FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Info: Greg Franz 949.851.4731
gfranz@competentms.com

Yokohama Drivers Cup USA: Racing with Assistance

NEWPORT BEACH, CA March 8, 2007 – “The Yokohama Drivers Cup USA is a great concept and an exciting new series,” said Patrick Long, Porsche factory driver. “I wish it was available when I first made my debut in the 911 GT3 Cup level racing. This would have been an ideal place for me to make the transition. This is the perfect program to bridge the gap between traditional club racing and the various professional endurance racing series and ultra competitive Porsche Cups around the world. I look forward to attending Driver’s Cup USA races in 2007 where my own racing schedule allows to assist drivers and teams on key driving and set up points with their own 996 and 997 Cup cars.”

“Our series is all about usable, personalized education,” noted Greg Franz, President of Competent Motorsport, LLC, and founder of the series. “We are going to make sure that we positively touch everybody who races with us. The series is not about numbers. It is a hands-on experience. This is racing with assistance.”

It will be a partnership of on-track experience and technology. Along with being able to tap the expertise of Craig Stanton, Patrick Long and other named drivers, technology will greatly enhance the learning experience. For example, the use of multiple in car cameras to evaluate race craft in the car will be real time: the participant does a session and comes in and gets immediate feedback. Plus the driver will be able to compare his telemetry to that of his coach, taking advantage of years of top racing experience.

In addition, the black art of interpreting data acquisition will be explained. When good drivers are talked about, it is often noted how effectively they communicate with their race engineers. The Yokohama Drivers Cup USA series will give the driver the tools to interpret the data and most importantly, the linguistic language that will allow the driver to effectively communicate and get the most out of the car.

And the participants will benefit from our various numerous partners giving seminars during the race weekends. Jim Munn, Director of MoTeC Systems USA, and his staff will be responsible for the first seminar during the March 30 – April 1 race weekend event at California Speedway. “The properly configured data system is the key to knowledge about the performance of the car and the driver,” stated Munn. “Data acquisition plays the key role role in letting the driver see just where they are gaining and losing time on the race course. Smoothness, consistency and grace under pressure will always yield better vehicle reliability and quicker lap times. The data system will inform the driver about critical issues using custom tailored warnings. In addition, information about lap times, lap number and other valuable data is displayed to the driver at the appropriate time. Careful attention to detail means the driver's attention is not misdirected by poorly thought out alarms or messages.
 

“After the session, when the driver is reviewing the recorded data on the PC, he can examine his consistency in each lap, compare lap vs. lap and find areas for improvement. Changes suggested by the data help the car achieve proper balance. The addition of video to the data record makes the practical impact that much more revealing. Data, properly displayed and recorded for the driver and the feedback it generates, is the quickest way to see improvement in the operation of a race vehicle.”
The race weekends are structured as follows:

• Friday is the Test and Tune Day which includes an educational drivers’ meeting on how to drive the track, hot laps with in-car video followed by one-on-one professional coaching and feedback after each session. There will be a meeting at the end of the day to highlight areas where the group did well and what they should think about for Saturday.


• Saturday starts with a drivers’ meeting to reinforce Friday’s progress. There are two practice sessions in the morning, followed by a qualifying session and a sprint race in the afternoon. Each session will be followed by coaching input. The drivers’ meeting after the race will continue to emphasize where improvement has been made and where further work is needed. There will also be an in-depth seminar from one of our partners with different subjects on each weekend. For example, MoTeC on how to best use data acquisition, Stand 21 on drivers’ heat stress and Yohohama on getting the most from your tires.


• Sunday’s schedule will be similar to Saturday’s with a drivers’ meeting, coaching, practice sessions, qualifying and an afternoon race. There will be continuing emphasis on coaching feedback. During the three days, the coach will be walking the track and checking out each comer to give individual feedback to each driver. He will also walk the paddock throughout the day and answer any questions drivers may have.
   
  “It will be an enjoyable weekend and very educational for the participants,” noted Franz. “It will be a multi-level learning experience. They will learn from our coaches, from the use of technology to enhance that learning experience, from our technical partners and from each other. We like to think of it as a season’s worth of improvement in one race weekend.”