Brack Logs First Miles
©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing
Rahal's new driver tests at Sebring
Team Rahal driver Kenny Brack logged the first miles in the teams 2000 Ford
Reynard package on Wednesday. Brack, who managed a quick time of 51.3
seconds around Sebring International Raceway, not only enjoys running on
road courses once again, but is impressed by the "technical force" of Team
Rahal.
KENNY BRACK -8- Shell Ford-Cosworth XF -- ASSESS YOUR FIRST DAY OF TESTING
WITH THE 2000 FORD/REYNARD PACKAGE . . .
"We are happy with everything so
far. We only put about 50 miles on the 2000 car yesterday but we got our
best lap time down to around 51.3 seconds. We have been trying some very
different things with the car, such as development tires, but we are happy
where we are at right now."
YOU SPENT MUCH OF TUESDAY IN THE 1999 CAR. WEDNESDAY WAS YOUR FIRST
OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY PUT MILES ON THE 2000 PACKAGE. HOW DRASTICALLY DO THE
TWO PACKAGES DIFFER?
"The new car has less downforce, but in return it has
more power. So I think the total package will be about the same in regards
to track times."
IN REGARDS TO THE ENGINE. COMPARE THE 1999 FORD-COSWORTH XD YOU DROVE
TUESDAY TO THE 2000 FORD-COSWORTH XF YOU DROVE WEDNESDAY . . .
"The new
engine is a lot better in all aspects. It has more power and is a lot more
driveable. Driveability, to me, is a lot more important than horsepower,
but it has both which is great."
WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION DO YOU REALISTICALLY EXPECT TO GET FROM THIS FIRST
TEST?
"We are working towards getting a good platform to work on with the
car right now. We are trying major stuff right now with the car. On
Thursday, after a couple of major changes, we can decide where we want to be
with the platform and so we can then start to make some minor changes to get
a better balance in the car. We are very happy with where we are right now.
We have answered quite a few questions that we had, obviously we have more
questions marks to cover, but we are making good progress."
WHAT IS YOUR INITIAL IMPRESSION OF THE RAHAL TEAM AND YOUR NEW ENGINEER DON
HALLIDAY NOW THAT YOU HAVE A FEW DAYS OF RUNNING TOGETHER UNDER YOUR BELT?
HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH YOUR IRL TEAM?
"The whole
Rahal team, they are a technical force, all the engineers they have are
very, very skillful. It's a great team to work for. When I ran with A.J.
(Foyt) last year things were a bit similar. The major difference with A.J.
is that he did all the setups on the car. We didn't have as many engineers
as Team Rahal does. Otherwise, we did have a team manager, chief mechanic,
and a driver so that part is still the same."
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