Marsal Gears up for 2012 with Testing at Daytona
January 8, 2012 Leave a comment
Marsal Gears up for 2012 with Testing at Daytona
Daytona Beach, Fl. (8 January 2012) – Michael Marsal completed a busy three days of testing in both the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with Turner Motorsport at the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
The testing was key preparation for Marsal, who will serve double duty during the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona event as the 2012 GRAND-AM season opens on January 26-29.
Marsal, who raced the No. 93 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 in three GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series events last year, picked up right where he left off as he joined a talented driver line-up of BMW factory drivers Dirk Mueller, Joerg Mueller and Dirk Werner and the team worked on various set-ups to find the quickest way around the track with the Turner machine running in the top-10 of over 40 entries throughout most of the sessions.
In addition to his laps in the GT car, Marsal also tested the familiar No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW GS as he returns to the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event for the third consecutive year. Joined by veteran Boris Said at the test, the duo worked to find max speed in the BMW – posting the seventh quickest time in the very first session out and remaining in the top-10 throughout the rest of the test as the team readied for the 2.5-hour GRAND-AM 200 event.
“We had a very productive few days,” said Marsal. “It felt great to be back in the GS car, and I felt really comfortable in the car and our pace was good. I still need to find a bit more speed in the GT but I’m learning from the best of the best with my new co-drivers so I think we’ll be good to go in a few weeks. The Turner guys will be hard at work over the next few weeks making all the final preparations. I’m really excited to get back down here for the 50th Rolex 24. It’s going to be a huge event and I’m really looking forward to being a part of it.”
The GRAND-AM 200 is set to begin on January 27 at 1:30 PM with the 24 hour event to follow on January 28 at 3:30 PM.
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