Law ready for the challanges of Sebring

Darren Law and his Flying Lizard Motorsports teammates will contest this week's Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race in a new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, a car well-suited to the demanding 3.74-mile Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. Law, of Phoenix, turned his first laps in the No. 044 Porsche on Monday, alternating test runs with Seth Neiman of San Francisco and Andy Lally of Atlanta.

#044 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR: Darren Law, Seth Neiman, Andy Lally

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

"The new car has many different aerodynamic changes in the bodywork and the fenders, and in downforce it's actually quite a bit different. We also have some geometry changes in the suspension," Law said. "So far, we're really impressed with the car. It's an easier car to drive this year, with wider front tires. It's got a lot better power-down rear grip. And it's more compliant over the bumps, which is key to getting around Sebring. It makes it a lot less grueling if the car is good over the bumps here."

Another change this year is the combined field of American Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship cars. As the season-opener for both series, the Sebring race is crammed with 64 entries.

"This is a cool event because it's not just our series," Law noted. "It's also the first round of the World Endurance Championship, so half the field is full of all the European teams, as well. So it's cool to get everybody from around the world together for this race."

One thing that hasn't changed is the overwhelming fan support for the 12-hour endurance race.

"Sebring is obviously a very important race, a race with a lot of history and tradition, and it's a challenging track to drive," Law said. "But one of the things that makes this such a great event is all the fans who turn out. It's one of the most-attended sports-car races in the U.S. The fans are really knowledgeable and it seems like most of them have been coming here for years and years. They're super-supportive. There are a lot of fans out there with Flying Lizard apparel on, which is really cool to see.

"We never have enough time at the autograph sessions to get to everybody because there are so many people there. So every year, we make a point over the weekend to go cruise around the track and check out some of the different areas, say hello to some of the people in the motorhomes, and visit Turn 10 and the area they call Green Park. It's just a really good event; it's jam-packed and it's great to see."

The drivers and crews are onsite for 10 nonstop days, much longer than the usual three-day race weekend. "This is a tough week," Law acknowledged. "We spend a lot of time with our team and our crew, as well as on track. It's just a super-busy week and we really don't have any free time. Other than going to dinner as a team or media dinners, it's pretty much race track and hotel the whole time."

But would he rather be anywhere else this week?

"Heck, no! I love coming to Sebring.This is one of the events that I look forward to every year, and I look forward to coming back here many more years to come."