Rahal Letterman Racing’s American Le Mans Series GT2 program is off and running. The Hilliard, Ohio-based team spent Monday and Wednesday at Sebring in the first test for its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Type 997). Ralf Kelleners and Tom Milner both spent extensive time behind the wheel as preparations continued for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17, the start of the American Le Mans Series season.
“It was a good test to start with. We didn’t have any mechanical problems with the car,” Milner reported. “We were able to spend time working getting myself and Ralf comfortable with the car. The team had been working hard for the test and developed a plan as to what they wanted to address and work toward. Sebring is notorious for being bumpy, and we definitely did a good job of getting the car ready for that and the street circuits (St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Houston) after that.”
Although Kelleners has driven a variety of the world’s top GT cars, Milner’s career has been limited to mostly a BMW M3 and the Panoz Esperante GTLM that he drove in 2006 with Gunnar Jeannette. Only once has he driven a Porsche in a professional race, and he admitted the 911 GT3 RSR took some getting used to.
“When you first get in you can feel the weight of the motor hanging off the back axle. After 15 or 20 laps you get used to that,” Milner said. “The power band is different in the Porsche than it is with the Panoz and certainly with the M3. But once you get used to the car, your brain sorts out the differences and you focus on what the car is doing and what you can do to make it better. I think we did that.”
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