The De Ferran Acura had an unfortunate pit stop which left their fuel man injured but Highcroft scored another class podium
Highcroft
Fernandez
Andretti-Green
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Highcroft
Riding high on last week's history-making first-place win at Lime Rock Park, Patron Highcroft Racing again went to battle against the Penske Porsches, providing high-wire tension and excitement in the last several minutes of the Acura Sports Car Challenge. Scott Sharp, who started the race from the second place on the grid, drove a brilliant stint, maintaining his position and handing off a strong car to his co-driver, David Brabham, about an hour into the race. Brabham, who finished the race, engaged in a fierce on-track contest for LMP2 class leadership, and made a clean pass of Patrick Long in the #6 Penske Porsche with just 14 minutes remaining . He then fought until the last second to overtake the #7 Penske Porsche, but the class victory was ultimately not meant to be for this young team from Connecticut.
"It was a strong day for the entire team" said Sharp, as he stood with David alongside the #9 Acura ARX-01b after the race. "Both David and I pushed really hard. We both drove the wheels off the car! The Michelin tires really performed consistently all week. It was an incredible competition with five or six cars in the same class going at it nose-to-tail in the late stages of the race. I call that pretty awesome racing. David got stuck in traffic and fell back but did really well to get back up and challenge for the lead. We're really happy with our result. Now we've got to keep our momentum going in the rest of the season by continuing to finish on the podium."
"It was a thriller to the end" said Brabs, as he climbed out of the cockpit of the Acura. "We seem to be making a habit of doing that. In the end, we just ran out of time. Although the #7 (Penske) Porsche was very fast, I think we were a little bit quicker. It's very difficult around here, you lose too much of the aerodynamics being behind the car in front. And you really do need a break in the traffic: sometimes I got it, sometimes I didn't. I was right behind him (the #7 Penske Porsche) right at the end but it wasn't meant to be. When I passed Patrick Long (in the #6 Penske Porsche) - I knew I was quicker. I saw a slow car coming up in front of us and I just backed off on the main straight to get a good run. Luckily, the slower car went toward the middle, Long went left and I went right. It was a question of who was going to brake latest. I managed to get past him and then it was just a matter of catching the leader. This is a great result for Patron Highcroft Racing. From our win last week, Acura's and the team first overall first-place finish, to second place this week, the team is on a definite roll."
"Week in and week out, we're providing a lot of excitement for everybody, that's for sure" said team owner, Duncan Dayton. "Hats off to the Penske Racing team. We've been fighting hammer and tong with the Penske Porsches pretty much all season long. The traffic breaks just didn't happen for us this time, but it was a great hunt and a stupendous race -- really terrific driving by both Scott and David and great work by the entire team."
The Fernandez Acura also finished on the podium
Fernandez
Podium Finish for Lowe's Fernandez Racing at Mid-Ohio
Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz brought the #15 Lowe's Acura ARX home to a third-place class and fifth-place overall result in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this afternoon. This is the first podium finish of the season for the Lowe's Fernandez team and their fourth career ALMS podium. Fernandez has finished on the podium the past three years at Mid-Ohio with a Grand-Am win in 2006 and a third-place result with Diaz last year.
Diaz started the race but battled understeer throughout his stint, a problem that hindered the team throughout the weekend. He turned the car over to Fernandez fifth in class and seventh overall on Lap 40 -- 50 minutes into the 2 hour 45 minute race.
Fernandez held the pace, running fifth in class and seventh overall as he dealt with a general lack of balance on the #15 machine. The face of the race changed for the team on Lap 68, with just over an hour remaining, when Fernandez made his final pit stop of the day for fuel and tires. Quick work by the team allowed Fernandez to gain a position over the #6 Porsche RS Spyder of Patrick Long.
Following a lengthy yellow period for a fuel fire involving de Ferran Motorsports, Fernandez made a great restart on Lap 80 with 37 minutes remaining to pass fellow Acura driver David Brabham for second-place in class and fourth-overall. A battle ensued among the LMP2 class front-runners and in the end, Fernandez was able to repass Long to take the final spot on the podium.
The next stop for Lowe's Fernandez Racing will be the Generac 500 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on August 9.
Andretti-Green
XM Satellite Radio Acura drivers Franck Montagny and Raphael Matos posted a 14th place overall finish and seventh-place LMP2 class finish in Saturday’s running of the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex after an early incident sidelined the car for a number of laps for repairs.
Matos, who drives one of Andretti Green’s two Firestone Indy Lights cars, was making his first ALMS start for AGR and opened the race for the XM team. However, Matos was struck by a lapped car as he attempted to pass in the sixth minute of the race and the car sustained damage to the left front. The XM crew worked for nine minutes to fix the car, but lost nine laps to the leaders. Montagny took over the driving duties at the one hour mark of the two hour, 45-minute race and brought the car home from there.
The American Le Mans Series returns to action on Aug. 9 with the Generac 500 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Raphael Matos, #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura:
"I came up to lap one of the Aston Martins, which was the first car I was going to lap. I wasn’t pushing at all. I was side-by-side with him and he just turned into me. I don’t know if he didn’t see me or what. It’s just very frustrating for the XM Acura guys and everyone at Andretti Green. We were hoping for a good result and I think we had a good shot at a podium finish or better. It’s just very unfortunate."
Franck Montagny, #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura:
"I am 100 percent certain we had the car to win today – I am absolutely sure. But, the car was a mess after the crash, so I treated the rest of the race like it was a test. I still pushed like I do when I’m racing and tried to do my best with the car. But, it was quite difficult. Two hours in the car – it was hot – so it’s not easy. And, you don’t have the same motivation because you’re not fighting for places and that’s also not easy. But, we did it and it’s another experience."