A couple of other tests we were able to perform besides pushing the car off yesterday was loading, unloading, race prep and pack-up procedures.
The crane makes it really nice to work on the car while it is on the trailer. We have a method to lift just the rear, just the front or the whole car a one time. This makes it really nice to change tires, inspect or work on the lower side of the car without taking it off the trailer and jacking it up. Jacking it up means removing the belly pan and the nose of the car to prevent damaging the composites.
Loading and unloading involve lifting the car and simply swinging the crane on/off the trailer. Here is a short video of how smooth the winch lowers the car. We added a snatch block that attaches to the car to double the lifting and cut the speeds in half. Seems to work really well.
We can switch from transport mode to race mode (remove transport mounts and install tires) in about 15 minutes. Setting the car up for launch is about a 5 minute process. Recovering the car is about a 5 minute process as well.
http://youtu.be/X-7upUm959A