Rocketsports to launch Jaguar XKR GT2

[Jaguarman1]

Ok, so I assume from your comment that you saw the race, so can you please tell me what happened?

[JagtechOhio]

Paddock talk RSR post-race report:

http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-143557.html

Added without comment:

I was grabbing some parts at my local Jag dealer Friday, and asked if there has been any promotional material for the previous race at Mid Ohio. It's about an hour from here.

None of the four guys I talked to in the parts department knew of the race, or that the car existed.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Man , they should scrap that project . If they havent gotten a little reliability by now , it wont come without support and big wedge .

Nice idea , bit so was the ECO Radical too ..... dreamers !!!

They have finished 3 of the last 4 races, Mosport included. So I guess to me that is a little reliability. Now speed, that is another story. Although on speed they said the jag had the fastest top speed at mosport.

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by joeb

They have finished 3 of the last 4 races, Mosport included. So I guess to me that is a little reliability. Now speed, that is another story. Although on speed they said the jag had the fastest top speed at mosport.

The question I would ask, is what restrictor size they are using? Are they are their "ACO" restrictor, or have IMSA given them some breaks to try and help them be more competitive? Having seen the car for the first time in person, yes it does make it up the straight pretty quickly. However, it brakes far earlier than any other car, and corners very poorly. Let's see what Jaguar version 2.0 brings with the new car at PLM. They have made some progress, but....

[JAG]

The MkII Jag is meant to be incorporating chasssis/shell tweeks the team didn't believe were legal until they looked at opposition cars.

This reminds me of the BTCC Nissans that had their roofs cut down.

[merlot brougham]

Fastest top speed could mean it was running the least aero, just sayin. As I suspected, though, they are now getting enough speed that they are finding out that the Yokohamas have a long way to go. Ugh. Made Gentilozzi look like an amateur in his stint.

[wheelz22]

Originally Posted by merlot brougham

Fastest top speed could mean it was running the least aero, just sayin. As I suspected, though, they are now getting enough speed that they are finding out that the Yokohamas have a long way to go. Ugh. Made Gentilozzi look like an amateur in his stint.

Let's not talk about the Yokohamas.....and there are no breaks from the ACO.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

THaving seen the car for the first time in person, yes it does make it up the straight pretty quickly. However, it brakes far earlier than any other car, and corners very poorly.

Reminds me of the 'ol Viper! passing people on the straight but getting passed in braking for the corner.

[parnellirules]

I was at the race helping a friend in GTC so I have some first hand info. The car was pretty close the whole weekend. Most of the time less than 2 seconds from the overall leader and a lot of time only 1 second off the "customer" Ferrari's and Porsche's.

Looking at the official section times from ALMS they were fast on the straight, pretty good for the biggest car in GT. Looking back these guys have always had top of the line engines. They also were pretty good in high speed sections. It also has the best sounding engine there in my opinion.

There seems to be a rush to judgment here for a new car being developed as it races, they seem to most at the track as making real progress. I know the fans seemed to always be around their tent and the autograph line was full.

It is hard to say what Michelin's would be worth, when Corvette switched from Goodyears they said 3 seconds at Atlanta. This deal may fool us all.

[JagtechOhio]

I don't have a beef with anyone who says that the RSR program deserves patience. If that's your view, fine.

If anyone wants to criticize the opposing view, better start with Paul Skilleter. He rips the Jaguar participation at Le Mans in the latest Jaguar Journal.

Here's an excerpt that sums up the article:

"But Le Mans was clearly a race too far - by several years, in my opinion. To have allowed the GT2 XKR to run there at this early stage in its development was a decision which was flawed, unappreciative of Jaguar's status, and disrespectful of the Le Mans 24-Hour race itself."

And that was one year into the program. So we will all hope for continued improvement, but the lack of capital Jaguar has realized from this investment should not be dismissed.

There has been no marketing advantage, and one of the leading voices in the Jaguar community points to all the negatives in detailing the public image which has been created to date.

Sorry if people like me expected better. It's well passed time to demonstrate it.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by wheelz22

Let's not talk about the Yokohamas.....and there are no breaks from the ACO.

I also recall in the SPEED broadcast one of the commentators stating that the Yokos are not specifically designed for the Jag; they are "customer tires".

I would ASSume that there is still more reasons why the Jag ain't quick.....

[joeb]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

I also recall in the SPEED broadcast one of the commentators stating that the Yokos are not specifically designed for the Jag; they are "customer tires".

I would ASSume that there is still more reasons why the Jag ain't quick.....

That comment about. The Yok's confused me a little, because later on they mentioned that now that they have they reliability better they can start focusing on tire development more. So is Yok working with them to develop a better tire, or are they just buying customer rubber?

[wheelz22]

Originally Posted by joeb

That comment about. The Yok's confused me a little, because later on they mentioned that now that they have they reliability better they can start focusing on tire development more. So is Yok working with them to develop a better tire, or are they just buying customer rubber?

Yoke is exploring a few ideas......because they have to.

[skycafe]

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

"But Le Mans was clearly a race too far - by several years, in my opinion. To have allowed the GT2 XKR to run there at this early stage in its development was a decision which was flawed, unappreciative of Jaguar's status, and disrespectful of the Le Mans 24-Hour race itself."

OUCH! Certainly true, but 'OUCH!'

[jaguarista]

Update:

JaguarRSR will run two Jaguar XKR GT2s in the 13th annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, the season finale of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, and announces the driver lineup for the #33 car which will include Paul Gentilozzi, Butch Leitzinger and Tomy Drissi.

“The Petit Le Mans event obviously holds significance for our program as it was where we debuted the Jaguar GT last year,” said Paul Gentilozzi, JaguarRSR Principal Partner. “In over a year’s time, we have made a lot of progress. Success at Petit Le Mans is important to us as it represents one of the toughest endurances tests in the United States. Having a second car there not only doubles our chances, but also allows us to expand our program in anticipation of the 2011 season.”

Gentilozzi and Leitzinger reunite for the Petit Le Mans. The last time the two competed together they had an overall victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona with Scott Pruett. Gentilozzi commented, “I have a great respect for Butch on both his experience and character. We won together in 1994, and I was there to share in his first Trans-Am victory celebration when I finished second to him at Mid-Ohio in 2002. It will be great to get back to racing with him and he will bring additional value to this program.”

Leitzinger is one of the most experienced and competitive drivers in the ALMS series, transitioning from prototypes to GT cars this year. He has a total of 91 starts in the series, four starts this season in the GTC category. The Pennsylvania native has won the 24 Hours of Daytona three times, the World Sportscar Championship twice and both the CanAm championship and IMSA GTU championships. Also notably he earned a GTP class victory at Le Mans, finishing third overall in 2001, and has had success in the Grand Am Series and NASCAR ranks.

“Growing up around racing, I have followed Paul Gentilozzi through the years and seen how much depth his race programs have had – in all aspects with from the execution, driving, and engineering,” commented Leitzinger. “I have always had a lot of respect for him, so it is an honor to now be a part of this group. I hope to be able to add a perspective and contribute to getting the Jaguar to the top of the class.”

Drissi is slated to be the third driver on the #33 roster and also has his share of experience in the ALMS with 16 starts under his belt, two this season driving a LMP machine. The Californian will be doing double duty as he will also be driving a Jaguar XKR Trans-Am car in the series’ season finale ahead of the ALMS race. The 2009 Trans-Am Champion has run with the RSR team in the last two consecutive Trans-Am seasons, and has driven for Paul Gentilozzi in Trans-Am for a total of eight. His resume also includes competition in the Speed World Challenge Series, Grand-Am and NASCAR Busch Series.

“I am so excited for this opportunity,” added Drissi. “I will be driving in one of the most competitive classes in the world right now. I know that RSR has been working very hard with the Jaguar and this new program. From the looks of the dependability of the Jaguar, we should be able to have success because this race is all about who can be there in the end after all ten hours.”

The #75 will continue to be piloted by season regulars Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel. Both have proven they are strong in the endurance challenges, can go the distance, and work well together. The team is making final preparations and will be heading down south in less than two weeks to partake in two days of testing the weekend before the 1,000 mile/10 hour endurance race, October 2. The race weekend officially kicks off on Thursday, September 30 with two practice sessions. Qualifying will be held on Friday at 3:15 p.m. ET and the race is scheduled to take the green flag on Saturday at 11:15 a.m.

Via | JaguarRSR

[joeb]

It's good to see that they will be testing at Road Atlanta the week before Petit. There are usually lots of teams that test that weekend so they can get an idea of where they stand.

[jaguarista]

Update: ANDY WALLACE JOINS JaguarRSR FOR PETIT LE MANS

via | JaguarRSR

[HORNDAWG]

Yep! http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124164

I hope this is a long term seat for AWOL in the Jag. It would be a tremendous lift to the program moving forward if the likes of AWOL, Leitzinger and Goossens were developing the car together!




L.P.

[Simmi]

Wallace is a reminder of more successful times for Jaguar. I just hope the car is worthy of the man, especially when you take into account its a 1988 Le Mans winning partnership. 22 years later it should garner some decent coverage, even more so if it leads to something next June.

It can not hurt one bit to have drivers the calibre of the guys listed above in this car. The only way is up.

[pederb]

So how has the testing been going so far?

Cheers

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by pederb

So how has the testing been going so far?

Cheers

If Marshall Pruett's photos are taken into account... quite badly. There's a photo of the #33 car driving around the track without a bonnet/hood/whatever you want to call it.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

If Marshall Pruett's photos are taken into account... quite badly. There's a photo of the #33 car driving around the track without a bonnet/hood/whatever you want to call it.

You know this gets pretty old!! The circumstances of the picture are unknown, period! And as stated in the quoted post the first thing assumed is "quite badly" . Frankly that is a load of horse manure, IMO!





L.P.

[jaguarista]

Both cars are running great and have benefited from some key changes we’ve made in recent weeks.Our friends at MOTEC, for example, have developed a more powerful, more tunable ECU engine management control that is filling-out the torque curve of our Jaguar 5.0-liter AJ-V8, giving us stronger acceleration out of curves. And the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta track, with its high-speed straights and fast, high-radius turns, also suits our big Jags. With their 108-inch wheelbase, the 911s are at 92 inches. We’re not at our best in tighter, low-speed turns, but at Road Atlanta we should be fast.

Gentilozzi says

[pederb]

Let's cross our fingers that the Gremlins are gone.

Cheers

[joeb]

Last season at Petit the Robertsons had problems keeping their engine bay cover attached and they were on pole (although not in that order). So maybe this is a sign of good things to come on Friday for RSR!