ALMS - Mosport - Friday Notes

Romain Dumas slotted straight back into ALMS competition today at Mosport, putting the Cytosport Porsche Spyder comprehensively at the top of the time sheet with a 1:07.801.  He reeled off a string of quick laps in the final ten minutes of the afternoon’s session, and is thrilled to be back.

Just 0.6 seconds behind was Guy Smith in the Dyson Lola, followed in close succession by the Fields’ Intersport and the Road America winning Drayson Lolas.  Just four hundredths of a second separated these two.  A rather glum looking Johnny Mowlem was sitting the session out in civvies as the Autocon team has been chasing the source of a fuel cell leak since yesterday.  Mowlem says they should be good for tomorrow.

Luis Diaz was on fire in LMPC, his time of 1:12.202 putting him a second ahead of Christophe Bouchut in the #55 Level 5 Motorsports ORECA.  Andy Wallace didn’t get to drive today as Scott Tucker was getting up to speed in the #95 sister car. 

In GT it was a Ferrari 1-2-4, with Vilander just ahead of Melo on a 1:17.257 but none of the Risi drivers were happy with their afternoon’s work and feel they have a lot to do tomorrow.  Splitting the Ferraris was the #4 Corvette, only two tenths ahead of the new pairing of O’Connell and Beretta.   Once again it’s close; a second separates eight cars.  Paul Gentilozzi is back behind the wheel in place of Ryan Dalziel who is on Grand-Am duty in Montreal, while Darren Law is on double-duty and has been shuttling between series and cities.

Although all four championship titles could mathematically be wrapped up this weekend, the most realistic is likely to be GTC.  With only five cars entered in the class at Mosport, Pappas and Bleekemolen started their attack on the title with a 1:22.713 ahead of Andy Lally.  

Mosport’s GM Myles Brandt is celebrating his 40th year at the track and in celebration of Mosport’s 50th Anniversary the ALMS/IMSA held a surprise reception for him at their trailer.  Congratulations to go to him not least for avoiding the media’s cries of dismay as we struggle for yet another year with dismal phone reception and appalling internet connections.   Mosport is no more remotely situated than, say, Road America where the service – and band width/speed – was perfect. 

Finally, amongst all the accolades for Brabs was this from former ALMS competitor, Darren Turner.  In a business where egos can often get in the way of a good working relationship or friendship, and coming from a driver with a stellar CV of his own, it’s heart-warming to see things like this.

“The first time I raced with Brabs was Miami 2003 in the Prodrive Ferrari 550, when I had the opportunity to step in for his regular teammate Jan Magnussen.  Brabs could have taken the attitude of writing off the race weekend but he did the opposite. He couldn’t have been more welcoming and helpful, making sure I got as much time in the car as possible and removing my worries, knowing how nervous I was for my first ALMS street race.

“That’s his strength. He has confidence in his own ability and manages to get the best out of everyone around him. He’s always 100% behind his teammate through good times and bad. Brabs is ultra calm and his ability to deal with immense pressure rubs off on his teammates.

“David has the ability to see the bigger picture and he helps everyone to build on their strengths. That’s perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned in how to be a successful sportscar driver.

“Off the track, David has also become a great friend. We have very different outlooks on life, Brabs is a bit of a ‘tree hugger’, but I like that about him. I’ve had the pleasure of racing with a lot of great teammates, but Brabs is up there as one of my favourites because I’ve learnt so much from him.”

Perfectly put DT.