SRRT starts year off right

After a solid finish coming away from the first round of the 2011 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series at Daytona International Speedway, the Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) is eager to build upon that result at Homestead-Miami Speedway which will host the next round on March 4-5.
 
At Homestead, SRRT co-drivers Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., and Bret Spaude, Bushnell, Fla., face a 2.3-mile combination banked oval speedway and twisting infield road course for the 2.5-hour race. Daytona’s road racing configuration length is 3.56 miles; the extra running room makes a Grand Sports class race lap at Daytona about 13 miles per hour faster than a Homestead lap.
 
“That’s a good equalizer for the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI race car,” said Joe Aquilante, owner of Phoenix Performance of Phoenixville, Pa., where the team’s cars are built and tuned.
 
“Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system will help our car accelerate out of the corners, and since the banking is flatter, our handling advantage should come into play more,” he said.
 
“Even with our testing, we’re still tweaking the chassis and suspension settings after every practice session,” added Andrew Aquilante, who, along with team Crew Chief Kurt Omensetter, oversees the pre race prep of the 2011 WRX STI. “We’re in the mode where small changes can mean a lot in lap times and top speed, so we are focusing on details.”