Moderator's Note: All 3 Le Mans Robertson Racing threads have been merged here into one thread.
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-realization-of-a-dream-for-the-robertsons
Georgia-based squad hopes to gain second race entry to 24 Hours of Le Mans...
John Dagys | Posted April 22, 2011 Le Mans, (FRA)
This weekend’s Le Mans Test Day marks the realization of a lifelong dream for David Robertson. The 55-year-old retired commercial pilot, along with wife Andrea, will make their debut on the hallowed French grounds on Sunday, driving one of the sport’s iconic reincarnations, the Ford GT.
While the husband-and-wife duo, along with road racing ace Boris Said, have no chance of repeating Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt’s overall win here in 1967, one of four victories for the legendary Ford GT40, the popular American privateer squad has attracted quite a fanfare here at this weekend’s official test day.
“There’s a certain amount of awe just being at the place and knowing what has gone on here before,” David Robertson told SPEED.com. “The hotel we’re staying at has pictures of the race from the ‘60s and ‘70s, where we can see the previous generation of this car. That heritage matters to us and we’ve been aware of it for some 40 years.”
It was that 1967 race that Robertson, as a young boy, saw on ABC’s ‘Wide World of Sports’ that opened his eyes to endurance racing. Forty years later, David and Andrea began racing in the club ranks, with the vision of some day making it to Le Mans.
And here they are, with a two-car effort to boot in this weekend’s test day.
While the Andrew ‘H’ Smith-led squad’s second Ford GT, comprised of David Murry, Anthony Lazzaro and Ford Racing standout Colin Braun, has yet to gain a race entry, as it sits as the first reserve in the GTE category, there's hope of it making the race.
“It’s great to have both cars here and see both cars go around the track [on Sunday],” Smith said. “Whether we get both of the entries or not, who knows? We just may not know for a long while. It’s good that we’re here and at least giving it a go. We’d just love to get both cars in.”
The team has pulled out all stops of making its Le Mans debut a success. They skipped last weekend’s American Le Mans Series round at Long Beach, their first non-appearance in over two years, to get both of its Fords prepped and shipped to France.
With only one of the 24 GTE-class entrants needing to pull out prior to the race, the Robertson's are optimistic of seeing both cars take the green flag in June.
“I don’t know when the last moment will be feasible to bring people from the States and get them here,” Smith said. “I would like to think that after this weekend, somebody goes, ‘I’m out’ or someone doesn’t make it through the test or didn’t show up. I don’t know the answer to that one. The sooner, the better is what we need.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-realization-of-a-dream-for-the-robertsons
Georgia-based squad hopes to gain second race entry to 24 Hours of Le Mans...
John Dagys | Posted April 22, 2011 Le Mans, (FRA)
This weekend’s Le Mans Test Day marks the realization of a lifelong dream for David Robertson. The 55-year-old retired commercial pilot, along with wife Andrea, will make their debut on the hallowed French grounds on Sunday, driving one of the sport’s iconic reincarnations, the Ford GT.
While the husband-and-wife duo, along with road racing ace Boris Said, have no chance of repeating Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt’s overall win here in 1967, one of four victories for the legendary Ford GT40, the popular American privateer squad has attracted quite a fanfare here at this weekend’s official test day.
“There’s a certain amount of awe just being at the place and knowing what has gone on here before,” David Robertson told SPEED.com. “The hotel we’re staying at has pictures of the race from the ‘60s and ‘70s, where we can see the previous generation of this car. That heritage matters to us and we’ve been aware of it for some 40 years.”
It was that 1967 race that Robertson, as a young boy, saw on ABC’s ‘Wide World of Sports’ that opened his eyes to endurance racing. Forty years later, David and Andrea began racing in the club ranks, with the vision of some day making it to Le Mans.
And here they are, with a two-car effort to boot in this weekend’s test day.
While the Andrew ‘H’ Smith-led squad’s second Ford GT, comprised of David Murry, Anthony Lazzaro and Ford Racing standout Colin Braun, has yet to gain a race entry, as it sits as the first reserve in the GTE category, there's hope of it making the race.
“It’s great to have both cars here and see both cars go around the track [on Sunday],” Smith said. “Whether we get both of the entries or not, who knows? We just may not know for a long while. It’s good that we’re here and at least giving it a go. We’d just love to get both cars in.”
The team has pulled out all stops of making its Le Mans debut a success. They skipped last weekend’s American Le Mans Series round at Long Beach, their first non-appearance in over two years, to get both of its Fords prepped and shipped to France.
With only one of the 24 GTE-class entrants needing to pull out prior to the race, the Robertson's are optimistic of seeing both cars take the green flag in June.
“I don’t know when the last moment will be feasible to bring people from the States and get them here,” Smith said. “I would like to think that after this weekend, somebody goes, ‘I’m out’ or someone doesn’t make it through the test or didn’t show up. I don’t know the answer to that one. The sooner, the better is what we need.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com
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