15.08.2004 Krohn-Barbour Racing has revealed that it will miss next weekend's ALMS race at Road America, in order to concentrate on testing AND developing its two Lamborghini Murciélago R-GTs

Krohn-Barbour Racing has revealed that it will miss next weekend's seventh round of the American Le Mans Series at Road America, in order to concentrate on testing and developing its two Lamborghini Murciélago R-GTs.

The Italian supercars made their US competition debut only seven weeks ago, in round two of the ALMS at Mid-Ohio, and have quickly established themselves as crowd favourites for their good looks and glorious engine note, but have yet to display either the speed or reliability that the newly-formed team would wish for.

David Brabham and Peter Kox have twice battled for third-place finishes in the GTS class, currently being dominated by the two GM Racing Chevrolet Corvettes, and team co-founder Tracy Krohn and track instructor David McEntee finished second in GTS in round four of the ALMS at Infineon Raceway.

However the busy race schedule has prevented the team from making as much progress as it would like with the performance of the new cars.

"With five races in the last seven weekends, there's been almost no time for the testing and development that a new racing car always needs," team manager Dick Barbour explained.

"Tracy Krohn and I have decided it's best to take some time out from the race programme to concentrate on testing and development.

"By missing the Road America race, we get a valuable six-week window before both cars return to the series at Petit Le Mans, the longest and most important event we'll enter this year."

"I was really looking forward to going to Mosport for the next race in the American Le Mans Series, because it's a fast and bumpy track, very challenging and demanding for the car and driver," commented Krohn-Barbour's star driver, David Brabham.

"However, it seemed that it was a little too demanding for our cars, as we discovered that the lower rear wishbones were bending due to the higher loads," continued the Australian. "We haven't tested or raced the Lamborghinis at that type of track, so it was a surprise to see we had problems in this area.

"The team went back to the workshop for the first time since we got the cars, and Tracy Krohn and Dick Barbour decided that the cars needed to spend some real time in the 'shop and then to concentrate on testing them properly.

"The cars need to be developed as they are not quick at the moment, so I feel that this decision is one that will work well for the whole team," Brabham concluded.