Walker Racing gears up for ’08 season

Walker Racing is ready for the first race of the season after wrapping up the last round of pre-season testing yesterday at MSR Houston, the 2.38 mile road course located 13 miles south of Houston.  The Indianapolis based squad completed two productive days with drivers Canadian Kevin Lacroix, and Englishmen Greg and Leo Mansell, sons of Nigel Mansell, the 1992 Formula 1 World Champion and the 1993 IndyCar Champion.  

“The boys did a lot of laps and changed a lot of things to optimize the car.  However, the final happy hour numbers escaped us today, so we didn’t end up on the charts as high as we would have liked.  I think this is an area we know we need to address.  All in all the team did a good job," said Derrick Walker, Walker Racing owner.  

Topping the time charts for the Atlantic team was Kevin Lacroix (No.25 Uni-Select/ Deans Knight Capital Management Ltd.), who signed with the team in August.  The 19 year-old, Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada native, was the second fastest on Tuesday with a time of 1:19.793 seconds and sixth fastest overall with a time of 1:19.767 seconds.  “We had a great day on Tuesday and on Wednesday we struggled a little bit with the car.  We made a change and had a problem with the brakes that we didn’t find until later, so we lost a day, but overall it was a good test.  I’m still very happy with the car and we keep getting better and better.  Hopefully, we can go for a podium or a win in Long Beach," commented Lacroix.  

The Houston test was all about preparing for the first race of the season for Greg Mansell (No. 5 Sunseeker).  “It was a really good test.  This time around we were really trying to concentrate more on the development and setup of the car rather than the overall speed and to get the setups right for our first street course in Long Beach," stated Greg Mansell.  The 20 year old clocked the sixth fastest lap time of 1:20.226 seconds and was the ninth fastest time overall with a time of 1:20.062 seconds.  

Feeling the same sentiments as his brother, Leo Mansell (No.15 Sunseeker) is ready to get his first Atlantics race under his belt.  “We really learned a lot over the two days.  We developed a good setup on the car and I really feel we are in a good position for Long Beach," said Leo Mansell.  The 23 year old was the fourteenth fastest on both days with a time of 1:21.782 on day one and 1:21.009 on day two.  

Next up for the Walker Racing Atlantic squad is the 34th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 18-20.