No. 17 Foametix /Burtin Racing Porsche GT3 upholds second-place status in Saturday afternoon Daytona practice and fourth overall in the weekend
Foametix/Burtin Racing with Goldcrest Motorsports carried Friday’s ‘right out the gate’ momentum into Saturday in the second day of this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona Test. Martin Ragginger Jr. repeated Friday’s performance by posting the team’s quickest lap time with at 1:50.006 (116.503 mph) in Saturday’s third and final practice while the No. 17 ended the day a solid fourth fastest overall in the GT ranks based on yesterday’s top lap time.
Ragginger has been with the Burtin Racing team for the past five years and sees the exponential growth and development in the team. Confident heading into the final test day on Sunday, Ragginger is satisfied with the test and looks forward to the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex At Daytona later this month. He teams with team/owner driver Claudio Burtin, Bryan Sellers, Jack Baldwin and Sebastian Asch in the No. 17 FOAMETIX Porsche GT3.
“We’re improving step-by-step and our performance is very good,” Ragginger said. “We’ve been making some minor adjustments over the last two days and we are not far off. The car is prepared for the race and we only have minor issues at this stage. It is important to finish the race without a problem. If we achieve that, we will be one of the front cars, and that’s what we are working for.”
Ragginger enjoys the atmosphere of testing and looked forward to the Saturday’s night session where the team planned on working on different race setups and strategies.
“We’re going to work on the longer runs during tonight’s final session to see how we do,” Ragginger said. “Right now, we haven’t done any long runs. The test days are always fun because there isn’t as much pressure. The pressure begins in a few weeks. I’m really looking forward to the race based on this weekend’s test.”
As the newest member of the Burtin Racing team, German road racer Asch used Friday’s seat time to learn the 3.56-mile course. During Saturday’s session, Asch worked on improving laps times while adjusting to the nuances of the 31-degree banking and straightaways at Daytona.
“I drove for a little bit yesterday to learn the track, and today I felt good in the car,” Asch said. “I haven’t driven on tracks with banking and the first time was very different. Now driving through the banking, I can do anything with the car. My favorite part of the track is being able to overtake another car on the straightaway and that’s new to me, too. At some European tracks, you can’t overtake on the straightaways. There’s a lot more space and speed to pass cars on the straights here.”
Asch is impressed with the Burtin Racing team and looks forward to his North American endurance racing debut at the 50th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“I think the setup is good and we only made a few changes on the car,” Asch said. “It’s very fun with this team and everyone has been great to work with during the test. “We have a good package for the 24-hour race.”
Heading into the final day of testing tomorrow, Burtin is cautiously optimistic about the Rolex 24 At Daytona race in a few weeks.
“Daytona is a very unique, special place and it can be very unforgiving sometimes,” Burtin said. “The crew has done a great job with the preparation of the car. All the drivers have done a fantastic job, no mistakes, nobody. It seems like the stars are aligned with us this year so far. Stay tuned for the race coming up. I want to win, there’s no doubt about it. Two years ago we finished 12th, so we’re looking to do better this year.”
Saturday testing concluded with the evening session that ended at 8 p.m. ET. The Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona Test runs through Sunday while the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona will be run at Daytona International Speedway, January 26 – 29.
Source: Foametix /Burtin Racing
