Pirelli Paddock Pass: Bret Curtis

Bret Curtis impressed in his debut with RealTime Racing at the most recent Blancpain GT World Challenge America round at VIR by taking the Pro-Am win in Race 2.

This week in the Pirelli Paddock Pass, Curtis discusses his debut with the team, being reunited with Dane Cameron, his goals for the rest of the season, and more.

How would you characterize your first race outing with RealTime and the Acura NSX GT3 Evo at VIR?

“I’m very happy with the first weekend racing with RealTime and the Acura at VIR. I’m actually not a big fan of VIR so getting up to speed in a short time is a testament to the car and the team.

“The car is very good with set up changes and feeling it in the car. The car performed very consistently all weekend. The team prepped the car perfectly and performed our pit stops in each of the races flawlessly.”

Were you expecting to be up to speed so quickly?

I always have high expectations when I go to the track but having such little time in the Acura didn’t give me a tremendous amount of confidence going into the weekend.

“We only tested around 10-15 laps each at a small testing facility in the Midwest prior to coming to VIR and had some bad weather to boot.

“I’m really happy with how well we did over the weekend; however, I think we can build on what we’ve learned quite a bit.”

How did the deal with RealTime come together?

“RealTime has worked with an engineer friend of mine by the name of Colin Harmer. Colin, Dane, and I worked together in 2015, and Colin and I worked together in 2016.

“Colin let me know there could be a ride available with RealTime and based on his and Dane’s experience with the team I felt it was worthwhile.

“RealTime has a tremendous reputation in racing, in particular in World Challenge, which gave me confidence to work with the team.”

What is it like to be working with Dane Cameron once again?

“Dane is a critical part of the whole package for me including Acura and RealTime. He is a true professional, a tremendously skilled driver, also very adept at car setup, and so good at getting me up to speed as well.

“Every weekend I learn more from him and it always results in better lap times, better race craft, and more consistency. It’s super awesome and very fortunate that I can work with such a talent.”

What are you goals for the rest of the season?

“Although we had to miss the first weekend at COTA, we hope to contend for the win at each race the balance of the season. We have a lot of ground to make up on the leaders in the championship!”