Road Atlanta: Risi Competizione Thursday report

It's not news for anyone who has been at Road Atlanta during the last two days, but it's been a very disjointed and interrupted start to the race meeting. In the three sessions to date, there have been no fewer than six red flags halting the action on the track and the three drivers had - before night practice - done only 60 laps between them in three and a half hours.

Those few laps have, however, allowed the team to assess the new and revised aerodynamic package seen on the Ferrari F430 GT this weekend, aimed at increasing down force and reducing drag. "For sure it's better, especially the new diffuser" said Jaime Melo. "We did not have time to try it at the weekend [because of the rain] and for the future we want to compare the new front splitter with the old to see if it's pitch sensitive, but that's not something we will have time to do this weekend. At the moment we are using less rear wing than last year but are still about 4/5 mph slower than our competitors on the straights."

Lack of track time apart, the good news for Risi is that all the key elements are in place to allow the Houston-based team to continue its run of endurance successes - the car, the drivers and knowledge of the track and the particular challenge that is the 1,000 Mile Petit Le Mans.

MIKA SALO - GOOD OL' BOY?....

Risi's Flying Finn, Mika Salo, has made no secret of the fact that he would like to explore racing in NASCAR and it looks now as though his desire is one step closer to fruition. Salo visited Michael Waltrip Racing earlier this week and will be doing a test for the team in November. "I can't wait to get a few laps down in the car," enthused Salo. "It looks good and I think it might suit me well. I've got lots of things to learn - the cars, the people for a start - and I hope to get the chance to race one of these cars some day."

KAFFER'S CRASH SHOP....

Pierre Kaffer is a sensible man. Although only 32 years of age, Pierre is conscious that there needs to be a life after racing and has entered into the crash repair business in Zurich near his home in Switzerland.

This is on top of the busy high performance driving courses that he runs in conjunction with "World Class Driving", primarily in Germany, and aimed at both corporations and individuals. His next plan is to introduce exclusive, tailor-made motorsport tours of Germany which will include visits to leading manufacturers and tracks. Anyone buying a place on these 4-5 day luxury tours will also be able to experience a day's driving at the legendary 12.9 mile Nordschleife circuit in the Eifel Mountain area of Germany.

-credit: risi