Robertson Racing primed for Road Atlanta homecoming

Robertson Racing will be hoping to make home advantage count at Road Atlanta this weekend (October 1) as the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron pitches camp but a stone’s throw from their Braselton headquarters for the final round of this season’s championship.

 

The classic 1000-mile/10-hour Petit Le Mans event is one of North America’s most prestigious sportscar races, as evidenced by the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup sharing the round in 2011. That ensures the world’s best GT contenders will be out in force to take on the local independent outfit.

 

This year sees one of the team’s self-developed Ford GTs (#40) entered for Andrea Robertson and David Murry with whom the team scored a famous Le Mans 24 Hours podium finish earlier this season, as well as experienced GT driver Melanie Snow.

 

Murry in particular is something of a Road Atlanta specialist, picking up the class pole position there in 2009 despite facing stiff competition from the wealth of manufacturer-backed teams.

 

Robertson Racing has been hard at work testing over the past two days at the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit in preparation for this weekend’s season finale ahead of first official practice on Thursday.

 

Andrew ‘H’ Smith, Team Manager: “It’s good to be back racing at our home circuit which logistically is certainly the most convenient of the season! The two days of testing we’ve run so far have gone well, with Andrea lapping faster than she has here before and Melanie continuing to familiarise herself with the Ford at what is a very demanding circuit.

 

“We know this weekend will be tough with so many more GTs on the grid thanks to the additional ILMC entries taking part. While the team has shown in the past that it can be quick at Road Atlanta, repeating our previous performances looks like a tall order. David has a lot of experience in the Ford here though so you never know.”   

 

North American viewers can catch the race live on www.ESPN3.com from 11.15am ET this Saturday ahead of ABC’s extensive coverage the following day at 4pm ET.

 

Meanwhile European fans can tune into Eurosport for the race’s opening 60 minutes and final three hours live from 5.30pm CET and midnight. 

 

Don’t forget to search ‘Robertson Racing’ on facebook for all the team’s latest news and images, or visit www.RobertsonRace.com.

 

Petit Le Mans Timetable (local time)

 

Thursday 29 September
10am – 11am: Practice (all classes)
2.55pm – 3.55pm: Practice (all classes)
7pm – 9pm: Night Practice (all classes)

 

Friday 30 September
10.15pm – 11.15pm: Practice (all classes)
2.55pm – 3.10pm: Qualifying (GT/GTE Pro)

 

Saturday 1 October
9.15am – 9.40am: Warm-up
11.30am: Petit Le Mans