical track, because there's only one place for adriver to catch his breath each lap, but only if you're not running intraffic. If the weather is hot, I think a driver will be more exhausted after200 miles here than after 500 miles at Michigan."
Salles has tested at the Mid-Ohio track twice this season-once during theCART open tests in June and a second session in early July. "Our first testwas basically a learning experience to get Gualter familiar with the trackand to help dial in the car," said team co-owner Gerald Davis. "Our timeswere not world-beaters but we expected that with a new driver.
"When we returned to Mid-Ohio after Portland, Gualter was able to lower histime by a second and a half. That's quite an improvement in just a month andit shows the type of driver that Gualter is and the effort the Davis Racingteam is making on the CART circuit this season."
TURNING THE CORNER: Davis Racing has three finishes in the three races toopen the second half of the 1997 PPG CART World Series season, including the10th-place finish in the U.S. 500. That's a major improvement for thefirst-year team that only saw two finishes and seven DNFs in the first halfof the season. "It's good for the entire team," said Davis. "A lot of thetroubles we had in the first half of the season can be attributed to justplain bad luck, such as the Rio engine failure, the Milwaukee crash and thePortland fire. Now we're getting to the finish, which is what you need to doto get points and eventually field a winning team.
"We're still looking for a trouble-free race," Davis adds. "Gualter lost theclutch at Cleveland and we had to switch electrical boxes at both Toronto andMichigan, but we got to the finish each time and Gualter learned somevaluable lessons in each race."
Salles agrees with Davis' assessment. "After the way we started the season,it's good to see us qualifying well and running to the finish," he says. "Ithink we are turning the corner as a team and spirits are up everywhere. Ifwe run well through the end of the season, I think we still have a shot atthe rookie championship and that was our goal for the season."


		NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Davis Racing Mid Ohio Preview ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Turning the corner RACE ADVANCE-1997 PPG CART WORLD SERIES Miller 200, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, August 8-10 After scoring a season-high 10th place in the U.S. 500, Davis Racing androokie driver Gualter Salles are prepared for a pair of races onnatural-terrain road courses. First up, the Miller 200 at the Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course. For Salles, who graduated from the Firestone Indy Lights seriesto CART for 1997, the Miller 200 will be his first race on the 2.25-mile14-corner circuit. Gualter Salles (driver, Indusval-Marlboro Reynard-Ford Cosworth): "Mid-Ohio is a great circuit, and it's probably the mostdifficult of all the road courses we will visit this year. It's really hardto get any sort of rhythm on this track, but it is the type of track wherethe driver can carry the car if the car is not perfect. This is a realdriver's track. "Mid-Ohio is also a physical track, because there's only one place for adriver to catch his breath each lap, but only if you're not running intraffic. If the weather is hot, I think a driver will be more exhausted after200 miles here than after 500 miles at Michigan." Salles has tested at the Mid-Ohio track twice this season-once during theCART open tests in June and a second session in early July. "Our first testwas basically a learning experience to get Gualter familiar with the trackand to help dial in the car," said team co-owner Gerald Davis. "Our timeswere not world-beaters but we expected that with a new driver. "When we returned to Mid-Ohio after Portland, Gualter was able to lower histime by a second and a half. That's quite an improvement in just a month andit shows the type of driver that Gualter is and the effort the Davis Racingteam is making on the CART circuit this season." TURNING THE CORNER: Davis Racing has three finishes in the three races toopen the second half of the 1997 PPG CART World Series season, including the10th-place finish in the U.S. 500. That's a major improvement for thefirst-year team that only saw two finishes and seven DNFs in the first halfof the season. "It's good for the entire team," said Davis. "A lot of thetroubles we had in the first half of the season can be attributed to justplain bad luck, such as the Rio engine failure, the Milwaukee crash and thePortland fire. Now we're getting to the finish, which is what you need to doto get points and eventually field a winning team. "We're still looking for a trouble-free race," Davis adds. "Gualter lost theclutch at Cleveland and we had to switch electrical boxes at both Toronto andMichigan, but we got to the finish each time and Gualter learned somevaluable lessons in each race." Salles agrees with Davis' assessment. "After the way we started the season,it's good to see us qualifying well and running to the finish," he says. "Ithink we are turning the corner as a team and spirits are up everywhere. Ifwe run well through the end of the season, I think we still have a shot atthe rookie championship and that was our goal for the season."