Team Trans Sport Racing finishes in seventh place at The Acura Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the team's second American Le Mans Series race
BOSTON, MA - Team Trans Sport Racing has had a successful result at its second American Le Mans Series race, The Acura Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, held this past weekend on an amazing temporary street circuit. The TSR boys finished in a respectable seventh place, though a slightly better result was technically possible. The team suffered from a few minor rules infractions during pit stops, subsequently incurring penalties that cost it over 3 minutes of track time, which would have catapulted TSR higher up the grid.
Nevertheless, TSR's performance has made substantial strides since the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring where shock absorber failures caused the #54 car to retire early.
"Ever since Sebring we have been working non-stop to prepare this car to compete. We have set reasonable goals going forward and will continue to build our database with the assistance and cooperation of our partners at Yokohama. I am confident that top five results by mid-season are totally achievable and I will feel disappointed if we can't get to top three by this time next year. We’re still significantly down on grip with the new tires and it shows in the lap times -- but we knew that coming in. Our partners at Yokohama and their engineers have been by our side since day-one working to improve the performance and we’re looking forward to a new tire after the Le Mans break, said Tim Pappas, co-driver and team co-principal.
The 54, TSR Porsche GT3 RSR has been impeccably maintained under the guidance of Jim Bell and has had no mechanical issues in the first two races of the season. The front shocks which failed at the Twelve Hours of Sebring are not serviced in-house. "Considering that we are one of the only teams to service our own gearbox and differential in-house, I am very pleased with our reliability. The truth is, we could have soldiered on at Sebring, but I didn't feel there was enough to gain by staying out there, abusing the car, and risking a shunt. St. Pete proved that the team is doing a great job and that this Porsche is very durable. I am pleased with our progress." said Bell.
Team Trans Sport is busy preparing for the Grand Prix of Long Beach, which begins on Friday April 13th. Tune into www.transsportonline.com for updates.
For more information, contact Jessica Saller, Team Trans Sport PR Manager at (215) 732-3200.