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Media Release: Positive First US Test Outing For Scott-Eklund Racing

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Florida, America - Friday, May 4, 2012: Scott-Eklund Racing made positive development progress on its Saab 9-3 Global RallyCross Championship (GRC) challenger during its debut appearance in America this week, where the team extended its scheduled test over May 4&5 at the Florida International Rally and Motorsport Park.

The team, founded by British Rallycross Vice-Champion Andy Scott and Swedish rally and rallycross legend Per Eklund, began its test programme ahead of the opening rounds of the GRC in France last month. Driven by Team Principal Scott, the 600bhp Saab 9-3 then completed 50 laps of the Le Circuit de Rallycross de Dreux.

This week, just days after relocating to its US base at Champion Racing’s Headquarters building in Pompano Beach, Florida, the Scott-Eklund Racing team completed another 50 laps with 55 year-old Scott at the wheel to glean more valuable data.

The team chose the Florida International Rally and Motorsport Park for its inaugural outing on US soil to conduct intricate mapping to replicate the Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the opening round on May 26.

The exercise proved invaluable in progressing car set-up development and gearing strategies while identifying some anticipated teething problems relating to running in 95 degree temperatures for the first time.

With positive progress made, the team will return to the venue to continue its testing development ahead of the opening GRC round in under three-weeks time.

Andy Scott, Scott-Eklund Racing Team Principle & Driver:

“It was a very positive test but we also found some slight problems relating to running in 95 degree temperatures for the very first time. In France it was just 75 degrees and the conditions here are more intense, but naturally more akin to what we’ll face during the season. That’s exactly what the test was for and all part of the positive learning curve.

“The car was instantly better overnight with the improvements made and the changed gear ratios, running around half a second quicker straight out of the box. We managed several stints through the day and went quicker every session. We will undertake more testing prior to Charlotte and already know what modifications we need to make to gain more advantage.”

Per Eklund, Scott-Eklund Racing Technical Director:

“Overall it proved a successful test and the car responded positively to the vast majority of changes we made. All the changes we made to the geometry of the car are more suitable to Charlotte Motor Speedway, and replicating the circuit layout where we sorted all the gearing and changes ahead of the first round later this month, was invaluable. We completed around 50 laps and gathered a lot of data which will aid us considerably at our next test.”

ENDS

Scott-Eklund Racing Press Office:

Emma Spearing: +44 (0)7736 341828 | emma.spearing@hazelpr.com

Cathy Metcalfe: +44 (0)7802 332398 | cathy.metcalfe@hazelpr.com

Notes to Editors – About the Global RallyCross Championship

The GRC combines the energy of motorsport with the attitude of action sport featuring production-based, highly modified compact cars boasting more than 600bhp and acceleration of zero to 60mph in less than two seconds.

Drivers progress through multi-car heats towards an eight-car final on multi-surface, asphalt and dirt, race tracks averaging one mile in length that include a crowd-thrilling, crossover 70-foot gap jump along with tight turns and snap directional changes.

The seven-round 2012 schedule will see GRC events partner NASCAR Sprint Cup and IZOD IndyCar race weekends at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Two major championship rounds will also be held as part of the Summer X Games in Los Angeles, exposing hundreds of thousands of fans to the emerging action motorsport of Global RallyCross.

Live primetime broadcasts via ESPN network channels with a global reach across multiple cutting edge media platforms will also capture a six million audience worldwide, promising unrivalled exposure.

For further information visit www.global-rallycross.com

 

 

Tags:

Saab GRC Scottish Andy Scott Dumfries Global RallyCross Championship Per Eklund Saab 9-3 Scott-Eklund Racing Florida International Rally Motorsport Park

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Quotes

It was a very positive test but we also found some slight problems relating to running in 95 degree temperatures for the very first time. In France it was just 75 degrees and the conditions here are more intense, but naturally more akin to what we’ll face during the season. That’s exactly what the test was for and all part of the positive learning curve. The car was instantly better overnight with the improvements made and the changed gear ratios, running around half a second quicker straight out of the box. We managed several stints through the day and went quicker every session. We will undertake more testing prior to Charlotte and already know what modifications we need to make to gain more advantage.
Andy Scott, Scott-Eklund Racing Team Principal
Overall it proved a successful test and the car responded positively to the vast majority of changes we made. All the changes we made to the geometry of the car are more suitable to Charlotte Motor Speedway, and replicating the circuit layout where we sorted all the gearing and changes ahead of the first round later this month, was invaluable. We completed around 50 laps and gathered a lot of data which will aid us considerably at our next test.
Per Eklund, Scott-Eklund Racing Technical Director