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Petit Le Mans Power
by Mazda6 The GT2 qualifying for the 12th annual Petit Le Mans will go down in history as the day David slayed Goliath. And by David, we mean David Murray and Robertson Racing. WIth all the attention being directed towards the manufacturer backed teams and their announcements this weekend, how ironic it is that two of the smallest teams in the paddock would battle for the GT2 pole.
The session started out as business as usual with the Melo in the Risi Ferrari and Long in the Flying Lizard Porsche leading the pack. But business in the GT2 class was about to change. Seemingly out of nowhere, Tom Sutherland in the LG Motorsports Riley Corvette takes 2nd spot from Long and on the next lap knocks Melo out of 1st with a 121.024. A flat right rear tire would end Melo’s effort very early in the session, but Long and Mueller in the #92 BMW would take repeated shots at Sutherland’s time but come up short. At about the halfway point, Sutherland was still hanging on the top spot, but now Mueller had closed the gap and taken the 2nd spot. Lurking less then a tenth of second behind Mueller was Murray in the Roberston GT-R. Mueller turns up the heat a little more and breaks the 1.21 barrier to take over P1. Unfortunately for BMW Mueller’s rule was short lived. Murray was on a tear of his own and within a few seconds placed the #40 in unfamiliar territory; the fastest car in class. Could it be possible that the Dick Barbor guided privateer team could capture the pole at the Petit Le Mans?
With all eyes on the surprising pace of the Robertson and LG cars, Beretta in the factory Corvette was quietly working his way up the order. He held the 4th spot as Murray took over the lead, but 4th wasn’t all that car had to offer. On Beretta’s next flying lap he would hopscotch three positions and land the Corvette it’s rightful place at the top of the order. Now we had a top four consisting of, #4 Corvette, #40 GT-R, #92 BMW and the #28 LG Motorsports. It was still surprising to see the two privateers in the top group, but there was still some time left, and surely the Lizard Porsche or the other BMW would work it’s way up into this group. Well, the order at the top
would change again, but not at all what we expected. Unbelievably, the LG Motorsports Riley Corvette, which was last seen engulfed in flames at Long Beach , under the guidance of Tom Sutherland, whom we last saw at St. Pete, knocks the factory Corvette off the top spot. Sutherland was able to squeeze a lap of 1.20.877 which vaulted him from all the way from 4th to 1st in class.
At the heels of Sutherland big lap was Murray pulling out of the pits for another go in the Ford GT-R. Murray was up to speed quickly and pushing the Dunlops as hard as he could. One more flying lap is all he needed to leap from 4th to 1st with a 1.20.819. The Robertson pit roared with approval as the checkered flag fell to end the session. It could be called a classic Ford vs. Chevy battle, but neither of these manufacturers support these teams. This was a true privateer victory and they deserve all the credit. David Murray, “This little team has so much heart. To go against the big manufacturer backed teams and to get the pole at the biggest race in the series, is un believable. This is the best this car has ever been. I knew I had lost a little time on my earlier lap. So I wanted to go back out and get that tenth of a second to show what this car can do. This is very emotional for me. This team has worked so hard and grown so much over the last couple years.” As a side note, in a class normally dominated by Michelin tires, Dunlop holds four of the top five positions after qualifying. |
