Half Way Through, the Number 098 JaguarRSR XKR GT Is Running Strong

As the 12 Hours of Sebring reached the halfway mark, both JaguarRSR XKR GTs are still in the big show, writes Stuart Schorr, Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for Jaguar North America.

Regarding the #098 JaguarRSR XKR GT, while their run has been anything but uneventful, the number 098 team is optimistic; the car has been running like clockwork and the only things slowing it down have been related to incidental contact with other competitors.

"The contact threw us off a bit, but it didn't hurt the #098 JaguarRSR XKR GT other than some damage to the body work,” said Paul Gentilozzi, team principal of JaguarRSR. “The car is running solid, consistent lap times. We are trying to conserve the Dunlop tires and all three drivers are doing a good job out there for us. Our goal is to run all 12 hours, so at the half way point, things are looking promising."

At the 6‑hour mark, the #098 car had completed just over 140 laps of the torturous 3.7 mile long, central Florida track, racking up nearly 520 race miles. Just after the midway point, the #098 was balked again by a Prototype class car and had to come in to the pits again to secure some re‑arranged bodywork with a fresh application of duct tape. However, the damage was merely cosmetic and the car, after a set of new tires and a tank of fuel, went out again to do battle.

The number 099 team was not as lucky. It suffered what was thought to be a fairly simple alternator problem after 20 laps and went behind the wall for repairs. But it didn’t turn out to be quite so simple, explained Gentilozzi.

"We lost the alternator and we thought it would be an easy fix. However it did more damage than that as we discovered it burned the wiring harness, so we had to replace all of the electrical wiring throughout the entire car. It is taking more time than we hoped but we are working very hard to get the repair done so we can get the #099 JaguarRSR XKR GT back out there," added Gentilozzi.

The XKR GTs are built up from “bodies in white” by the JaguarRSR team, bodies that come off of the same production line as all of the street XKs. All in all, the Jaguar XKR GTs are proving to be worthy competitors in the ALMS’ GT class as they battle the track, the competition and elements.