There should be a flash banner here. There are 2 main reasons why you may not be able to see it:
  • You do not have the required version of Flash MX installed (v8.0+) in your browser
  • JavaScript is disabled in your browser
Vanessa

ALMS, Road America – Saturday Notes
Through The Classes

A newly married Timo Bernhard was happy to be back in the Spyder :  “The first lap was very special. To be back in my old ‘home office’ brought back a lot of memories. The car is very nice to drive but for the first couple of laps I had to familiarize myself with the Porsche RS Spyder again. Towards the end of the session I really felt great again in the car.”
 
Caught up with a very disappointed Ian Dawson of Libra Racing.  His car only did two proper laps this weekend and the engine failure has led to a big change of plans over the coming weeks:  “The new engine we put in before this weekend dropped a valve.  We don’t quite know why but we had an engine problem in the race at Mid Ohio and we couldn’t get a spare engine built in the two weeks we had.  It’s very unfortunate.”

The team weren’t planning to be at the Mosport round, but were going to race at the Silverstone 1000 Km.  That entry has been withdrawn and they will be pressing ahead for Petit Le Mans in October. 

Johnny Mowlem, a busy man with all his new testing commitments for Lotus, is happy to be sporting the orange of the Autocon team for a two-race deal in the ALMS for the first time since his LMPC outings at the start of the year with Corsa Motorsports.  “It feels like the start of another season,” he said.  “It’s nice to be back, especially in a car like this which is like a rocket on the straights.  With a bit more time in the car, I think we could get a lot closer to the rest.”

With just three races to go, titles are poised to be awarded, and the following breakdown from the ALMS very succinctly sums up who’s in the hot seat and who needs a good result this weekend or next.

LMP: A runner-up finish at Mid-Ohio combined with a DNS for Muscle Milk Team CytoSport firmly entrenched Patrón Highcroft Racing in the driver’s seat. David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud lead CytoSport’s Klaus Graf by 23 points. Barring no-points race the rest of the way, PHR is in good position to repeat although Porsche factory driver Timo Bernhard will join Graf this weekend, and Romain Dumas will drive the RS Spyder at Mosport.

In the Manufacturer championship, Dyson Racing’s Mid-Ohio victory over Patrón Highcroft moved Lola to within 13 points of Honda Performance Development for the chassis manufacturer championship. HPD leads Porsche by 23 points in the engine race while Michelin – whose technical partners include Highcroft, CytoSport and Drayson Racing– leads Dunlop – with Dyson Racing, Intersport Racing and Autocon Motorsports.

LMPC: Thanks to four victories this season with Christophe Bouchut, Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker holds an 11-point lead over Green Earth Team Gunnar’s Gunnar Jeannette. Tucker’s third-place finish with Andy Wallace in a second Level 5 entry at Lime Rock is the difference between he and Bouchut (whose car did not start the race).

The gap is the same – 11 points – between Level 5 and GETG in the team standings.

GT: Good luck sorting this one out!

Defending class champions Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long lead Risi Competizione’s Jaime Melo and Gimmi Bruni by just eight points. Each team has three class victories this year. A win for the Lizard pair and no points for Melo/Bruni at Lime Rock is the key point so far. Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner, from the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team camp, are just 3 points behind Bruni and Melo; the Auberlen/Milner pairing has been on the class podium four times, the most in class.

In the manufacturer and team races, BMW (BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team) and Ferrari (Risi) are tied for the championship lead. Porsche/Flying Lizard are just two points behind. So far, the championship battle in the Series’ toughest class has lived up to its lofty expectations.

In the tire manufacturer championship, Michelin leads Dunlop by 20 points.

GTC: After missing the season-opener at Sebring and placing eighth at Long Beach, Black Swan Racing drivers Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen have won three times and surged into the championship lead. A pair of TRG pilots – Henri Richard and Andy Lally – sit second and third, respectively. Richard is not entered at Road America, although Lally is back and eager to improve his championship position. He will drive with Duncan Ende.

Velox Racing’s Shane Lewis, and Alex Job Racing’s Bill Sweedler and Romeo Kapudija are tied for fourth place, 5 points behind Lally and 11 points behind Richard.

Alex Job Racing leads the team championship with Black Swam only 6 points back and TRG another 3 back.

Fiona Miller