NIGHT DRIVING TESTS UNDERWAY

Phoenix, AZ USA – Matt McMurry will drive a Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC) car for the first time during the darkness on Feb. 15-17 at Palm Beach International Raceway, as the 16-year-old continues preparations for a successful professional driving career that he hopes will include the world’s greatest endurance races.

“It is hard to get exposure to nighttime driving on road courses in the junior or developmental series, where most young drivers hone their race craft. Yet, more and more races in the top forms of motorsport run into the darkness,” says McMurry’s coach Gerardo Bonilla. “In fact, whether we’re talking about the professional level of stock cars, formula cars or sports cars, night driving is on every schedule nowadays. Running with headlights will be a new experience for Matt, but he always takes to change quickly,” he added.

“Running with headlights will be a new experience for Matt, but he always takes to change quickly.” - Gerardo Bonilla, driving coach

The test will be run by Performance Tech Motorsports, a Deerfield Beach, FL team that finished on the podium in the LMPC class last weekend at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which is part of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship and is one of the twice-around-the-clock endurance classics. McMurry drove for Performance Tech during the last six rounds of the 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship and impressed as a podium contender each outing.

“I don’t think it will be that big of a change from daytime driving, though I’m sure it will depend on how well the track is lighted in each of the sectors and turns, and how cool the track temperatures get,” added McMurry. “I’ve gathered pointers from veteran drivers about night driving, and I plan to put that advice to good use.”

On Feb. 15-16 the testing will occur from 6 p.m. to midnight, while continued testing the following day will be conducted during the daytime. McMurry will accent the LMPC work with intermittent sessions in a Prototype Lites car, as Performance Tech engages the driver to further fine tune the development of its Elan DP02 program.

The LMPC is a spec sports prototype that uses the FLM09 from French constructor Oreca. The car is powered by a production-based General Motors small block LS3 V8 that produces 430 horsepower. Reinforced carbon-carbon disc brakes are supplied by Brembo. The Xtrac six-speed sequential transmission is operated by paddle shifters, and engine management of the Continental Tire shod car is by Magnetti Marelli.