2010 American LeMans Series Thread

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Cytosport Wins at Lime Rock Park!

Post by mlittle » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:46 pm

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-----Klaus Graf, Greg Pickett and Muscle Milk Team CytoSport earned their first overall victory in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón with a stunning victory Saturday in the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Graf outdueled Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham in the final half-hour that saw the PHR HPD ARX-01c pushed off track as the two leaders went past the start-finish line in heavy traffic.

The Porsche RS Spyder received a stop-and-go penalty but Brabham’s car had a punctured right-rear tire that forced a late pit stop. Graf took the checkered flag by 27.81 seconds for the team’s second victory of the year. Pickett, Graf and Sascha Maassen were LMP2 winners at the season-opening Sebring race.

“Our ironman over here Klaus… spent almost two full hours in the car today in this heat, and battling a world-class athlete like David Brabham and holding him off,” said an elated Pickett, who drove the opening 45-minute stint. “This is a track that creates traffic. Getting through that traffic is extremely important, Klaus is a master at that. With our technical partners at Michelin, we opted for a softer compound here and they performed excellently. And our partners at Porsche gave us a perfectly engineered car.”

A perfectly executed pit stop with just less than an hour left put Graf in position. He was able to maintain the lead he gained on the 93rd lap over Brabham, and the pit stop was more than seven seconds quicker than Patrón Highcroft’s previous. Graf’s lead grew to as much as 20 seconds before Brabham started reeling in the Porsche and give hope to the hometown PHR squad.

The climactic moment came with 12 minutes to go. Brabham had whittled the lead down to 2.214 seconds and caught Graf when the leader was held up in GT traffic on the frontstretch. Brabham used his momentum to fly beside Graf, and the Porsche veered slightly right and forced the HPD prototype to put its two right wheels off track. Race officials penalized Graf for blocking, but the move was far costlier for Brabham and Patrón Highcroft. It marked the second year in a row that a late puncture cost PHR an overall victory at its home track.

“I had to go a little wide because the GT cars got a little wide,” said Graf, who also has won in the Series driving a GT2 Porsche. “I wasn't expecting David to be there. He is a great competitor and I pushed very, very hard - almost two hours. There is no bad blood or anything. We all know it was hard and fair racing. In this series you find the best drivers in the world. I knew it was going to be very, very hard to keep David behind me. I didn't get frustrated (after the penalty),” he added. “I was so focused and intense. I didn't have time to get upset. Sometimes it works out like that. This was a very, very hard day.”

The Porsche also won the prototype portion of the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge, which rewards entries for going the farthest distance the fastest with the least amount of environmental impact. Graf also climbed to within 7 points of Brabham and Simon Pagenaud in the LMP championship.

Elton Julian won in LMP Challenge for the second time this year. G-Oil Green Earth Team Gunnar’s ORECA FLM09 crawled to the finish when the car lost fuel pressure on the final lap with Gunnar Jeannette at the wheel. But the car had enough momentum to finish the last quarter-lap to beat PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ entry of Tom Papadopoulos and Alex Figge.

“We did this on one stop and knew it would be close on fuel,” Jeannette said. “We wanted to stretch it. Because of Lime Rock we knew there'd be a lot of yellows. Our engineer did a great job. We thought there'd be a lot more yellows at the end but he kept telling me not to hold back and keep going but I think he was off by just 0.3 of a mile so that shows how great of a calculation he made. I can tell you though that the battery and the starter motor do really well. It was my victory coast today, not so much my victory lap.”

It was a last-to-first run in class for the GETG entry. The car started 28th overall after a mechanical issue during Friday’s wet qualifying session. But Julian had the car up to sixth overall and third in LMPC after 21 laps. Julian pitted the ORECA for the only time at the 1:35 mark and handed off to Jeannette. He took the lead when Papadopoulos pitted and handed over to Figge at the 1:49 mark.

“We ran a great race today,” Julian said. “I really, really enjoyed the battle. We kept it clean and made our really good single stop. When I went out to qualify Friday in the rain I was stuck in second gear. So I couldn't get the car going. Then about halfway through the warm-up (on Saturday), the team fixed it. It was great to watch Gunnar drive today and keep it clean.” Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker and Andy Wallace placed third. It kept Tucker in the class championship lead, but Jeannette closed the gap to 4 points.

Jörg Bergmeister won at Lime Rock for the fifth consecutive year and second in a row with Patrick Long in GT. Long beat BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team’s Bill Auberlen (driving with Tommy Milner) by 1.495 seconds in a thrilling battle. The top three cars were separated by just 4.079 seconds.

Porsche hasn’t lost in the class at Lime Rock since 2004, and early pit strategy by the Lizards helped extend that streak. It didn’t hurt that the championship-leading Risi Competizione Ferrari of Jaime Melo and Gimmi Bruni went out on the 23rd lap after being hit from behind by one of Corvette Racing’s Corvette C6.Rs. It brought out the second of the race’s three full-course cautions.

“During the early yellow, we got to do the old fashioned ‘fake 'em out’ and put everyone on the wall and really play to our own strategy,” said Long, who regained the class championship lead with Bergmeister. “With the 62 out and with them being our main rival, we could have sat back and let this just be a points day. But then we would have gotten run over.”

Long started and finished the race while Bergmeister drove the middle portion. The strategy worked to perfection as the second Risi Ferrari was on a different pit cycle. Mika Salo led up until the 1:56 mark before pitting for fuel, tires and driver change to Pierre Kaffer. That put Long and the two BMWs within eight seconds of each other for the lead and victory. From there on out, it was full-on to the finish with Long describing the race as being “like I was swimming with sharks and I had a bloody foot!” It was that tough.

“It was a hot day in the office today,” Bergmeister said. “We planned from the beginning we’d do two driver changes. I think that was smart, because it was so hot. And what you really need here is a lot of patience and a really good car; the track suits the Porsche I think. You need a lot of good traction and that’s what they bring.”

After the Auberlen/Milner BMW, Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller placed third in their BMW M3 GT. The BMWs occupied two podium spots for the second time this year; at least one M3 GT has been on the GT podium at each of the five rounds so far.

In GT Challenge, TRG’s Andy Lally and Henri Richard won their first Series race with Lally winning a fantastic battle over Black Swan Racing’s Jeroen Bleekemolen. The TRG entry ended BSR’s two-race win streak. Lally took the lead for good when Bleekemolen had to pit at the 2:15 mark for left-side tires. The Black Swan car pitted again shortly with damage to its front nose while drove the final two hours without incident, an important trick on a track as short and crowded as Lime Rock.

“For me it was all about staying out of trouble,” said Richard, who drove the opening stint. “We know guys at this track can get cranky. The double yellow happened early and I knew I needed to be in a good position and the strategy played out. The best thing that happened today too was taking over the points lead, in team and in drivers. We had trouble at Sebring with a mechanical issue. It took away a lot of points and we've been chasing the lead since then. So hats off to the team for battling all season and getting the win today.”

Indeed, Lally and Richard lead the class by 7 points with Pappas and Bleekemolen only 11 points behind. The TRG and Black Swan cars were the dominant ones in the class, along with ORBIT Racing’s entry. The Black Swan car lost time early when it collided with the Muscle Milk prototype but rebounded to lead more than 70 minutes before the final pit stop sequence.

“It was just a pretty wild start. We watched as everyone went crazy at the beginning,” Lally said. “I thought that was going to be the tone for the rest of the race. Henri made a great start staying out of trouble and had a great stint. I was pleasantly surprised to keep it green the rest of the way when I finished. We saw on the long green flag run at Utah that with a little more track temperature and a little more wear on the tires, we knew we'd be able to really push the tires and they'd stand up to the abuse and green flag racing.”
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Post by mlittle » Fri Aug 06, 2010 3:09 pm

Current American LeMans Series Standings


~~~LeMans Prototype Class
-----LMP Drivers' Standings(top-10)
t-1st}[1]David Brabham, 107 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[2]Simon Pagenaud, 107 pts(3 wins)
3rd} Klaus Graf, 100 pts(2 wins)
4th} Greg Pickett, 79 pts(2 wins)
5th} Chris Dyson, 60 pts
t-6th}[6]Jonny Cocker, 54 pts(1 win)
t-6th}[7]Guy Smith, 54 pts
t-8th}[8]Sascha Massen, 51 pts(1 win)
t-8th}[9]Marino Franchitti, 51 pts
10th} Emanuele Pirro, 46 pts
-----LMP Chassis Standings
1st} HPD, 107 pts(3 wins)
2nd} Porsche, 100 pts(2 wins)
3rd} Lola, 90 pts
-----LMP Engine Standings
1st} HPD, 107 pts(3 wins)
2nd} Porsche, 100 pts(1 win)
3rd} Mazda, 60 pts
4th} Judd, 54 pts(1 win)
5th} AER, 48 pts


~~~LeMans Prototype Challenge Class
1st} Scott Tucker, 104 pts(3 wins)
2nd} Gunnar Jennette, 100 pts(2 wins)
3rd} Christophe Bouchut, 91 pts(3 wins)
4th} Elton Julian, 84 pts(2 wins)
5th} Christian Zugel, 70 pts
6th} Tom Sutherland, 57 pts
7th} Mark Wilkins, 54 pts
8th} Kyle Marcelli, 49 pts
9th} Andy Wallace, 46 pts
t-10th}[10]Mitch Pagerey, 43 pts
t-10th}[11]Brian Wong, 43 pts


~~~Grand Touring Class
-----GT Drivers' Standings(top-10)
t-1st}[1]Jorg Bergmeister, 93 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[2]Patrick Long, 93 pts(3 wins)
t-3rd}[3]Bill Auberlen, 79 pts
t-3rd}[4]Tommy Milner, 79 pts
t-5th}[5]Gianmaria Bruni, 75 pts(2 wins)
t-5th}[6]Jaime Melo, 75 pts(2 wins)
t-5th}[7]Dirk Muller, 75 pts
t-5th}[8]Joey Hand, 75 pts
t-9th}[9]Jan Magnussen, 53 pts
t-9th}[10]Johnny O'Connell, 53 pts
-----GT Manufacturers' Standings
1st} Porsche, 93 pts(3 wins)
2nd} BMW, 92 pts
3rd} Ferrari, 85 pts(2 wins)
4th} Chevrolet, 68 pts
5th} Ford, 18 pts
6th} Jaguar, 2 pts


~~~Grand Touring Challenge Class
t-1st}[1]Henri Richard, 75 pts(1 win)
t-1st}[2]Andy Lally, 75 pts(1 win)
t-3rd}[3]Butch Leitzinger, 68 pts(2 wins)
t-3rd}[4]Juan Gonzalez, 68 pts(2 wins)
t-5th}[5]Tim Pappas, 64 pts(2 wins)
t-5th}[6]Jeroen Bleekemolen, 64 pts(2 wins)
7th} Shane Lewis, 62 pts
t-8th}[8]Bill Sweedler, 57 pts
t-8th}[9]Romeo Kapudjia, 57 pts
10th} Jerry Vento, 51 pts
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Cytosport Withdraws From Mid-Ohio Following Crash...........

Post by mlittle » Fri Aug 06, 2010 3:12 pm

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----Muscle Milk Team CytoSport has withdrawn its Porsche RS Spyder from Saturday's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge following this afternoon's massive accident by Greg Pickett. The 63-year-old team owner escaped injury when his LMP machine went straight off into the tire barriers in Turn 4.

First-hand reports indicated that the car nosed into the barriers then flipped before coming to rest upside down on top of the tires. Pickett was alert and conscious following the massive shunt. He was checked and released from the track medical center and was not transferred to a local hospital. Upon further inspection of the car, the Geoff Carter-led crew has determined that it is unrepairable on-site and will not be able to take part in Saturday's race. Unlike as originally reported, Porsche does not have a spare tub on-site.

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Klaus Graf had set the quickest time of the session prior to the accident.

The withdrawal has huge championship implications as Graf had closed to within seven points of LMP leaders David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud with he and Pickett's win two weeks ago at Lime Rock Park. The duo were again one of the favorites to take top honors here this weekend.
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Graf Quickest in Mid-Ohio Test..........

Post by mlittle » Fri Aug 06, 2010 3:15 pm

Two weeks following its first overall victory in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, Muscle Milk Team CytoSport and Klaus Graf set the fastest lap time in testing Thursday for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. His lap of 1:12.841 (111.596 mph) led a very close LMP field around Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Whether Graf and Greg Pickett will have a chance to go for their second straight win is in doubt, however. Pickett was involved in a heavy crash near the end of the session when the car finished upside down in the Turn 4 tire barriers. Pickett was transported to MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital where he was observed and released. The car was being evaluated as of Thursday evening.(Mod's note.........Cytosport has withdrawn their entry for the Mid-Ohio race)

Graf was 0.212 seconds ahead of Patrón Highcroft Racing’s Simon Pagenaud in the HPD ARX-01c that he is sharing with LMP championship co-leader David Brabham. The Frenchman’s best time was a 1:13.053 (111.273 mph). Next up was Guy Smith in Dyson Racing’s Mazda-powered Lola coupe at 1:13.140 (111.140 mph). He is driving with Guy Smith. In all, the top five cars were within 0.586 seconds of one another.

Luis Diaz made himself feel right at home in LMP Challenge. Last year’s LMP2 race-winner with Adrian Fernandez turned a lap of 1:17.741 (104.563 mph) in the ORECA FLM09 that he will drive with Ricardo Gonzalez. The pairing drove the first three races of the season in GT Challenge and will make its LMPC debut this weekend with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.

Diaz was 0.675 seconds clear of Elton Julian in the Green Earth Team Gunnar entry that he will drive with Gunnar Jeannette. The pairing won last time out at Lime Rock in class. Level 5 Motorsports’ Christophe Bouchut was just 0.015 seconds behind Jeannette in the entry he will drive with Scott Tucker.

A year after helping debut Corvette Racing’s GT2 entry, Oliver Gavin went quickest in GT with a lap of 1:20.868 (100.519 mph) in the Corvette C6.R that he will drive with Olivier Beretta. Gavin went just 0.641 seconds quicker than BMW Rahal Letterman Racing’s Joey Hand in one of the team’s two BMW M3 GTs; he will drive with Bill Auberlen. The second Corvette of Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen was third-fastest in class thanks to Magnussen’s time of 1:21.590 (99.630 mph).

Jeroen Bleekemolen was the fastest driver in GT Challenge with a time of 1:25.638 (94.920 mph) in Black Swan Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry. The Dutch driver and teammate/team owner Tim Pappas were winners at Monterey and Utah before placing second in class at Lime Rock. Bleekemolen was 0.39 seconds quicker than ORBIT Racing’s Bryce Miller, driving with Luke Hines. Next up with Velox Racing’s Shane Lewis with a 1:26.744 (93.710 mph) lap in the Porsche he will drive with Jerry Vento.
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Roush-Yates to Build Ford Turbo Engines for LMP/LMP2........

Post by mlittle » Sat Aug 07, 2010 7:03 am

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Lola and Roush Yates will work together on packaging the EcoBoost turbo for 2011. The engines, which will be homologated to ACO standards, will be available to all LMP competitors & will be built to the ACO's 2011 LMP2 standards.......


-----Initially majoring on the 2011 LMP2 design, Lola are offering the Roush prepared Ford V6 Eco-Boost TurboV6 unit as a standard installation. A low cost, high mileage solution, this unit is built with production-based parts at Roush Yates Engines facility in Mooresville, North Carolina. Roush Yates are also evaluating the Mustang V8 unit for possible future installations. Both Lola and Roush will also investigate possibilities for LMP1 Prototypes, possibly for the 2011 season.

“Everyone at Roush Yates Engines is excited to partner with such a prominent car constructor of LMP sports cars," said John Maddox, Sports Car Program Manager for Roush Yates Engines. "We are proud to build exceptional engines to pair with Lola's LMP2 design as we enter this innovative championship. Roush Yates Engines plans to use this opportunity to continue improving our technology and efficiency as we strive towards our goal of becoming world-class engine builders.”

Lola and Roush enjoyed a fruitful partnership from 1999-2001 with the Kremer Racing team. Two victories at Spa and Kyalami in 2000 cemented a close engineering bond between the companies, which will continue for customers choosing the Lola-Roush Yates combination.
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Drayson Racing Takes Mid-Ohio Pole...........

Post by mlittle » Sat Aug 07, 2010 3:14 pm

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----Ask and ye shall receive. The old saying held true for Drayson Racing’s Jonny Cocker, who parlayed a clean windscreen into his first overall pole position in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The young English driver turned a lap of 1:10.034 (116.069 mph) Friday in qualifying for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge.

In doing so, Cocker became the sixth driver to qualify on pole position in as many races this year. He will drive Drayson’s Lola B09/60-Judd with team owner Paul Drayson. All it took was a deal between Cocker and engineer Graham Moore. “I asked my engineer very nicely for a clean screen for qualifying and he said he would remove the tear-off if I got pole,” Cocker explained. “So I got what I wanted and so did he!”

Cocker made extra-good on his end of the bargain with the three fastest qualifying laps. He was 0.932 seconds quicker than Chris Dyson in Dyson Racing’s Mazda-powered Lola coupe that he will share with Guy Smith. Patrón Highcroft Racing’s Simon Pagenaud – the overall winner last year at Mid-Ohio with Gil de Ferran – qualified third Friday at 1:11.360. He will split time in the team’s HPD ARX-01c with championship co-leader David Brabham.

The Drayson Lola-Judd has led significant portions of the last two races – Utah and Lime Rock – in its first full season of competition. “It’s been plain to see that Drayson Racing has been making big improvements every time out,” Cocker said. “We’ve had our issues throughout the year but have been consistently fast. We were fastest in both practices and quickest in qualifying is a fantastic result. I’d like to take a little bit of credit myself! Just kidding but we have made some adjustments and it’s showing.”

Now the trick will be managing the traffic in Saturday’s race that will feature the largest grid for a Series race at Mid-Ohio: 33 cars. Cocker and Drayson raced at Mid-Ohio two years ago in an Aston Martin GT2 car, and that gives some valuable and additional insight into what the slower cars may do when the LMPs come flying toward them.

“You have to work together with the other classes,” he said. “I have experience in the GT class and can appreciate what the GT cars are facing. You need to push but at the same time be safe every lap. There are a lot of cars in the championship and it’s a bit tight in pitlane. We found that out at Long Beach. Certainly that aspect is something we are aware of.”

Level 5 Motorsports’ Christophe Bouchut took his third LMP Challenge pole of the season and second consecutive. His lap of 1:15.906 (107.090 mph) in the ORECA FLM09 that he will drive with team owner Scott Tucker was just enough to squeeze past PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ Luis Diaz.

Bouchut was 0.235 seconds better than last year’s LMP2 race-winner in a session that saw the top four cars swap the fastest lap 10 times in 20 minutes. Diaz’s best lap was a 1:16.141 (106.760 mph) pass in the car that he will share with Ricardo Gonzalez. The duo is making its first start in the class. “It is a nice feeling again to be on pole position,” Bouchut said. The car is running very well today and thanks to Level 5 for the hard work. After what happened at Lime Rock, I have to come back with a winning attitude.”

“What happened” was a crash during the race-day warmup that cracked the ORECA’s tub, and Bouchut didn’t make the race. He came back with vengeance Friday. It’s a good thing because the top four cars were within 0.667 seconds of each other. Intersport Racing’s Kyle Marcelli qualified third in class at 1:16.681 (106.180 mph). He will drive with Brian Wong.

As will be the case with the faster LMP cars, the LMPC field also will have to manage the massive amounts of traffic. “The traffic in the US is very hard to predict,” the former Le Mans 24 Hours winner said. “I’ve driven in many different classes and know that is very hard for everyone. It’s very difficult for us to overtake and that is a challenge at each circuit. It’s important not to make mistakes when you try to overtake.”

In GT, Toni Vilander nabbed his second career Series pole position with a 1:19.682 to lead a Risi Competizione sweep of the class front row. The Finnish star, driving one of the red Ferrari F430 GTs with Giancarlo Fisichella, was just 0.077 seconds quicker than Gianmaria Bruni in the sister Ferrari. Bruni will drive with Jaime Melo. Vilander’s first pole in the Series came at Lime Rock in 2006. This is his first race at Mid-Ohio.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect here because it is completely new to me,” Vilander said. “We are relying on Risi’s experience with Jaime and Gimmi. We had their data and it helped in qualifying. It’s going to be a big battle with the traffic with some yellows I’m sure.”

Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin qualified third in class with a 1:20.019 lap. He will drive the first of the team’s two Corvette C6.Rs with Olivier Beretta. Corvette debuted the GT2 version of the C6.R a year ago at Mid-Ohio. As has been the case all year, the spread in the class is nearly microscopic. The top eight cars were within 0.930 seconds of each other. The group consisted of four manufacturers and five entrants. So it’s even more amazing that Vilander was on top of the timing page in GT. Staying there throughout the race will be more difficult given the traffic and four classes.

“We started the weekend with similar setups on both cars, then Giancarlo and I would take turns making small changes to the setup,” Vilander said. “From then you can compare those to previous race data. Having the other car with experience is a tremendous advantage. We can overtake the slower cars at Turn 1 and Turn 2 but after that it is very difficult. So you have to be patient. Traffic in pitlane is another area where I don’t have much experience. Races can be decided in the pits too. You have to be smart everywhere.”

Black Swan Racing’s Jeroen Bleekemolen qualified on the GT Challenge pole for the fourth consecutive race with a lap of 1:24.954 (95.685 mph) in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry that he will drive with team owner Tim Pappas. The pairing won at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Utah before finishing second two weeks ago at Lime Rock Park. They stand third in the class championship, trailing TRG’s Andy Lally and Henri Richard by 11 points. Class winners receive 20 points this weekend.

“We missed the first race, and the second race we were still fighting it a bit,” said Bleekemolen, a two-time champion of the Porsche Supercup series and LMP2 winner for Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours. “We were on pole at Long Beach but had it taken away but now we’re on it. When I go out, the balance of the car is already there and we only have to make small changes. This is a very nice track, and people said it was going to be one of the very best road courses we have and I agree. We will be overtaken a lot so it stands to be a very busy day tomorrow.”

Bleekemolen was 0.306 seconds quicker than Bryce Miller for ORBIT Racing. The young American is driving with Luke Hines; the Black Swan and ORBIT entries have been neck-and-neck in every session so far this week. James Sofronas qualified third for GMG Racing in the entry he will share with Bret Curtis. His best lap was a 1:25.729 (94.820 mph), just 0.775 seconds behind Bleekemolen.

“One thing that is nice here is that we can change shocks and springs more than you could do in Supercup in Europe,” Bleekemolen said. “It’s quite different to jump from Supercup to here. You can work much more on the car and that is what we have done here. You can make adjustments and improve and improve.”
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Dyson Racing Wins at Mid-Ohio

Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 08, 2010 12:00 pm

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----Dyson Racing won an absolute classic race Saturday in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón as Chris Dyson held off Patrón Highcroft Racing’s Simon Pagenaud by 0.506 seconds in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. Dyson and Guy Smith each won overall in the Series for the first time, as did their Castrol-liveried, Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupe.

After showing flashes of brilliance but being knocked around by Lady Luck early in the season, things finally went right for the Dyson camp. After Intersport Racing’s Clint Field dominated for the first two hours, Dyson led the final 24 laps in one of the best races the Series has seen. Dyson Racing won overall at Mid-Ohio in 2005, a race where Mazda also won its first Series race in LMP2.

“I really just tried to keep my head down and concentrate on the corners ahead,” Dyson said. “Simon is a really hard charger, and Mid-Ohio is one of the most physically demanding track we race on. I couldn’t be happier for everyone on this team. … We had a good car all weekend and I felt very comfortable. We had run with the Highcroft car during the practices all weekend. They were stronger than us on some points but we were better in other parts. I tried to work the traffic to take advantage of our strengths.”

The Dyson LMP led the final 34 laps after some good fortune from the aforementioned Lady Luck. The team was bringing Dyson in for the team’s final pit stop when the race went under its second caution period. The car exited pit lane right as the pits closed, and the Patrón Highcroft HPD ARX-01c ducked in three laps later once the pits had opened. It was that kind of Dyson Day.

“This was the first race I’ve started since Road America last year. Looks like I’ll be starting a few more races from now on,” Smith said. “We had a great start, and Clint was great. I was able to build a gap over the Patrón car. The Mazda engine was working great and so were the Dunlop tires. Chris drove a great race and it’s one of the best I’ve seen from him. We’ve had an exceptional car most of the year. We knew we were competitive and have a great package. Spirits were low but we came in with a new attitude and showed the strength of this Dyson Racing team.”

Pagenaud and David Brabham were runners-up for the second straight race but maintained their LMP championship lead. Autocon Motorsports’ pairing of Tomy Drissi and Bryan Willman placed third in class and fourth overall after starting next-to-last on the grid.

“That last lap was a long one,” said Dyson Racing team owner Rob Dyson. “We have been waiting for this one for quite awhile. We had a car that was always quick but had all the ingredients that didn’t always work. It’s great to see us bring this one home first. We’ve had great success here over the years. Guy and Chris really put the pedal to the metal. The biggest thing for us is that they both did a great job in traffic.”

The other nail-biter was the GT victory for Risi Competizione’s Jaime Melo and Gimmi Bruni in their Ferrari F430 GT. Melo drove the final 90-plus minutes on a reserve fuel pump when the primary system failed which dropped Melo to sixth place for a time. He worked his way back into the lead by going around both of Rahal Letterman Racing’s BMW M3 GTs 55 minutes later. He beat Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin by 0.582 seconds for Risi’s first victory at the venue.

There were two critical moments in Melo’s stint. The first was a call – by Melo and Risi technical director Rick Mayer – for left-side only tires with 50 minutes left. He exited the pits first and got around the BMWs – neither which pitted during a caution period – on the second lap following the restart. He then had to hold off Gavin after another restart with nine minutes left.

“I had a very consistent car and I could keep very good lap times,” Melo said. “I had some slow traffic on the last two laps and brought the No. 4 Corvette very close. I tried to stay calm and not make any mistakes. This was very hard but important for us to win here. Gimmi did a great job at the start, and it was a combination of Michelin tires, the car, the team and teammate. (The pass on the BMWs) was the only chance to get around them because it was almost impossible to get around them on a straight line. I actually got a little bit in the grass but it worked.”

Melo on the decision to take left-side tires: ““That was a decision we made coming into the pits. I wanted a full set but had the Corvette right at me so we decided to change just the left side and it was a good move. The tires were very consistent and I didn’t have any issues and I could manage any situation.”

Bruni got around class pole-sitter Toni Vilander in the second Risi Ferrari at the start and led the first 48 minutes. “Most of this win is Jamie’s. He made very good moves on the BMWs and Corvette,” Bruni said. “I pitted from the lead and lost four or five places before Jaime drove back to the lead. I know how good he is. The race was good. I made a good move on the No. 61 team car to lead early and it was a matter of building a gap.”

Gavin and Olivier Beretta placed second in class for their first victory of the year, one year after Corvette debuted in the GT2 class. Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner placed third for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing in the first of the BMW M3s.

Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker won in LMP Challenge for Level 5 Motorsports to extend their championship lead. Bouchut made the winning pass in his ORECA FLM09 with less than hour left when he got around Green Earth Team Gunnar’s Gunnar Jeannette, who drove with Elton Julian. “When I jumped in the car, it was not so easy to drive,” Bouchut said. “But after some time, we picked up a lot of rubber on the tires and I had to be patient. After taking the lead, the focus was getting through the traffic. Gunnar and I had a great battle until he went off. It’s a really nice track here. All the corners are challenge and this weekend was my 100th win. Here we go to win 100 more!”

Tucker retained his lead in the driver’s championship with the victory. It would be quite an accomplishment in his first year of Series competition. The duo also finished third overall. “The first stint went pretty well,” said Tucker, the team owner. “We had a small incident at the start but after that things started to settle down. The first yellow worked out well for us. The whole team has been working very hard for the championship and are very happy to be leaving here leading.” PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ pairing of Luis Diaz and Ricardo Gonzalez placed second in their first LMPC race of the year. Jeannette and Julian were third in G-Oil’s GETG entry.

Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen won their third GT Challenge race in four tries for Black Swan Racing. Pappas drove the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car from last to second after being hit at the start. Bleekemolen got around ORBIT/Paul Miller Racing’s Bryce Miller just past the halfway point and led the rest of the way.

“Everyone has worked really hard at Black Swan and we’ve come a long way,” team owner Pappas said. “So it was disappointing but I had to keep my head down and work my way back up. The yellow really was good with timing for the driver change and fuel. To come back and run the way we did, it felt like karma was on our side.”

GMG Racing’s James Sofronas and Bret Curtis were second, their highest finish of the season. Sofronas was a scant 0.247 seconds ahead of Alex Job Racing’s Bill Sweedler and Romeo Kapudija. Miller and Luke Hines led the ORBIT entry for the first 64 laps. An unfortunate incident with a prototype near the 1:35 mark sent the ORBIT car back in the pack to fourth.

“Tim did a great job of coming back,” Bleekemolen said. “I knew we had a good chance with the most consistent car. The ORBIT car was quite fast down the straight but I knew I could get around him. When he got hit by a prototype and that was just about it. From then on, it was about keeping the car on the track.”

With the victory, the BSR duo moved into the class championship lead. Not bad for a team that missed the season-opener at Sebring and placed eighth in class at Long Beach. “We wanted to try GT2 and it didn’t make sense for us at the Winter Test,” Pappas said. “We put this together at the last minute, got the car four days before Long Beach and just had a horrible weekend. Jeroen and I have done our part but it is absolutely amazing to watch our team because they are just fantastic.”
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Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 22, 2010 3:49 am

Current American LeMans Series Standings



~~LeMans Prototype Class
----LMP Drivers' Standings(top-10)
t-1st}[1]David Brabham, 123 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[2]Simon Pagenaud, 123 pts(3 wins)
3rd} Klaus Graf, 100 pts(2 wins)
4th} Chris Dyson, 80 pts(1 win)
5th} Greg Pickett, 79 pts(2 wins)
6th} Guy Smith, 74 pts
7th} Jonny Cocker, 54 pts(1 win)
t-8th}[8]Sascha Maasen, 51 pts(1 win)
t-8th}[9]Marino Franchitti, 51 pts
10th} Emanuele Pirro, 46 pts(1 win)
----LMP Chassis Standings
1st} HPD, 123 pts(3 wins)
2nd} Lola, 110 pts(1 win)
3rd} Porsche, 100 pts(2 wins)
----LMP Engine Standings
1st} HPD, 123 pts(3 wins)
2nd} Porsche, 100 pts(2 wins)
3rd} Mazda, 80 pts(1 win)
4th} AER, 61 pts
5th} Judd, 51 pts

~~~LeMans Prototype Challenge Class
1st} Scott Tucker, 124 pts(4 wins)
2nd} Gunnar Jennette, 113 pts(2 wins)
3rd} Christophe Bouchut, 111 pts(4 wins)
4th} Elton Julian, 97 pts(2 wins)
5th} Christian Zugel, 76 pts
6th} Kyle Marcelli, 59 pts
7th} Tom Sutherland, 57 pts
8th} Mark Wilkins, 55 pts
9th} Andy Wallace, 54 pts
10th} Brian Wong, 53 pts

~~~Grand Touring Class
---GT Drivers' Standings(top-10)
t-1st}[1]Jorg Bergmeister, 103 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[1]Patrick Long, 103 pts(3 wins)
t-3rd}[3]Jaime Melo, 95 pts(3 wins)
t-3rd}[4]Gianmaria Bruni, 95 pts(3 wins)
t-5th}[5]Bill Auberlen, 92 pts
t-5th}[5]Tommy Milner, 92 pts
t-7th}[7]Dirk Muller, 81 pts
t-7th}[8]Joey Hand, 81 pts
t-9th}[9]Oliver Gavin, 57 pts
t-9th}[10]Olivier Beretta, 57 pts
---GT Manufacturers' Standings
t-1st}[1]Ferrari, 105 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[2]BMW, 105 pts
3rd} Porsche, 103 pts(3 wins)
4th} Chevrolet, 84 pts
5th} Ford, 18 pts
6th} Jaguar, 4 pts

~~~Grand Touring Challenge Class
t-1st}[1]Tim Pappas, 84 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[2]Jeroen Bleekemolen, 84 pts(3 wins)
3rd} Henri Richard, 81 pts(1 win)
4th} Andy Lally, 75 pts(1 win)
t-5th}[5]Shane Lewis, 70 pts
t-5th}[6]Bill Sweedler, 70 pts
t-5th}[7]Romeo Kapudjia, 70 pts
t-8th}[8]Butch Leitzinger, 68 pts(2 wins)
t-8th}[9]Juan Gonzalez, 68 pts(2 wins)
t-10th}[10]Bret Curtis, 60 pts
t-10th}[11]James Sofronos, 60 pts
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Cytosport Returns To ALMS Action at Road America...........

Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 22, 2010 3:53 am

Image


----Two weeks ago, Muscle Milk Team CytoSport hit the lowest of lows when it was forced to withdraw from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge following Greg Pickett’s massive accident in testing.

On the heels of its first overall victory at Lime Rock, it was a huge blow to the Geoff Carter-led organization. But with the LMP championship still on the line, the small, but hard working team from Benicia, California went to work rebuilding its Porsche RS Spyder from the ground-up.

Utilizing shop space from Mark 1 Composites in Indianapolis and with the full support of Porsche, CytoSport completed the essential build of the car in just two days. The finishing touches were put on the RS Spyder, now bearing chassis No. 712, on Monday before the trucks left for Road America the following day.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but it’s been very controlled and very organized with Porsche’s help,” Carter says. “This car is so amazing in that you don’t really build it, you assemble it. We didn’t use one file, we didn’t use one drill or any fabrication tools at all. We simply used wrenches and sockets and just assembled the parts together.”

Porsche’s support extended beyond the rebuild as the German manufacturer has given CytoSport two of its star drivers in Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas to fill Pickett’s seat for the next two races. Bernhard, who will share the Porsche with team regular Klaus Graf this weekend, makes his second ALMS start of the year and the first in a RS Spyder since he and Dumas’ LMP2 championship-winning 2008 season with Team Penske.

“For me, the RS Spyder is the most famous race car,” Bernhard says. “I have a lot of very good memories and success; two championships and a lot of overall and class victories and good battles. At the end of 2008, I thought I’d never drive this car again in competition. When I got this call to come here, I was very, very happy. Looking at Muscle Milk Team CytoSport, they’ve done a great job so far this year. They’re a small group of guys, but they have a very competitive team.”

Bernhard has fond memories of Road America, a circuit in which the German calls his favorite. In 2007, he and Dumas scored an upset victory at the wheel of their Penske RS Spyder, outsmarting the more powerful Audis in the race, which featured an hour-long safety car period for a thunderstorm.

“We didn’t expect to win here overall because we didn’t think we had a chance against the Audis with the long straights. But in the end, the race went our way perfectly,” he says.

“At the end of the race, we didn’t change tires and the Audis did. But they kept chasing and battling with each other, so I was able to run away a little bit, or at least keep a good gap. Once they realized I was in front and was about to win, it was too late to catch me. It was a wonderful race.” While three years have passed, the same sort of battle could unfold this weekend, with Bernhard and Graf going up against the more powerful P1 machines from the likes of Drayson Racing and Intersport Racing.

A win would certainly help put Graf and the team back in the title hunt. They currently trail Patron Highcroft Racing by 23 points in the LMP championship. But with 20 points given to the winners in each of the next two rounds, a turnaround is possible, especially if the Highcroft boys run into trouble. “We took a hit in the points for sure,” Carter says. “Dyson winning that race helped us a little bit. But just as you saw at Mid-Ohio, anybody can get zero points at any time. While we don’t wish that on anybody or ourselves, we still have a shot mathematically and we’re going to push.”

Quite possibly the best news to come out this week is that it appears Pickett’s injuries are less serious than originally thought. The 63-year-old veteran was initially diagnosed with a compression fracture of the L3 vertebrae, but a further MRI has revealed that it was in fact an old injury and won’t require further treatment.

While Pickett is still ailing from two broken ribs, there’s some hope he could return to the car as early as the season-ending Petit Le Mans in October. That would certainly be a welcome sight, not only for the team, but also for the Pickett, who could have decided to call it quits after his devastating accident, but didn’t. “If you think about it, we don’t really have any guarantees for next year to run this car,” Carter says. “[The accident] could have been a point that [Greg] could have closed the doors on the back of the trailers and told me to take them back to California.

“But Friday morning [after the accident], I went into [Greg’s] bus to talk to him. He said, ‘What are we going to do?’ I said, ‘A new tub will be here Monday morning. I’ve got factory drivers on order. The parts will be here. We’re going to make Elkhart Lake.’ He said, ‘Great.’ He was on-board right from the start. Greg’s given so much to this sport and we’re thankful for that.”
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Drayson Racing on Point in Kettle Moraine........

Post by mlittle » Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:57 am

Image


----Drayson Racing’s Jonny Cocker picked up his second straight pole position in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón with the fastest lap in qualifying Saturday for the American Le Mans Series powered by eStar. The young British star turned a lap of 1:49.554 (133.019 mph) around Road America in the Lola-Judd coupe that he will share with Paul Drayson.

Saturday’s lap also made Cocker the first driver in the Series this year to win more than one overall pole position. He did it in dominating fashion with a 1.321-second gap over Dyson Racing’s Guy Smith in another Lola coupe, this one powered by a Mazda engine.

Cocker’s second fastest lap would have been enough for pole as well. Muscle Milk Team CytoSport’s Porsche RS Spyder qualified third with Klaus Graf’s lap of 1:51.312 (130.918 mph). He will drive with Timo Bernhard. “First of all, well done to everyone at Drayson Racing. The car was fantastic and around here you need a car that gives you confidence,” Cocker said. “That’s what we had today, and we had that at Mid-Ohio. We continue to make progress and it’s showing. It will be great to be in front of everyone at the start.”

Speed has never been an issue for the closed-top Lola-Judd prototype. It has led races at Utah, Lime Rock and Mid-Ohio, and the team is hopeful that this will be its breakthrough weekend for a first victory. It couldn’t happen at a better place, Cocker said.

“I quite like this [circuit]! It has a huge amount of character and reminds you of Spa or Le Mans,” he said. It’s quite a European style and I think that’s why so many people fall in love with it. But the race is its own thing (separate from qualifying), and traffic is always an issue. You’d think the LMPs would be able to get around the GT cars easily but it’s still very difficult.”

Luis Diaz is off to a good start in his return to prototype racing around Road America with a pole position in LMP Challenge. Last year’s LMP2 race-winner and Series co-champion set a time of 1:58.287 (123.199 mph) for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. He will drive the team’s ORECA FLM09 with Ricardo Gonzalez.

“This feels great. It is one of my favorite places to come race,” said Diaz, who drove to a P2 victory with Adrian Fernandez in 2009. “I’m very happy to be fighting for pole positions here. To be honest when I was here with Adrian last year, I thought it was the last chance to win at this track. I have had a lot of success in Atlantics and with the Acura. This really is a great feeling to be back here. I think I’m enjoying racing more now than in the past. This is the best Series in the world and I’m enjoying every second of it.”

Diaz was quickest in both practice sessions Saturday, and his qualifying lap was 2.6 seconds quicker than his time from the second practice immediately prior to qualifying. Needless to say, he was surprised.

“I didn’t see those times in practice,” Diaz admitted. “The car had more balance during the longer runs, which is good for us. At Mid-Ohio I had trouble with the traffic after coming from racing the GTC class Porsche earlier this year. Hopefully I can be more aggressive this weekend in traffic. We have the speed and the car to win. The Series is making the right changes with the changes to the restrictor sizes (giving the FLM09s more power) and it’s making things safer.”

Diaz’s best lap was 1.125 seconds quicker than Intersport Racing’s Kyle Marcelli, the best starting position for the team in class. He will drive with Chapman Ducote. Gunnar Jeannette was third in class at 2:00.092 (121.347 mph) in the Green Earth Team Gunnar entry that he will share with Elton Julian.

Oliver Gavin claimed his fourth career pole position at Road America and first in GT for Corvette Racing. The British ace turned a lap of 2:06.509 (115.192 mph) in the Corvette C6.R that he will drive with Olivier Beretta and was 0.165 seconds ahead of Jan Magnussen in the second Corvette. Magnussen will drive with Johnny O’Connell.

The two Corvettes swept the top two spots in GT qualifying for the first time since moving to the class in the middle of last year. Gavin and Beretta also finished second in class two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio, and having previous track data has made a huge difference.

“I don’t think anyone at the team will miss that we’ve had a difficult year. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs,” Gavin said. “The last few races have been good for us. We tested here earlier for Le Mans, and we’ve been able to carry some of that into this weekend. The data has helped a lot. It’s no secret that Salt Lake City and Lime Rock weren’t good for us. Now we’re at tracks where we have data and have raced.”

Pierre Kaffer qualified the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT third in class at 2:06.997 (114.749 mph). He will drive with Mika Salo. The top six cars were within 0.946 seconds of each other. Six manufacturers are in the class this weekend.

“This class is so competitive and you never know where you are going to stand every time you go out,” Gavin said. “We have a car that can race with anyone. Whether or not we’ve seen the best from BMW, we’ll see. And you never count out Risi and Flying Lizard. They are so experienced and have done this time and time again. … At Mid-Ohio, it was a good race for me, for the team and the car. We didn’t have quite enough for the Ferrari. I feel that here we have a slightly better car here. I want to keep the momentum going and if we can then I’ll be delighted. I don’t think there is a championship that has this many manufacturers racing this close together. It is great fun.”

In GT Challenge, Jeroen Bleekemolen won his fifth consecutive class pole position with a 2:14.345 (108.473 mph) in the Black Swan Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry that he will drive with team owner Tim Pappas. The former LMP2 winner at Le Mans was only 0.175 seconds ahead of TRG’s Andy Lally, who is driving with Duncan Ende. Lally though crashed on his second flying lap of qualifying. His time was good enough for a 0.323-second gap to James Sofronas in the GMG Racing Porsche.

“I was trying to follow Andy and really pushing to put a good time in,” Bleekemolen said. “I think on the second lap we would have been faster before his shunt. I hope we can keep this performance up for the race. It’s not the easiest track for us. Some of the other variations of Porsches have higher top speeds. It’s good to be out front again though.”

There haven’t been many laps where the Black Swan car hasn’t been out front. Even when at the back of the GTC field – as Pappas was following an early collision at Mid-Ohio – it doesn’t stay there long.

“Tim’s doing a great job all the time,” Bleekemolen said. “He’s picking up lots of lap times. It’s really great for us. At the beginning of the year he was up there with the guys he is racing against and has only gotten better. He came in leading at Lime Rock and then came back at Mid-Ohio from the back of the grid.”
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Drayson Wins at Road America

Post by mlittle » Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:09 pm

Image


Jonny Cocker went from fourth to first in the last four laps Sunday as Drayson Racing won its first race in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. Cocker passed Muscle Milk Team CytoSport’s Klaus Graf with two turns left at Road America and won the American Le Mans Series powered by eStar by 1.051 seconds in the Lola-Judd coupe that he shares with Paul Drayson. Cocker was 6.295 seconds quicker than Graf, who drove with Timo Bernhard, on the final lap. The young Brit passed the Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder when leading prototype balked while low on fuel during the final lap.

Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud placed third in LMP, only 4.915 seconds behind the winning Lola-Judd. They still retained their championship lead in the class with two events remaining – 50 points are available the rest of the season.

“On that last lap I could see Klaus hadn’t had a splash and suspected he was in fuel-saving mode,” Cocker said. “I was expecting to catch him, but not that amount. I think a big portion was he got caught behind a Porsche in Turn 9 and another GT car in 10. But I knew we had the pace to get on the rear of his car, and to get there in Turn 12 and make it in 13. I knew it would be the only opportunity; if I was behind him on the straight I knew he'd be able to block me. It was a bold move for sure, but I wasn't going to throw away second place. Well done to our team.”

Drayson, who drove the opening 1:19 in the cellulosic E85-powered prototype, was cheering the whole way, pleading “Go Jonny, go.”

And of course Jonny went.

“Dale (White, team manager) and I thought he could do it. It looked like an impossible task, but he has such a big heart and amazing talent,” Drayson said. “But we were hungry for that win. First for him to come out and just attack, really it was inspiring. We were just willing him on, right there with him mentally in the car. The way he made up a place every lap was just so thrilling to watch. We’ve been driving together since 2006 and he is an amazing talent.”

It was an incredible weekend for Drayson. Cocker was on pole position for the second straight race and set the fastest race lap, and the team won the LMP category in the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge, a competition within the race that awards teams for overall performance and environmental efficiency. Drayson is one of the leading figures in the Series’ platform of advancing automotive technologies and advancements through racing for passenger cars of the future.

“I’m here racing with this team in the ALMS because of the way the Series is making racing relevant across the world,” Drayson said. “It is about winning with new technologies and not making excuses. So we’re improving efficiencies and speeding the technologies through racing. This shows that technologies are paying off and giving you what you need to win.”

In LMP Challenge, Gunnar Jeannette and Elton Julian won for the third time this year in G-Oil’s Green Earth Team Gunnar ORECA FLM09. Jeannette finished the race 21 seconds ahead of class pole-winner Luis Diaz in the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports entry he drove with Ricardo Gonzalez.

Scott Tucker and Andy Wallace finished third in class for Level 5 Motorsports. Tucker and Level 5 retained the class championship lead by 4 points over Jeannette and GETG.

“This goes to the team and the strategy. It was really a team effort,” said Julian, who drove the opening stint. “To win one today was a great feeling. Such a great endurance win. We still have the same engine that bolted into the chassis at the beginning of the year. Some of the other teams seem like they have gone through about 90.”

Jeannette drove the final 86 minutes and led the last 17 laps. The critical moment came on his final pit stop with 23 minutes remaining but kept the lead.

“Hats off to our engineers. They did the best with what we had this weekend,” Jeannette said. “I think it was the first off the pace we've been all year but we kept pushing and kept on it all weekend and all race. We knew we had to just click off as many good lap times all weekend as possible. We watched the PR1/Mathiasen car pit in front of us, so I just had to keep pushing and keep pushing. Then we got our splash of fuel and we could just go on to the end. We were hoping for a yellow, instead we had to pit under green. But it gave us a cushion for going very hard at the end. You have to come in to these multi-class races being able to think quickly on your feet.”

BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team won in GT for the second straight year with Joey Hand and Dirk Müller taking a 2.617-second victory in their BMW M3 GT. Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister finished second for Flying Lizard Motorsports in their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, just ahead of Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta in their Corvette C6.R.

The victory moved Hand and Müller into a tie for second in the class drivers championship with Risi Competizione’s Jaime Melo and Gimmi Bruni, who finished sixth. Long and Bergmeister lead by 18 points entering the final two races.

“Joey did a great job at the beginning of the race, going from third to second, and then leading,” Müller said. “We lost the lead during the full course caution and the pit stop but it was great team strategy. We had so many chances this year and we never got the luck. We have been pushing hard all year and you have the championship on your mind. This isn't my first victory for sure (he now has 13), and you want to win but you have to focus on the championship as well.”

BMW took the lead in the manufacturer championship by six points over Porsche, and BMW Rahal Letterman Racing leads the Lizards by the same amount in the team standings. This was the first victory for BMW since it went 1-2 in class last year at Road America; Hand drove with Bill Auberlen in last year’s win.

“I love this place. It’s one of the greatest race tracks I’ve ever seen,” Hand said. “I come here with a different attitude, a lot of motivation and ready to win. Ever since my Formula Atlantic career I’ve had wins here. This RLR team, BMW, Dunlop… everything seemed to hook up here. We carry a lot of speed in the straights but it’s a lot about the corners and we have really good grip here. The car also did great on the brakes; it made it really easy to pass people. I drove it like it was a go-kart. I could just drive it anyway I wanted.”

The top nine cars in class finished on the lead lap. Team Falken Tire’s Porsche of Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler won the GT portion of the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge.

Black Swan Racing’s Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen won in GT Challenge for the fourth time in five races. Bleekemolen crossed the finish line in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car a lap ahead of Galen Bieker in the WERKS II Racing Porsche he drove with Robert Rodriguez. Velox Motorsports’ pairing of Vic Rice and Shane Lewis placed third after leading early.

The Black Swan car led the last 24 laps, and the Pappas/Bleekemolen pairing increased its lead in the driver standings and moved into first place in the class’ team standings.

“The Black Swan guys have done such a great job,” Pappas said. “I’d like to say it’s really easy and don’t know why it’s happening, but we've been working so hard. If you look at how our guys are working in the pits, they nail the setup and let Jeroen go out and set the pace. It’s pretty amazing to watch the race and pick up positions in the pits and beating our competitors by eight or nine seconds on tire stops. When you can do that in the pits it makes our jobs as drivers easier. Even though we have the points lead at this point, we're not going the conservative route.”

Bleekemolen led 27 of the final 33 laps. He passed Rice for the lead at the 1:30 mark then pitted 10 minutes later. He was back in the lead 14 minutes and six laps later. “I came out in fourth and had to fight back to get the lead,” the class pole-winner said. “I still had lots of overtaking to do today. For me, this is the best track in North America that I have been to so far. I’m really liking this track a lot.”
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Post by mlittle » Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:30 pm

Current American LeMans Series Standings


~~~LeMans Prototype Class
----LMP Drivers' Standings(top-10)
t-1st}[1]Simon Pagenaud, 136 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[2]David Brabham, 136 pts(3 wins)
3rd} Klaus Graf, 116 pts(2 wins)
4th} Chris Dyson, 96 pts(1 win)
5th} Guy Smith, 84 pts
6th} Greg Pickett, 79 pts(2 wins)
7th} Jonny Cocker, 74 pts(1 win)
8th} Paul Drayson, 58 pts(1 win)
t-9th}[9]Sascha Maasen, 56 pts(1 win)
t-9th}[10]Marino Franchitti, 56 pts(1 win)
----LMP Chassis Standings
1st} HPD, 136 pts(3 wins)
2nd} Lola, 116 pts(2 wins)
3rd} Porsche, 110 pts(2 wins)
----LMP Engine Standings
1st} HPD, 136 pts(3 wins)
2nd} Porsche, 116 pts(2 wins)
3rd} Mazda, 90 pts(1 win)
4th} Judd, 74 pts(1 win)
5th} AER, 69 pts

~~~LeMans Prototype Challenge Class
1st} Scott Tucker, 137 pts(4 wins)
2nd} Gunnar Jennette, 133 pts(3 wins)
3rd} Elton Julian, 117 pts(3 wins)
4th} Christophe Bouchut, 111 pts(4 wins)
5th} Christian Zugel, 76 pts
6th} Kyle Marcelli, 69 pts
7th} Andy Wallace, 67 pts
8th} Tom Sutherland, 59 pts
9th} Mark Wilkins, 55 pts(1 win)
10th} Brian Wong, 53 pts

~~~Grand Touring Class
----GT Drivers' Standings(top-10)
t-1st}[1]Jorg Bergmeister, 119 pts(3 wins)
t-1st}[2]Patrick Long, 119 pts(3 wins)
t-3rd}[3]Jaime Melo, 101 pts(3 wins)
t-3rd}[4]Gianmaria Bruno, 101 pts(3 wins)
t-3rd}[5]Joey Hand, 101 pts(1 win)
t-3rd}[6]Dirk Muller, 101 pts(1 win)
t-7th}[7]Bill Auberlen, 92 pts
t-7th}[8]Tommy Milner, 92 pts
t-9th}[9]Olivier Beretta, 70 pts
t-9th}[10]Oliver Gavin, 70 pts
----GT Manufacturers' Standings
1st} BMW, 125 pts(1 win)
2nd} Porsche, 119 pts(3 wins)
3rd} Ferrari, 113 pts(3 wins)
4th} Chevrolet, 97 pts
5th} Ford, 18 pts
6th} Jaguar, 4 pts

~~~Grand Touring Challenge Class
t-1st}[1]Tim Pappas, 104 pts(4 wins)
t-1st}[2]Jeroen Bleekemolen, 104 pts(4 wins)
t-3rd}[3]Andy Lally, 83 pts(1 win)
t-3rd}[4]Shane Lewis, 83 pts
5th} Henri Richard, 81 pts(1 win)
t-6th}[6]Bill Sweedler, 80 pts
t-6th}[7]Romeo Kapudjia, 80 pts
t-8th}[8]Butch Leitzinger, 68 pts(2 wins)
t-8th}[9]Juan Gonzalez, 68 pts(2 wins)
t-10th}[10]Robert Rodriquez, 63 pts
t-10th}[11]Galen Bieker, 63 pts
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Panoz Abruzzi Set to Make ALMS Debut at Petit LeMans

Post by mlittle » Sat Aug 28, 2010 5:05 pm

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---Since the road car’s official launch at Le Mans in June, some had questioned whether the Panoz Abruzzi ‘Spirit of Le Mans’ would make its planned debut in the season-ending Petit Le Mans.


Despite internet rumors and speculation, the Abruzzi program is still on track, according to company founder Don Panoz. Panoz confirmed to SPEED.com that the car will indeed make its debut in the 1,000-mile/10-hour enduro in October. “We were a couple of weeks late starting on the race car, but that was simply because we wanted to be sure and be comfortable that the road car, the ‘mule’ car as we have it, would get through the [homologation] process,” Panoz explained. “If you’re not sure about that, you can’t start building the race car.”

With the road-going super car not expected to be homologated until the end of the year, the Abruzzi will race unclassified, alongside Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid in the season-ending American Le Mans Series round.

Panoz Auto Developments delivered the road-going chassis to Tom Milner’s PTG squad two weeks ago, with it now undergoing the modifications needed to make it race-ready at the squad’s Virginia shop. Aside from differences in the roll cage, gearbox, electronics and other components, Panoz says the Abruzzi GT2 car won’t be very much different from its production counterpart.

“The car might not be built to all of the things we’d like to see in a car that would race at Sebring [next year],” Panoz said. “There will be things between now and Sebring that we’ll probably change in it, but this will tell us the things that we have to look at.”

The Abruzzi’s Corvette ZR1-based Chevrolet LS9 power plant will remain relatively stock as well. Panoz says the road car engine and block will be used in the race version. An air restrictor will limit the horsepower to around 500, compared to the street car’s 612 horspower. Drivers for the PTG effort are expected to be announced in mid-September, and Panoz has set realistic expectations for the car’s debut race. Especially considering the team’s planned assault on the 2011 ALMS GT championship, every extra mile of development will be crucial to program.

“With it being a brand-new car, it’s going to have very little testing,” Panoz said. “We want to show it to people, but we’re not going to try to be competitive right out of the box. We realize that we have a lot to learn about.”
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Cytosport Quickest in Friday Practice at Mosport

Post by mlittle » Sat Aug 28, 2010 5:06 pm

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----In his first laps driving the Porsche RS Spyder since 2008, Romain Dumas set the fastest lap in testing for the Mobil 1 presents Grand Prix of Mosport. The Frenchman set a time of 1:07.801 (130.564 mph) in the Porsche prototype he will drive with Klaus Graf. Dumas set the four fastest times on the day and was 0.627 seconds clear of Dyson Racing’s Guy Smith. He is driving the team’s Mazda-powered Lola coupe with Chris Dyson.

“It was really nice being back in this car,” said Dumas, the overall race winner at Mosport in the Porsche with Timo Bernhard in 2007. “We have a good base for the setup. After we found some good compromises, things started to get better and faster. We made some adjustments with the ride height and didn’t too much with the roll bar. We still have some work to do but so far it is very nice to be back in the car and driving for this team.”

Dumas led a group of five LMP drivers within 0.839 seconds of each other. Intersport Racing’s Jon Field was third in class at 1:08.604 (129.036 mph). He is driving the team’s Lola-AER with son Clint.

As tight as things were in LMP, the GT class was even closer. The top eight cars were within a second of each other, led by Risi Competizione’s Toni Vilander in the Ferrari F430 GT that he will drive with Pierre Kaffer. The Finnish star’s best lap was a 1:17.257 (114.584 mph), good enough for a 0.506-second gap back to Jaime Melo in the sister car. He will drive with Gianmaria Bruni.

Corvette Racing’s pairing of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen sat third in class at 1:17.773 (113.824 mph) in their Corvette C6.R. The squad revamped its driver lineup which has put Gavin and Magnussen in the same car in Series competition for the first time since 2006. Johnny O’Connell and Olivier Beretta are in the second Corvette.

In LMPC, Luis Diaz set the fastest time for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports in the ORECA FLM09 that he will drive with Ricardo Gonzalez. Diaz, who won at Mosport in LMP2 a year ago with Adrian Fernandez, set a best lap of 1:12.202 (122.606 mph) a week after winning the class pole position at Road America.

Christophe Bouchut was second in class for Level 5 Motorsports. The French veteran set a time of 1:13.381 (120.636 mph) in the car he will share with Scott Tucker. He went 0.294 seconds clear of the Green Earth Team Gunnar entry of Gunnar Jeannette and Elton Julian. The two teams are 1-2 in the class championship standings.

Jeroen Bleekemolen didn’t need much time to get a feel for Mosport. He set a GT Challenge-best time of 1:22.713 in Black Swan Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, 0.428 seconds quicker than TRG’s Andy Lally. Bleekemolen and teammate Tim Pappas have won four times in the last five races and hold the class championship lead.

ORBIT/Paul Miller Racing’s Bryce Miller was third in class at 1:23.333 (106.229 mph). Miller’s session was cut short when the car stopped on track with a blown engine after 17 minutes. Miller will drive with Luke Hines.
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Cytosport On Pole At Mosport

Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 29, 2010 1:46 pm

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A wild season of qualifying in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón continued Saturday. Muscle Milk Team CytoSport’s Klaus Graf grabbed pole position, the seventh driver in eight races to earn those honors. He set a best lap of 1:06.956 (132.212 mph) in the Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder that he will drive with factory pilot Romain Dumas.

Graf outpaced Dyson Racing’s Chris Dyson – driving the Mazda-powered Lola coupe he will share with Guy Smith – by 0.186 seconds in another incredibly close qualifying battle. Patrón Highcroft Racing’s Simon Pagenaud was third in the HPD ARX-01c he will drive with David Brabham at 1:07.228 (131.677 mph). The top four cars were within 0.526 seconds. Needless to say, the margin for error was razor-thin.

“This is very special to be (on pole),” Graf said following his first career Fast Qualifier honor. “Congrats to all the guys. In any class driving at this place is quite challenging and difficult. In the LMP cars, it’s unbelievable. Some of the corners you go through - it’s like a roller coaster. To put it all together and get a good lap and be overall pole here at Mosport is unbelievable.”

The Muscle Milk squad remains in the thick of the LMP championship despite missing the Mid-Ohio round. Team owner Greg Pickett was injured in a testing crash earlier that week and is out for the rest of the season. Graf and Pickett were winners at Lime Rock, and Timo Bernhard joined Graf with the two finishing second last weekend at Road America.

“It's a fantastic car, not just at this place, but everywhere,” Graf said. “So we are happy right now and we'll get a good sleep tonight, but the big thing will be tomorrow. We had a good pace setup right away. We weren't always happy; we tried a lot of things. We were trying for the sweet spot. We didn't make any big steps this morning, but we did in the second practice. Those things were crucial.”

Given how close race finishes have been the last few weekends, any adjustment the right way is critical. The last two Series races – at Mid-Ohio and Road America – have been nail-biters with a combined winning margin of 0.779 seconds. There have been three finishes of less than a second in overall races and a total of seven finishes of less than two seconds in all classes.

Risi Competizione’s drama-filled day ended on a high thanks to Gianmaria Bruni’s third career GT pole position. The Italian turned a lap of 1:17.160 (114.728 mph) on his third of five laps in the Ferrari F430 GT that he will drive with Toni Vilander. Bruni was to team with full-season partner Jaime Melo but he was pulled from the lineup with a stomach virus Saturday afternoon.

Vilander originally was in a second Risi entry but it was withdrawn following a vicious crash with Pierre Kaffer at the wheel Saturday morning. Kaffer went hard into the outside wall between turns 1 and 2 with heavy impact on the front end. He was transported to a local hospital but released a few hours later. Because Vilander was moved to Bruni’s car following the first practice, the car will start Sunday’s race from the back of the field.

“Wherever we finish – first, second or third – it will come from a clean good race,” said Bruni, the pole-winner at Utah. “Right now I’m not thinking points or championships. I'm just thinking how I can get by all the cars tomorrow. We'll see how it ends up tomorrow and see how it goes.”

“When the accident happened this morning, although I was fast I was not on the limit,” Kaffer said. “Everything was under control. At the exit from the corner which enters the little short straight between Turns 1 and 2, the rear floor of the car hit the ground and the car got upset and snapped into the barriers. It was quite harsh and very sudden. I didn’t expect it at that point as the car was really good as our lap times would have showed.”

Bruni’s best qualifying lap was 0.301 seconds better than Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Jörg Bergmeister in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR he will drive with Patrick Long. He turned a lap of 1:17.461 (114.282 mph) in the class championship-leading Porsche. Four manufacturers and five entrants filled the top-five with BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team’s Tommy Milner third at 1:17.491 (114.238 mph). Those two cars will start on the front row in class.

As has been the case all year, more than half the field were bunched insanely close. Only 0.681 seconds separated the top-seven in GT. The championship standings reflect the class’ competitiveness. Risi is third in the team standings and only 14 points behind Flying Lizard.

“We are fighting for the championship with the (Flying Lizard) Porsche so we made the change to keep going,” said Bruni, a runner-up in class in 2007 at Mosport. “I enjoy this track here. It’s more of a driver track than any parts of America. You have to have a good car and a good setup more than anything. It's a great job for the team; they’ve worked so hard this weekend.”

In LMP Challenge, Luis Diaz claimed his second straight class pole with a lap of 1:11.455 (123.888 mph). He will make his third start with Ricardo Gonzalez in PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ ORECA FLM09.

Diaz was 0.558 seconds clear of Genoa Racing’s Frankie Montecalvo, who put in an impressive effort for 1:12.013 (122.928 mph).

“For us it’s been a dream really. Ricardo and I fit perfectly in this team,” Diaz said. “The car has been fantastic since we got here Wednesday. It was kind of weird but boring. I didn't know what to ask the engineers. To have the pole is nice, we love it. But Mosport is Mosport. The race is going to be very, very tough tomorrow. We know we have the speed but it will come with strategy too.”

The Mexican star won the LMP2 class last year at Mosport and shared the Series’ class championship with Adrian Fernandez. So he has some prototype experience and data to share.

“Basically in the P2, we had a lot more downforce through turns 1 and 2, and in Turn 8 we were flat out,” Diaz said. “It’s really a pleasure with the LMPC because you have to really think about corners and braking and driving the car. I remember last year when I was driving I told Adrian, ‘You will get to drive lots tomorrow. This is too dangerous!’ But the LMPC is perfect for this track. It’s just a great challenge to keep it fun but advanced too. “

Gunnar Jeannette qualified third at 1:12.073 (122.825 mph) in the Green Earth Team Gunnar entry he will drive with Elton Julian. The top four cars in the class were within 0.805 seconds.

Bryce Miller broke Jeroen Bleekemolen’s stranglehold on GT Challenge pole positions with his first career Fast Qualifier in the ORBIT/Paul Miller Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry. The young American set a lap of 1:22.495 (107.308 mph) in the car he will share with Luke Hines, good enough for a 0.103-second gap back to Bleekemolen in the Black Swan Racing entry.

“I really enjoy this circuit. It’s a great circuit with a lot of character,” said Miller, a GT2 race-winner with Farnbacher Loles Racing at Road America in 2008. “It's exciting to be in the qualifying position at this track and pull a great lap here. It can be an unforgiving track. It’s great for the team; the car has been technically sound but we just really had the luck come our way.”

Bleekemolen, who posted a lap of 1:22.598 (107.175 mph) and Tim Pappas lead the class championship after four wins in five races. But Miller has been one of the few drivers in class to match the speed of Bleekemolen. Like Risi in GT, the ORBIT squad had to overcome a little weekend drama of its own; the Porsche’s engine let go early in Friday’s test session.

Shane Lewis was next in class for Velox Motorsports at 1:22.911 (106.770 mph). He will drive with Lawson Aschenbach, the duo seeking Velox’s third podium finish in four races. Miller has raced a variety of cars at Mosport, and his father Paul was a Trans-Am winner at the circuit in 1985. So the younger Miller knows Mosport’s risks and rewards.

“It’s incredible to look at the data and realize the speed you’re carrying around here. All the corners are really fast, which is a strength for me. I like fast corners. It's really exciting, the laps really count a lot here because the track can be unforgiving. You have to have a lot of confidence here. Hopefully I can also finish up with a result.”
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