Grand Am GT - Segal Brings Points Lead and Momentum of First 2012Victory to New Jersey MILLVILLE, May 11, 2012: Jeff Segal will bring the GRAND-AM RolexSports Car Series GT class points lead, and the momentum of hisfirst victory of the season with co-driver Emil Assentato and AIMAutosport Team FXDD, to New Jersey Motorsports Park this weekendfor the Global Barter 250 presented by presented by Susan G. Komenfor the Cure. Round 4 of 13 races in the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Seriesseason, the timed 2-3/4-hour sprint on NJMP's ThunderboltRaceway can be seen live on SPEED this Sunday, May 13, at 1 p.m.EST/10 a.m. PST. Driving the new No.
69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari 458 ItaliaGrand Am in just its third race, Segal led his team to victory in arainy Grand Prix of Miami race at Homestead-Miami Speedway twoweeks ago. It was Segal's first victory in the GRAND-AM RolexSeries since the spring of 2010 when he and Assentato wonback-to-back races at Homestead and Barber Motorsports Park. "I think everyone on the team was really excited aboutgetting our first win at Homestead, and there's a nice positiveenergy through the team that I expect will carry through to thenext few races," Segal said. "We've been building thisnew Ferrari effort since November, and this win was the culminationof a lot of hard work by the entire team over a short period oftime. I think it was important to get this result as a reward foreveryone's hard work, but we've got a long way to go and there'sstill a lot of work to do.
With all of the hunger in ourorganization, I don't think anyone is satisfied with just one win.We're all focused on New Jersey and the string of races that followclosely afterwards, looking to keep this momentum going." The Miami win came in a wet and wild race, not unlike the 2009 raceat NJMP that was run in a torrential down pour. The conditions wereso bad two weeks ago that the race was called early, not too longbefore Segal pulled off a few key passes that proved to be thewinning moves of the race. "The conditions at Homestead were really difficult from adriving perspective, and certainly we were sitting in the rightplace at the right time when the race was called due to theweather," Segal said. "But if we hadn't executed therace well, we certainly would not have been in the lead, and thatspeaks to the importance of not flying off the road, not crashingthe car, and not losing time in the pits.
The entire team stayedcalm even in the miserable conditions, and we kept focused onrunning a steady race. I actually had no idea that we were leadinguntil the safety car came out for the last time. I was just focusedon running consistent laps and passing as many cars as possible totry and improve my visibility through the spray. Clearly, thatstrategy proved effective!" Segal has learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to racingconditions at NJMP.
"The conditions have always been extreme when we race atNJMP, whether it was dust, rain, or unbearable heat, so I'm notsure what to expect for a surprise this year," Segal said."Based on how Homestead went for us, I'm not sure I wouldmind a little bit of rain again!" Wet or dry, Segal will have the advantage of competing on"home turf" for the second consecutive race. Thecurrent Miami resident is a native of the greater Philadelphiaarea, the nearest major city to NJMP. Segal was born inPhiladelphia and grew up in Wynnewood, just west of the city, andattended Friends' Central School. "New Jersey is definitely another home race for me, and atrack where I do enjoy the benefit of some extra seat time in theyears since the facility was built," Segal said.
"I'vedone a lot of testing, instructing, and driving on the circuit inNew Jersey, and those extra laps definitely help, even if it justaccelerates the process of getting up to speed in the firstpractice session. The facility has come a long way since we firststarted coming there with GRAND-AM, and it's great to seethat the area is really cultivating a solid following of fans thatseems to grow each year." Segal's most recent visit to NJMP came just a few weeks ago. "We did have the opportunity to test at NJMP recently, andthat certainly helps the team to prepare the car for the raceweekend," Segal said. "We already have a good baselinesetup, and now we can jump directly into refining our handling andmaybe even experimenting with a few setups that we'll look toevaluate and evolve for later in the season.
Per the GRAND-AM rulesI wasn't allowed to drive when we tested at Thunderbolt, but Emildid a lot of laps and gave very good feedback about what the carwas doing." Segal and Assentato, and the No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari458 Italia Grand Am, have 90 points to lead both the GRAND-AM RolexSports Car Series GT Driver and Championship standings heading intoNew Jersey. I am a professional writer from Food & Beverage, which contains a great deal of information about waring waffle iron , estrogen soy milk, welcome to visit!
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