The first day of practice was a success with both sessions producing solid results.  Jerry shaved lap time down to his previous week of testing.  the team manager commented “The car is performing well, track temperatures will fluctuate by 25 degrees today.  We need to constantly monitor grip levels in the afternoon session.  It’s my job to see the car remains neutral throughout the temperature changes. So far so Good!” 
          Both practice sessions were successful, however the team cut the last session short by 4 minutes due to a ventilation problem in the cockpit.  Mechanic Tom Allen added “Our cup car is sealed up tight to keep the air flow undisturbed on the outer skin; the downfall is cockpit temps reach 125 degrees within 10 minutes…. We are going to change some vents around tonight and work with Jerry’s new helmet to improve air flow.  Today it was boiling in there.

 Wednesday, March 18th     

Weather conditions were similar to Tuesday.  The Team manager was asked what he hoped to achieve.  “We want another half second today.  We purposely set the car up similar to Tuesday’s session.  Jerry needs to drive the same car set-up several times before we make big changes”  Shane Lewis a seven time Sebring 12 hour driver entrant and winning world class race driver was retained by Vento as a coach.  “Shane has put more race cars on the pole at Sebring than most. He is a great race driver and all around good guy who makes us all feel great about being part of this historical week at Sebring” Vento said.  In the afternoon session, Jerry cut his lap times by a half second.  The car was well prepared. “You have to turn good laps early because once the traffic starts it’s really hard to knock off a clean lap.  We’re getting there bit by bit.” said Bye.  The second session was not as successful.  About 12 minutes in Jerry radios that he was having an intermittent steering assist problem  “The car’s steering got really heavy after turn 13 then in corner 14 the power assist quit all together.  These cars rely heavily on the assist especially on a bumpy surface like Sebring.  You just can’t steer the car properly without it”, Vento Said.  Upon returning to pit road the team checks the obvious causes with no luck.  They concluded the session returning to the paddock for proper diagnosis

Thursday, March 19th       

The day began with an important qualifying session.  It was also race day and given Wednesday’s power steering problem the team was anxious.  When asked about yesterday’s problems the team manager said, “With the help of Porsche engineering we worked the problem to a power steering pump failure.  This is rare in these cars but things do go bad under these extreme conditions.  These cars rely heavily on computer logic which is great when it all works, however it can be very frustrating when you can’t isolate a problem”.  The qualifying session began successfully when Jerry was able to lay down a fast time equal to his best lap however it was sort lived as 5 laps in the steering problem surfaces again.  “It was going well, we were able to match our best time right out of the box with no real strain.  I think we could have topped our best time.” Vento Said.  By coincidence about the same time the power steering failed again. The Tequila Patron Car #08 driven by Ed Brown, Patron’s CEO, lost all breaking heading into turn 7.  Fortunately Ed was not hurt.  “My biggest concern was for Ed, not our steering problem.  At the time he lost his brakes he was doing about 140 miles per hour. “Said Vento.  As mechanical repairs continued, Shane Lewis and Jerry review data output from earlier laps. “We are able to compare any of Jerry’s laps on top of each other or other drivers.  Brake durations, intensity, back to throttle, steering inputs, G-Force loads under breaking, all critical information to improve speed through the course.” Lewis said.  Team manager Bye declares #8 ready for the grid and the first race of the IMSA 2009 Season. 

RACE #1      

The green flag drops and the first lap is incident free. The leaders in single file formation knock off quick times.  The number 8 Velox Racing Patron Porsche is holding its own.  Jerry had a solid start and began hunting down the 3 cars in front.  Jerry improved his previous best time by 3 tenths of a second early on.  About 10 minutes into the 30 minute race Jerry moved up 5 positions.  At the half way point going into turn 7 Jerry brakes a split second later than normal and slightly overshoots the hairpin and loses 2 spots.  With 15 minutes remaining there was time to recoup some. Jerry drove consistent lap times and capitalizes on mistakes made by fellow racers.  Upon completion of the race Jerry moved up 3 more positions.  This was the team’s first race ever as Velox Motorsport.  The Team Manager was first to comment “it was great, we couldn’t ask for anything more for round 1. Jerry did a great job, there’s not a mark on the car and we moved up 6 positions. Fantastic!”  “The team overcame some mechanical problems that plagued us for two days and the car performed perfectly, I could not have asked for a better team effort.” Vento said.
          “This is my first real race and the drivers are very competitive in the IMSA Cup Series.  I have a lot of work to do but I’m confident we will progress.” Vento concluded.  “He overshot the hairpin turn 7 but got back into it and he‘s going faster than when we first started on Tuesday.” Tom Allen, the team mechanic said with a grin.

Friday, March 20th


        RACE #2
       As the team geared up for race #2 everyone was excited.  The cars grid according to fastest race lap not position from yesterday’s race.  Bye said. “We want a clean start; often guys become very aggressive in race 2 since it’s their last race for the weekend.  It will get rough.  “The first lap will get crazy.” Said Shane Lewis.  Emotions were high and everyone hoped for the best. As the green falls Jerry kept the car tight to the inside wall of turn 1 ready for the possibility of a pile up.  Upon approaching turn 3 and the large cloud of dust, flying bumper panels and debris, Jerry quickly steers to avoid a 3 car pileup.  With debris and dirt all over the track the race went full course caution.  Almost half the allotted race time was spent under full course caution. With 14 Minutes remaining the race course went green again. Jerry immediately matched his best time again and consistently ran there while avoiding a spinning competitor almost every lap.  Jerry then reels in the car in front at a strong rate while bettering his best lap time by a full second.  On the second to last lap Jerry was held up by a spinning car coming out of turn 13 and had to lift to avoid the out of control driver.  Jerry quickly recovered and chased the Starbucks entry in front.  With one lap remaining Jerry added a lot of ground to recoup to catch the next position.  The Velox Patron entry was about 2 car lengths short of the car in front at the checkered flag, making up 7 lengths on the final lap which is quite a feat in itself.  The team was ecstatic at the checkered flag. 
          “We are all very happy and proud.  Jerry produced some great laps and made it through all the havoc on track.” Jeff Bye.  “Pulling those 3 laps off a full second faster than previous under those tough circumstances is not easy.  There is more where that came from I can feel it!” Shane Lewis  “I had a rat in the stomach for most of the race. The car was prepared perfectly and our team did a great job.  I’m happy to get through this race with more experience; most guys out here have been doing this for many years so it’s a privilege to run with them.  While I’m not satisfied with my times, I improved my speed by 4 seconds from the time we hit the track on Wednesday through today’s race.  Another 3 seconds and will be battling with the pack.  One more thing, the fans at Sebring were fantastic, cheering us on and coming by the Paddock.  We really appreciate their continued support.  Now it’s on to Utah.” Vento said as he looked pretty happy to be in #8  After a successful first outing in the Patron GT3 IMSA Cup Series, the team will ready themselves for serious testing. We never stop learning both from an engineering standpoint as well as a driving standpoint.  We are going to continue to test heavily and look forward to rounds 3 and 4 in Utah.  Velox Motorsport thanks all those involved who made this happen.  “For those who gave 110% toward our effort we thank you greatly.” Velox Team Manager.