The all-new #10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Dallara DP-01 chassis of Wayne Taylor Racing wrapped up its first on-track test session at Carolina Motorsports Park on Wednesday as it continued preparations for the
Daytona Prototype's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series debut March 29 at Homestead Miami Speedway.
Regular SunTrust co-drivers Max Angelelli and Michael Valiante and team owner Wayne Taylor took turns over the three days putting the latest creation from chassis manufacturer Dallara Automobili through its initial shakedown over the 2.279-mile, 14-turn road circuit located between Darlington and Columbia.
From all indications, the drivers, team owner and representatives from the chassis manufacturer feel preparations for the DP-01's debut at the Gainsco Grand Prix of Miami - round two on the 2008 Rolex Series schedule - are right on schedule for the all-new car, which first arrived at Wayne Taylor Racing headquarters in Indianapolis on February 5.
“I'm very happy because, basically, Max and Michael's first words out of the car were identical – both felt that the car has very good aero balance and both felt that the car gave confidence,” said Taylor, who has co-driven for and overseen the SunTrust Racing Rolex Series programme since joining the series in 2004.
“I did some laps this morning and I confirmed the same feedback. The shakedown and test of a new car is always full of uncertainty. You just don't know what you are going to get. But, after the last three days, I think we've got something pretty good that we can now work with.
“Obviously, we'll have to go through all the little teething things that you've got to go through with a new car. This isn't the best race track to be testing on because it's very abrasive and it's really a difficult track to work on balance issues. But it did the job for us right now. Overall, I think everybody is pretty upbeat because everything's been really good.”
