Penske took the win in P2 to consolidate their Championship lead
Penske
Dyson
B-K Motorsports
Intersport
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Penske
LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 19, 2008) -- Last week, it was the Brabham/Sharp Acura that ran down the No. 7 Penske Porsche RS Spyder with 90 seconds left to score a victory at Lime Rock Park, but the roles were reversed today in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as Romain Dumas (France) held off Brabham to score the Porsche tandem's fourth win in six American Le Mans Series races and extend their LMP2 driver points lead to 28.
Dumas, who felt constant pressure from Brabham for the last 30 minutes of the race, could pull away from the Acura when he had an open track, but was slowed traffic around the course, cutting his lead to less than a second several times before the end. The final margin of the LMP2 victory for the Porsche was six-tenths of a second. The two Audi R-10 TDI diesels finished first and second overall and won the LMP1 class.
"These races with the Acura have been very tight since the beginning of the year," said Dumas, who, with Timo Bernhard (Germany), has won the LMP2 class for the third year in a row. The pair also won the LMP2 championship with their Penske Porsche RS Spyders in 2007, including eight overall wins in 11 races and class podium finishes in every event.
"We started the race several positions back from the leaders, but never gave, and worked our way to the front. The Penske crew pulled off a great pit stop near the end to give us the lead, and we ran well to the end," said Dumas.
The exciting event will be telecast on a delayed basis on NBC-TV at noon EDT on Sunday, July 20. This is a recent change announced earlier in the week by NBC, which will also extend its usual two-hour broadcast to two hours, 30 minutes.
This was also the first event that both the Dumas/Bernhard RS Spyder, along with the Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) number six Penske Porsche RS Spyder, used the newly-developed direct-injection 3.4 liter, V-8 race motor. The main feature of direct injection is that the power has gone up, and the fuel consumption has gone down -- an important element of endurance racing. This technology, already introduced on Porsche street vehicles including the Porsche 911 and the Porsche Cayenne, is the first direct injection motor ever developed that can rev to more than 10,000 rpms. Horsepower goes from 476 to 503 (370 kw) at more than 10,000 rpm. Torque improves from 370 nm (273 ft. lbs)
7500 rpm to 385 (284 ft. lbs) nm @8500 rpm. The engine was developed in conjunction with the Porsche 911 and Porsche Cayenne direct injection technology
The other three Porsche RS Spyders finished fourth, fifth, and sixth in class, with the #6 Penske Porsche of Maassen/Long running as high as second in class late in the race, but traffic entanglements allowed two Acuras to get by them and they had to settle for fourth place. The six top LMP2 finishers were on the overall lead lap.
Porsche leads Acura by 17 points in the LMP2 manufacturer's contest.
Dyson
It was a comparatively quiet race for Dyson Racing at today’s American Le Mans Race at Mid-Ohio. After leaving Lime Rock a week ago with two cars needing major surgery, that was a good thing. The team had their second tandem finish of the year with the #16 Thetford/Norcold entry of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith finishing fifth in class, followed by the #20 Porsche RS Spyder of Marino Franchitti and Butch Leitzinger.
"We came here and ran this weekend without missing a beat," said Dyson. "That is the main story. No loss of momentum, no slowing of advancement. Butch and I pushed as hard as we could, and then both Guy and Marino drove strong stints to close things up. We were hounding the sharp end of the field the last half of the race."
The first forty-five minutes of the two hour and forty-five minute race were uneventful. The first yellow came out for a single car incident and the team brought in both cars to do a full service and driver change, with Marino getting in the #20 car and Smith in the #16. An hour and a half into the race, during the second yellow, Franchitti came into the pits for a splash of fuel and the team brought in Smith during the third yellow for tires and fuel and both drivers were good to go to the end. Both cars got stronger as the race went on with Smith setting his fastest race time on lap 92 and Franchitti on lap 93.
"I really want to express my admiration of our team," said Smith. "They were able to build the car up in 24 hours and have it on the track for the first session and the car ran like clock work. It is in situations like this where you see what people are made of and this team is an exceptional group of people."
B-K Motorsports
B-K Motorsports Unlocks Potential of BP Lola Mazda at Mid-Ohio
Lexington, Ohio -- While the final results may not show it, B-K Motorsports had one of its most encouraging races of the season Saturday in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio. The No. 8 BP Lola B07/46 Mazda of Ben Devlin and Gerardo Bonilla was fast throughout the day but ran into a fuel vent issue with an hour remaining in the race. The team rebounded and got the Mazda MZR-R-powered prototype back on track to finish eighth in the LMP2 category.
The weekend didn't get off to a good start for the Wisconsin-based crew as the BP Lola suffered two engine failures, forcing the team to skip qualifying on Friday and start from the rear of the field. With only a handful of laps in practice and warm-up under his belt, Devlin started the car and quickly got into a rhythm. The Englishman moved up to 11th overall in the first 30 minutes before pitting under yellow on lap 42 for fuel and tires.
The call to bring the Lola Mazda in for service on the wave-by lap proved to be key, as Devlin was able to get back on the lead lap. Once back to green, Devlin moved up to eighth overall, running with the lead pack, and began slowly chomping away on other cars ahead of him while keeping distance over the P2 cars trailing behind.
When the third caution of the day came out at the one-hour and 35-minute mark, team engineer Mike Wright called the car in for its second pit stop. Devlin hopped out, with Bonilla taking the controls. However, during service, the team found a problem with the fuel vent hose, creating concern within in the camp. Their cautious, safety minded, approach to the rather minor problem proved to be the right call. Just as Bonilla got in the car, a fire erupted in the nearby de Ferran Motorsports pit. The blaze was caused when de Ferran's fuel hose failed to disconnect from the car as it left the pit stall. That incident served as a reminder of what could have happened to B-K if their car's issue was neglected.
With the field then under a lengthy yellow for pit lane cleanup, B-K went to work replacing the throttle output valve on the car, and after a 12-lap delay, Bonilla returned to the action. While he was unable to make up lost laps in the final 38 minutes, Bonilla was able to once again show the potential of the Mazda MZR-R-powered prototype. The American Le Mans Series rookie ripped off lighting quick laps times, often matching the pace of the overall leaders. He crossed the line finishing 20th overall, a result nowhere indicative of what could have been.
"When I got in for my stint, we obviously had a big delay because of the long pit stop," Bonilla explained. "The fuel vent valve wasn't working correctly, and there was no way we were going to take a risk on a fire. At the same time we were having our problem, an inferno broke out two pit boxes in front of me. It happened simultaneously. I feel bad for the de Ferran crewmember who was injured, and I hope he recovers quickly. Besides that, our guys kept focus on our problem during that distraction. I'm thankful that they found it because we would have had much worse problems if they hadn't caught it.
"We then restarted several laps down. It was a matter of driving clean and driving smart to the end. I used the rest of the race to learn a little bit more about Mid-Ohio and the traffic. Mike [Wright] gave me encouragement to push a little more, and I did. Considering how fast we were in the race and with all the problems we encountered this weekend, I think it was a great effort put in by the entire BP Mazda team."
Devlin was equally pleased with the run in the Dunlop-shod prototype, as the strong run and good strategy proved to be a confidence builder for the entire team. His best lap time of 1:12.100 in the race placed him right in amongst other P2 contenders, which bodes well heading into the races to come.
"My stint went very well," Devlin said. "It was a great call by team engineer Mike Wright and the crew to get that lap back before the pit stop. The car ran really strong. It was very consistent and nice. We got very lucky with the traffic and worked our way through. The car was a big improvement this weekend. We've had the package all year but now its finally coming into place. It's really nice we're finally going somewhere."
With the unlucky breaks coupled with lack of track time, the team certainly overcame obstacles all weekend long. A top result should be just around the corner, given all the pieces fall into place.
"I think we proved today that we can race with these guys," said John Doonan, Manager, Motorsports Team Development for Mazda. "Ben had a great first stint and the tires were fantastic. The crew did an awesome job fighting through a lot of adversary this weekend with two engine changes. Then we just had this fluke fuel issue with the vent not returning. The boys did a good job and stayed calm and got the car back out there. Gerardo was running lap times right with the leaders there at the end. We're very encouraged to be heading to tracks like Road America, Mosport and Road Atlanta where our little package can shine."
Intersport
Intersport's New Two-Car Effort Secures 3rd and 5th Place Results at Mid-Ohio
Lexington, Ohio -- Local favorites Intersport Racing scored another LMP1 podium finish in Saturday's Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series season. The Dublin, Ohio-based team's No. 30 Lola B06/10 AER of Ryan Lewis and John Faulkner finished third in class in their Series debut while the sister No. 37 Very Berry Exotics machine of Jon and Clint Field and Richard Berry encountered electrical and engine gremlins, knocking them out of the race early on.
Lewis stared in his American Le Mans Series debut, setting quick lap times and running comfortably inside the top-10 overall during his opening two stints. The former Atlantic driver qualified the E10-fueled prototype in 12th on Friday, and quickly moved into the ninth in the opening laps of the race. However, the Englishman suffered one slight run in with a GT2 car in the second hour, causing a slow puncture and a subsequent spin. The team elected to pit the car a few laps later, with Faulkner getting behind the wheel for the first time.
"I got on the gas a little bit too early and touched him on the right rear wheel," Lewis explained. "Unfortunately, that developed into a slow puncture which caused me to spin in the Esses. We were coming up to put John in the car so I think we learned a lot with what time I had in the car."
After a tire change and a full tank of fuel, Faulkner was on his way, but suffered a spin of his own with one hour and 34 minutes complete. The Formula Mazda veteran got stuck in the grass, bringing out a full course caution. After making further stops while under the yellow, the No. 30 machine was back on track and completed the race, finishing 15th overall.
"It's fantastic to be standing on the podium," Faulkner said after climbing from the car. "Who could have imagined it in our debut race? I owe it all to my teammate, Ryan, who did a super job in his first stint. I was just trying to keep it safe and bring it home. We had a few problems at first, but we recovered for a great result."
Lewis was also pleased with his debut performance but found traffic to be one of the most challenging bits transitioning from open-wheel cars to multi-class sports car racing.
"It was very busy out there but I was quite happy with the pace," Lewis said. "I wished I could have been a little quicker. But it's very, very busy. There's a lot of cars out there you have to worry about, but once you get into a rhythm, everyone knows who's going to do what. I'm still learning a lot, but it's been a good weekend."
Intersport's No. 37 Very Berry Exotics machine finished the day early with an engine failure, its second of the weekend. Team owner, Clint, qualified the cellulosic E85-fueled prototype in 11th overall, but the car started from the pit lane after electric gremlins crept up on the reconnance laps. Starting from the back of the pack, Clint rocketed his way up to 12th in the opening 15 minutes of the race but pitted on lap 23 with high oil temperatures. The team worked diligently behind the wall in hopes of returning the car to the track, but the entry was later retired.
"In the beginning we had a bunch of electrical problems, and we'll have to sort that out before the next race," Clint said. "The car is new to us, so some of those things will happen. We got it from Cytosport so late that we didn't have time to prepare it for this weekend. That's what we had to deal with.
"I think this break [until the next race] will be good for us and AER to work together and figure out the engine problems we've had, as well as our electrical gremlins. Then we can go to Road America a little bit more prepared."
The pace of the No. 30 car impressed Clint, and he hopes there is more to come for both cars as the season kicks into high gear.
"While our car had troubles, the No. 30 car ran really good today. Ryan made an unbelievable start. He was ahead of the Dyson Porsche for a while and his lap times were really, really good. It was really good that the second car did this well. We're looking forward to getting both of our cars on the same level soon."