On June 14th David Richert took
to Portland International Raceway in the silver IMSA Lites prototype car. Driving
for West Race Cars, Richert was able to test his abilities after being out of a race car for several months. The green flag dropped on the test day and Richert instantly shot out of pit lane and down the front straight. Climbing up through the six speed gear box with the flick of a paddle-shift, the car
streaked across the asphalt screaming towards turn 1 at 12,000rpm…the test day was now underway!
After
driving the Portland track on computer Richert was amazed with how well it prepared him, “The detail in computer simulations
nowadays is incredible and after driving around the Portland track on my home computer, I was stunned with how easy it was
to transition into the real life environment…all that the computer simulation lacked was the wind whistling through
my helmet” declared Richert.
Within 15 laps it was clear that Richert
had impressed the West race team with the speed through which he was able to lap the track.
Both the morning and afternoon sessions went extremely well as Richert never put a wheel wrong all day and was even
able to help the team deal with some gearbox gremlins. “It was a great
opportunity for me to see where my driving abilities were at and the success I had today really increases my confidence in
a race car…” stated Richert “…having the opportunity to test for a professional and highly skilled
team such as West was a privilege for me”.
David Richert wishes to thank Wallace and
Wallace Fences (www.wallacefences.com) and Pevac America (www.pevacamerica.com) for their support for this testing opportunity.
Now the focus turns to upcoming races as
David Richert seeks to put together the funding needed to compete and audition in front of notable racing names. Famous teams such as Penske Motorsports, Andretti Green Racing, and Rahal Letterman Racing along with manufacturers
like Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Panoz will all be present to watch as Richert seeks to impress the illustrious
names of motorsports.
