Alex Job Racing drivers Bill Sweedler (Westport, Conn.) Townsend Bell (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and Frankie Montecalvo (Highland, N.J.) are ready for 20th running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul Petit Le Mans, October 4-7 at Road Atlanta.
The Alex Job led team took the opportunity to test at Road Atlanta in September to improve their chances for a strong run at the 20th anniversary of the endurance classic founded by Dan Panoz in 1997. Sweedler and Bell had a solid finish of eighth at Lime Rock in July, but the trio are looking for a stronger run this weekend at the 2.5-mile, 12-turn track located 45-minutes north of Atlanta. Running just five events this season the trio are looking to close out the season with a podium run.
“I believe the test went very well three weeks ago it was great to get back in the Audi R8 LMS after a long break,” Montecalvo said. “We learned a lot on car set-up and I think it should be great knowledge going into the race. I’ve raced at Road Atlanta multiple times over my career. It is a great track with tons of elevation change, which makes it one of my favorite tracks in the U.S. The last time I raced a Petit was in 2014 in LMPC and we finished third on the podium. My goal for the last race of the season is fight hard for that win. We have had ups and downs this year, but I think we have the team and the driver line-up to make it happen.”
“The test we had last month really helped to understand the Audi R8 LMS advantages at Road Atlanta,” Sweedler said. “I think we made a lot of progress with the car and we should unload with a package that is capable of competing for a podium on Saturday. Frankie and Townsend are dialed in and we are ready for a strong 10-hours of racing.”
“We’ve been hard at work to catch up this season to the other team that compete full-time and I think we’re much closer now.” Bell said. “The opportunity to test and calmly go through a progression of set-up options at Road Atlanta with the team is really going to help us this weekend. It will be nice to have good baseline on the car off the trailer so we can just tweak on it for the race.”
“We had the guys and the team at Road Atlanta for a test, which was really money well spent,” Alex Job, team owner said. “With the level of competition in the GTD class it is very difficult to cherry pick events and hope for success, especially with a car that is new to everyone. The test will show its value this weekend. Instead of searching for a baseline set-up we will seeking that tenth of a second come practice on Thursday.”
