ALMS – Detroit – Belle Isle Grand Prix – Quick Race Report
Dumas & Bernhard – Again

It looked for a while as though a storming re-start from Emanuele Pirro, which rocketed him into the lead from fourth place, would see the Audi #2 hold the advantage to the end, through a couple more caution periods – but Romain Dumas in the #7 Penske Porsche had other ideas.

He dived past the Audi, Pirro re-passed along the front straight – but then ran wide, allowing Dumas to nip through, and build a big enough gap through the twisty stuff to prevent another Audi pass on the straight. All this with only five minutes left.

So that’s eight in a row for the Penske cars (four in a row for #7, six in total), but Audi so nearly atoned for not winning the last two. The McNish / Capello car finished third.

Dyson Racing looked like possible third and fifth place finishers, but Chris Dyson dropped to seventh at the end (from third), so Butch Leitzinger moved up to fourth, second in P2, ahead of the Highcroft and Fernandez entries. The Maassen / Briscoe Porsche was the fastest car on the track, but lost out twice – with a stop / go for contact with the (GT2 winning) #62 Risi Ferrari, and then after contact from a spinning Stefan Johansson, who knocked off the #6 car’s rear wing.

The #3 Corvette took GT1, after #4 went a lap down in one of the safety car periods.

GT2 had its moments, Pat Long and Darren Law coming home second for the Lizards, P/WL third, despite a late penalty for contact with the #73 Tafel Porsche.

Tafel Porsches seemed to be victims of others’ aggression, the #71 taken out by a tap from Johannes van Overbeek in #45. Both spun, the #71 hitting the wall very hard, and rebounding, backwards, into the path of the back end of #45. van Overbeek’s car then caught fire, big-time, and the GT2 title looks to be going the way of Risi Competizione.

The Intersport Creation was out early with engine trouble, but the team will be running the other ex-Dyson Lola AER at Petit Le Mans.

Full report to come.