TEAM NEWS: HIGHCROFT RACING TURNS IN GREAT SHOWING

Photo By John Thawley SEBRING, FL -- March 17, 2007 – Turning in an impressive performance for their first race of the season, Highcroft Racing's Acura ARX-01a finished in sixth position overall.

Owner/Driver Dayton enthused "we're really thrilled that all three Acura teams finished, which was the objective for HPD, Acura and Robert Clarke. For the three of us to get to the finish line is fantastic and congratulations to AGR and Fernandez for getting on the podium. It's too bad we had that one electrical problem because I really think we had the pace to be there and it would have been all three of us on the podium which would have been great. But it's a great first step for us, for the guys on the team, and a great finish for Highcroft entering as an Acura team.

David Brabham lauded the performance and handling of the Acura ARX-01a. "We got off to a safe, clean start – I got into a rhythm and was able to stay with the Porsches to begin with, but it was just a bit too quick on the straight to get close enough to be able to do anything. But overall, we ran slightly more competitively than I had anticipated, so that's good."

Johansson expressed his satisfaction with car's handling, citing the "good balance and comfort" on the track.

After his first run, Dayton said overall, the car was well balanced, though he explained, "as the car loses its fuel load, it gets lighter in the rear, and you have to watch yourself a bit on the corners, but as far as the car goes, the Acura team hasn't missed a thing."

In hour six, the car experienced electrical problems, which the crew sorted through to give Brabham a strong second run, though the time lost during this pit stop caused the car to drop from Class Position 2 to 5, and from overall position 4 to P9 by the seventh hour of the race.

Brabham pitted at the end of his second session during a full course yellow, in order to minimize lost time. As Johansson left the pit for his second go of the day, the green flag waved and he went full speed ahead to catch up on laps. As hour eight came around, Stefan narrowed the gap from a 19 to 17 laps, in overall position 9.

During his final run, Dayton moved the team to P6 overall and Class Position 4. As the night drew to a close, Brabham burned out the final laps, maintaining the team's standing.