Following months of speculation it has been announced that Rocketsports will be making it’s American Le Mans Series debut with the Jaguar XKR GT2 at the Petit Le Mans later this month.
The team who will be competiting fully for the 2010 championship plan to use the last two events of this season to get up to speed for next year.
The car is currently undergoing extensive system tests at RSR’s facility in Michigan.
Initial plans had been for the team to make a mid-season debut, but after manufacturing and production delays the debut had been pushed back.
“It has been difficult to be out of competitive racing for nearly a year,” said RSR team owner Paul Gentilozzi. “We are most fortunate to be able to return to what we know, winning sportscar championships. In particular, winning them in Jaguars. We haven't spent our time idly; we've focused on engineering and construction of the Jaguar XKR. The luxury of time that we traditionally don't have in this process has been a great asset. We feel like our work with both the ALMS and the ACO will give us a car that is number one: competitive on the track, number two: representative of Jaguar's racing history, and number three: economically viable for customers in the GT2 series around the world.”
With Fourteen GT2 machines currently entered for the 1,000-mile/10-hour road race classic, RSR will be in for a tough debut.
A full press conference is being held by the team on Thursday 24 September at Road Atlanta as they officially unveil the car and drivers for 2009.
