OptimumG has teamed up with the already strong combination of At Speed Motorsports and Volvo Cars of North America for a race season of firsts.
2005 marks the first year Volvo will compete in a full season of US racing. The S60 R became the first Volvo used for US racing when it made its debut in the last few races of 2004.
“It was inevitable that we would seek out a place to flex Volvo’s newest high-performance muscles and the SPEED World Challenge GT Series along with At Speed seemed an appropriate combination.” Vic Doolan, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, said. (.atspeedmotorsports.com/pressreleases.asp?ID=1)
This will also be the first time the OptimumG team has had the opportunity to build a car from the tires up. Company President Claude Rouelle will oversee the seven-member team.
“Instead of one really smart guy doing everything, we offer a team with experts in specific areas,” Stu Waterman, project manager, said. “That is what sets us apart and that’s why At Speed chose us.”
The engineers bring together knowledge from three continents to give At Speed cars to give teams like Audi a run for the money. The OptimumG team will be in charge of designing at least two racecars and overseeing their development from component fabrication to construction. Once the cars are built there will be engineers working with the race team at each track to optimize the cars’ performance for that particular race.
The cars will compete in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship driven by At Speed’s award-winning drivers including racing legend Derek Bell. The purpose of this series is to allow production-based cars a chance to compete with one another under specific rules designed to level the playing field among competitors such as Cadillac, Porsche, and now Volvo.
“This is a great series for manufacturers. The cars must be recognizable as Volvo S60 R street cars,” Waterman said. “However, you can modify the engine, suspension, chassis, and other components for increased performance and safety.”
The main challenge Waterman says faces the team is the all-wheel-drive, which can make it more challenging to optimize the suspension and chassis.
OptimumG is working hard with the At Speed team and confident it will have competitive cars ready to race at Sebring International Raceway in Florida by the season-opening race in March. With OptimumG fine-tuning the already high performance of the S60 R and At Speed’s experienced drivers at the wheels, it could be a season for another first- First Place.
Denver, CO based OptimumG, founded in 1997, is the first racecar engineering company to provide race teams and the motorsport industry worldwide with a single source for consulting, engineering, training services, and decision support software products-combining new ideas with continuous performance improvement. The company’s founder, Claude Rouelle, is a renowned racecar engineer, acclaimed international seminar leader, and successful entrepreneur.
Based in Savage, MD, At Speed Motorsports was formed by Miller in 1996. 2004 marks the fourth year that At Speed has competed in the SPEED World Challenge GT series. The cars are redesigned versions of the S60R street car that presently wields 300 hp, all-wheel-drive, a six-speed gearbox, Brembo brakes and an electronically adjustable suspension.
