SAMAX - Barber race

The SAMAX/ Doncaster Racing crew prepared a strong race car for the Rolex Sports Car Series race at Barber Motorsports Park, but their potential was zapped by a wheel problem. Dave Lacey and Greg Wilkins drove the No. 17 SAMAX/ Doncaster Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a 14th-place finish, despite missing the first 32 minutes of the two-hour 45-minute race.

Wilkins started 11th on the GT grid, but was stopped on the pace lap as the car's left-rear wheel hub sheared off. The car was transported back to the paddock, where the crew quickly replaced the left-rear suspension upright and wheel. They were unable to replace the rear sway bar, which was also broken as the wheel snapped.

Wilkins returned to the track at the back of the 17-car GT field, then gained three positions during his 90-minute stint. Lacey drove the last 40 minutes of the race, holding 14th.

race report

time           driver                        action
start            Wilkins                      left-rear wheel hub sheared off on pace lap – car moved to
                                                       paddock to replace wheel hub and suspension upright
32m            Wilkins                      on track
2h5             Lacey in                     pit – driver change, tires, fuel

Dave Lacey:  "I think we would have had an awesome car today. The car was relatively good without a rear sway bar, so imagine if we had not broken that sway bar – I think we would have had a top-five car. It's unfortunate, but that's racing. Sometimes things just go wrong. I think Greg did a great job hauling it around for an hour and a half. It was disappointing, but we made some [championship] points up, so that was a great goal for today."

Greg Wilkins:  "Obviously, it was disappointing to lose the wheel on the warmup lap. We had the same problem cracking the wheel studs at Daytona – it took us out of the race there – so it's a bid odd that it's happened twice now. On the plus side, the guys did a fantastic job getting the car back out on the track and we caught three places, which is important for the points. The car on the track wasn't all that bad, considering we had no rear sway bar and a diabolical push [understeer]. The fact that we could hang with a bunch of guys spoke well of the car. I kept hoping for rain – we would have had a great rain car!"