Acura Project Gets Underway
Acura's 2007 American Le Mans Series project began in earnest at
Arizona's Firebird International Raceway on Tuesday and Wednesday
of this week. Lowe's Fernandez Racing and team owner Adrian Fernandez
completed more than 250 trouble-free miles of testing, driving the
team’s Lola B05/40 chassis, fitted with the new Acura LM V-8
engine.
"This
test is the next step in the fulfillment of the project that will
make Honda Performance Development a full-fledged, self-sufficient
Research and Development company," said Robert Clarke, president
of HPD. "The initial step was to build the infrastructure and
facilities to support the Acura effort, and the second was to actually
build the American Le Mans Series engine.
"We've
had the engine on the dynamometer for more than three months, so
we expected it to run reliably during the test, although we weren't
100 percent certain what would happen when the engine and chassis
were put together in a single package."
Fernandez completed
a total of 102 laps on Tuesday, with no mechanical problems despite
very high ambient temperatures: his best lap was a 48.7, which came
down to a 47.2 on day two.
“The
fact that the test has gone so smoothly and successfully is a tribute
to everyone involved with the program and a great source of pride
as well," added Robert Clarke.
"I can't
remember a first test with a brand-new package ever going this well,"
said Adrian Fernandez. "Everyone at Acura and Lowe's Fernandez
Racing just did a tremendous job in preparing this car. I can't
say enough. All their hard work got us off to a great start, and
also allowed us to begin our testing program for next year early.
"My first
laps in the car were unbelievable. The sound of the engine, the
effortless steering, the brakes, it was a tremendous experience.
The car is fast! It felt great from the start, and I was amazed
at how quickly we were able to make strides to continually get the
car better and better. I'm thrilled that Lowe's Fernandez Racing
is a partner with Acura in this project, and extremely encouraged
and excited for our first season in the American Le Mans Series
next year."
Fernandez now heads to Miller Motorsports Park,
for his last race in the Grand Am Rolex Series.
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