Team KMA gears up for busy weekend: At first glance, the schedule for the Liberty Challenge doubleheader race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway seems to feature a lot of down time.
The Indy Pro Series cars will practice first thing in the morning and qualify late in the afternoon June 15. The only thing on the schedule for June 16 and June 17 are the two 25-lap races on the 2.605-mile road course.
The pace will be anything but relaxed, however, for Team KMA. In addition to running the No. 13 Cabo Wabo Tequila car with driver Robbie Pecorari in the Indy Pro Series, the team also fields four cars in Formula BMW USA, which also will hold two races at IMS.
The team runs completely separate programs, but there will undoubtedly still be plenty to do.
“Justin Herring, our lead mechanic on the Indy Pro Series team, was the lead mechanic for our BMW team last year, ” team co-owner Jon Lewis said. “He started the season helping out on the BMW side again, but we found out quickly that it puts too much strain on a mechanic to do both.
“We have separate programs. I’m basically in charge of the Indy Pro Series side of things while (team co-owner) Ingo (Strackerjan) is in charge of the BMW program. ”
Pecorari, a 20-year-old Indy Pro Series rookie, will do his best to help the four Formula BMW drivers throughout the weekend.
“The priority for us is to get the Team KMA Indy Pro Series car into the front of the field, ” said Pecorari, who recorded top-10 finishes in three of the first five races. “If we can do that, then I’ll be able to help the BMW guys. One of them (Jeffrey Petriello) finished second at the first race, so they’re doing OK. ”
This is Pecorari’s first experience in the role of driver coach and mentor.
“I went to a private test and a series test and have done some driver coaching and looking at data, ” Pecorari said. “It seemed to help. It’s all new to me. I know driving, but it’s different trying to help someone else. ”
Lewis sees the benefits of having both programs at the same facility on a race weekend.
“I think it’s important that our BMW drivers get to see the opportunities and possibilities for their advancement in motorsports, ” Lewis said.
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