SEBRING, Fla.—Racing is a team sport; occasionally it is also a family activity.
The three Downs brothers, Matt, Antonio, and Lucas, have been racing together for most of their lives, driving (and winning) for Eurosport Racing’s championship-winning IMSA Prototypes Lites team for the past several years.
This season the three brothers are stepping up to the top tier of North American sports car racing, the American Le Mans Series, where they will drive an Oreca FLM09 for 2011 LMPC champs Core Autosport.
This is a huge step for the trio. After years of racing in a support series (albeit the fastest support series,) the brothers will now be driving at the 60th Anniversary 12 Hours of Sebring, racing wheel-to-wheel with the biggest teams and fastest drivers on the planet.
The three came to Sebring International Raceway to take their first drives with the new team and car at the American Le Mans Series Winter Test, Feb. 8–9.
Born to Race
The trio really had no option but to drive racecars; their father, Dick Downs, raced with Eurosport for 25 years.
“We watched our dad racing growing up,” Lucas explained. “We'd go to Road America or other area tracks with the SCCA (Sports car Club of America.) He raced with a number of teams and found his way to Eurosport. He enjoyed racing with them so that’s how we evolved with them.”
Despite sharing their passion for racing, the three brothers don’t look or act at alike at all. Lucas, the youngest, seems focused and businesslike; Antonio, the middle brother, is quieter, and Matt, the eldest, seems to be the joker of the family.
Matt drove fewer races than his brothers in 2011, finishing out of the top 20, while Antonio finished second and Lucas, seventh. He doesn’t plan to do a lot of Lites races in 2012, either. The three brothers would much rather focus on driving for Core in the ALMS.
“I doubt we'll...
“I doubt we'll do the whole season; in fact we are probably not doing Sebring in the Lites car,” Matt explained.
“For ALMS we are going to take it one step at a time,” said Lucas, continuing his brother’s thought. “We are going to do the test and see how this goes, then we are going to do Sebring and see how it goes. From there, there are a number of options.
“I think we are in a position to do a lot of the races, or potentially the whole year, but it’s also possible we are going to do just the enduros. Right now, if I had to offer a tentative plan, I wouldn’t say that the whole season is ruled out.”
Bigger, Faster, Better
The brothers are adapting well to the LMPC Oreca, a car with twice the horsepower of the Lites cars they are used to.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Lucas. “It’s a lot heavier, and you can feel that, and it’s a heck of a lot more powerful. It’s a different animal from my perspective.
“The lap times might not show a huge difference, but it drives very differently. It’s throttle on and then getting kicked back in your seat. We’re used to driving a car where momentum is everything, because it doesn’t have much power. With this the goal is to get the power on earlier.”
Matt agreed. “It’s a fun car. Power steering is different, it’s bigger, bulkier—it’s a true racecar. It’s fun.
“It’s scarier too, because it costs more to crash it,” he added, breaking into laughter.
Antonio described how the brothers ended up driving for Core Autosport. “We have competed against Core in the Prototype Lites and we became friends with a lot of the team, and when they had an opportunity they called me and asked if we would be interested. It just evolved from there. We are very happy that they did. It’s a class organization—a championship-winning organization—and we’re very lucky to be a part of it.”
“And they’re paying us a lot of money to do it,” joked Matt with his usual wide grin.
Which brother is the fastest? It depends which one you ask. Matt nominated Lucas, who replied, “I have to say Matt unfortunately. He hasn’t been in the car in about a year; he got in and on his second lap he was faster than either of us. He’s a natural talent.”
Despite being competitive athletes, the brothers don’t compete with each other. “We don’t take pleasure in beating family,” said Matt, serious for a moment. “Competing is fun but really we just want one of the three of us to win.”
The Cooper Tire IMSA Prototype Lites and the American Le Mans Series seasons start March 14–17 at Sebring International Raceway. The 60th Anniversary Sebring 12 Hours starts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 17. Tickets for the weekend are available through the Sebring International Raceway website.
