26th September 2003

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES
RD 8, MIAMI, FL – Friday, 26th September 2003

Care Racing and Prodrive Ferrari Team Notes

Going racing …

Friday morning finally saw some track action and the sportscars were the first of the series to take to the 1.2 mile track. All four drivers found the surface extremely slippery and bumpy – particularly at the chicane coming onto the pit straight.
For Darren Turner it was his first experience of a street circuit. He was cautious in his comments, preferring to wait until he’d completed a few more laps, but acknowledged that it would be very difficult to pass on the track, and that avoiding trouble was going to be a big challenge for all. The Ferrari 550 #80 unfortunately experienced a driveshaft failure towards the end of this morning’s practice session which stranded David Brabham on the track, but the team is now looking in good shape for the second hour of practice which immediately precedes qualifying.

Gone flying …

Peter Kox and Tomas Enge, together with Team Principal George Howard-Chappell and engineer Dave Wilcock, were privileged on Wednesday of this to visit the Homestead Air Reserve Base, home of the 482d Fighter Wing of the US Air Force Reserve.
The team members, plus Kox and Enge’s Ferrari 550 Maranello, were on hand to explain to the men and women at Homestead a little of their working environment, and in return were treated to a show of acrobatics and aerial versatility by four of the base’s F-16 fighter jet pilots.
Whilst the aircraft were away from base, the drivers had an opportunity to ‘fly’ an F-16 on a simulator – and the Dutchman managed a take off and landing, with a few loops in between.

And, finally, fishing …

Meanwhile, back at the track …the team truckies (having completed the set up in the ALMS paddock) did a spot of late afternoon fishing out of the back of the garage area. The paddock this year is located behind the huge American Airlines arena which backs onto the Biscayne Bay area of Miami. A row of tents has been erected under which all the ALMS teams are based, all backing directly onto the water. Ever prepared for any eventuality, it didn’t take long for the Prodrive Ferrari team’s truck drivers to produce a couple of fishing rods.
A grand total of 5 fish were caught – the biggest being a whopping 8 inches long …