Intersport Racing scored an unlikely win, placing the Fields in a exclusive company - those who have beaten a diesel P1 and those who have won in multiple classes
Intersport Racing
David Brabham
Rob Bell
Marino Franchitti
Michelin
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Intersport Racing
Intersport Racing Wins Detroit Sports Car Challenge
Detroit (Aug. 30) -- Intersport Racing, broke Audi's stranglehold in the LMP1 category Saturday to take the class victory in the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch, the ninth round of the American Le Mans Series. The No. 37 Very Berry Exotics Lola B06/10 AER of Jon and Clint Field and Richard Berry took the top spot when the No. 1 Audi R10 TDI after it failed to meet the minimum weight in post-race technical inspection. The win was Intersport's first in the Series since Portland 2006, and its maiden LMP1 victory. It also ended Audi's 30-race class winning streak that dated back to Sebring in 2006. Intersport Racing is the American Le Mans Series longest participating privateer team having participated through out the Series' 10 year history.
"While this is not exactly how we had hoped to claim our first LMP1 win, we'll take it anyway," said team owner and former American Le Mans LMP2 Champion, Clint. "A win is a win. We admire and respect our friends at Audi. We race them hard and fair every time out. It is a huge challenge for a small privateer like Intersport to go out there and compete with a team of Audi's caliber. This is great for our guys. The whole crew works so hard every week, and we're really happy to share this with them."
"This is a great day for everyone associated with the Intersport Racing team," Jon said. "My last win came at Sebring nearly three years ago, so it's great to have another one under my belt. We are appreciative of the victory, but like Clint said, regardless of the circumstances, a win is a win. We've shown that we have we have the pace to beat the Audis at other tracks. Though I think everyone had difficulty setting up their cars here this weekend because of the lack of track time."
All competitors faced difficult challenges at Belle Isle, as rain dampened most of the activities on Friday. While some teams elected to go out in the morning practice session on wet tires, Intersport played it smart and kept its AER-powered prototype parked in the paddock. In the second practice, Clint and Richard ventured out, completing a handful of laps and acclimating themselves to the tricky 14-turn, 2.07 mile temporary street circuit. In the warm-up on race day, Jon got some time behind the wheel, in what was the first real dry session of the weekend.
The call to preserve the car and not rack up miles in the wet proved to be one of the keys to finishing. Just over 30 minutes into the race, the pole sitter, Lucas Luhr, spun due to the bumps. A few laps later, the German had a second, but race-ending trip into the tire barriers. This immediately put Intersport's Very Berry Exotics Lola into second in class. Jon kept the car solidly in the top-10 overall and on the lead lap through out his double-stint before handing over to son, Clint. Late in the race Richard took over the reigns of the Lola and brought home the win.
"We overcame a few challenges during the race and hung in there at the end," said team manager Brian Alder. "And today, that's what mattered. We're thrilled to have taken the win, although we'd like to have done on the track. I have to thank the entire team that always sticks with us, and also our partners and supporters that never give up. Hopefully this momentum will ride with us into the final two races."
David Brabham
Brabham Closes on LMP2 Championship Fight with Second at Detroit
David Brabham clinched yet another American Le Mans Series podium finish with second overall and in class at round nine, the Detroit Sportscar Challenge presented by Bosch at Belle Isle, on Saturday 30 August. The latest impressive performance from the Australian and teammate Scott Sharp sees the Patron Highcroft Racing duo now just four points behind leaders Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in the LMP2 championship battle.
Brabham and Patron Highcroft Racing delivered the team's second outright pole position of the season yesterday and followed that with another high points-scoring finish today, ensuring that the ALMS heads for the final two rounds of the season set for a title fight that will go down to the wire. The team's continued success comes on the weekend that Acura announced it will move to LMP1 with Patron Highcroft Racing for 2009, with Brabham and Sharp confirmed as the driver line-up.
A blistering start from Sharp saw the Patron Highcroft Racing Acura take the lead from turn one and remain unchallenged throughout two safety car periods within the first hour. Heading the field for 49 laps of the twisty 2.07-mile street circuit, Sharp only relinquished the lead when he was blocked in heavy traffic, allowing Simon Pagenaud past. After an impressive stint, Sharp pitted under the third full course caution on lap 56.
Brabham joined the fray for round nine fifth overall and fourth in class still under caution. The 42 year-old nailed the restart when the field returned to green flag racing on lap 63 and took Gil de Ferran the following lap. With the LMP1 Audi of Marcel Fassler the next target, Brabham proceeded to post flying laps to close the 2.5 second gap to less than half a second in five laps. Just two laps later Brabham took the Audi for third overall and in class, and made off for the leading pair of Franck Montagny and Timo Bernhard.
Despite navigating the tricky Belle Isle circuit at a relentless pace with blistering lap times, Brabham's progress was hampered by traffic, which was always going to play a major part in the Detroit round's outcome. When championship rival and second-placed Bernhard was handed a stop and go penalty in the pits for avoidable contact with a GT car, Brabham claimed second overall and in LMP2 on lap 80.
Although Montagny was leading the fray five and a half seconds up the track, Brabham was in hot pursuit and reduced the fellow Acura's advantage to just one second within eight laps. Just as a third consecutive win didn't look out of the question for Brabham a fourth full course caution was called on lap 92 as the race approached the final 15 minutes.
Racing resumed with nine minutes remaining on lap 96 but with a comfortable 15 seconds over the Audi, a solid second place and another podium finish in the bag, Brabham brought the Patron Highcroft Racing Acura home with valuable championship points. With Bernhard finishing fourth overall and in class, following the later exclusion of the Audi under weight and technical restrictions, the Penske Racing pair lead the LMP2 battle by four points on 159 with Brabham and Sharp on 155.
"Belle Isle is such a tricky circuit we knew this race would be about getting to the end in good shape. We've certainly achieved that here today thanks to a fantastic effort from the Patron Highcroft Racing team," said Brabham. "Scott did a fantastic first stint and although the team called a great pit stop other teams were on different strategies and we got a bit behind, but it all worked out as some cars had to pit again later. The car was going really well and I had such good grip that I was able to hustle up until the final yellows. Although the safety car helped us a bit I lost grip and didn't quite have enough to try and pass Franck [Montagny]. I had to keep the championship in mind, with second place comes solid points so we've done what we needed to do. The Patron Highcroft team are doing a fabulous job race after race and we're looking really strong as we head for Petit Le Mans."
Rob Bell
British driver Rob Bell had his second and final outing for the Risi Competizione GT2 team in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Belle Isle Park street circuit in Detroit over the weekend. Bell, who was driving in place of the injured Patrick Friesacher, and alongside team mate Harrison Brix in the no.61 Ferrari 430, finished the race in fifth place.
Bell, who had never raced at the Belle Isle circuit before, arrived fresh from his double victory in the FIA GT Championship at Bucharest the previous weekend. With little time to rest, Bell took to the track for practice, however due to bad weather he only achieved a handful of laps after rain fell heavily during the first session. Bell was handed driving duties for the qualifying session and this took place in contrasting conditions to the practice sessions with a dry Detroit street track. A gear shift issue prevented Bell from being able to challenge higher up the grid, however the team were pleased with the fifth place grid slot he achieved after only limited running during the practice sessions.
Bell took the start for Saturday’s race, as once again the sun shone at Belle Isle Park. During the early part of the race Bell was chasing down a GT1 car ahead, due to the tight and twisty nature of the street circuit Bell was held up for the majority of his stint as he struggled to find a way past. The no.61 car of Bell and Brix also struggled with no radio communication for the first hour and 45 minutes due to a broken radio antenna lead, luckily they still managed to pit at the correct time. Bell handed over to team mate Brix for his stint of the race, however a pit lane speed limiter problem as he exited the pit lane, resulted in a drive through penalty. Not to be deterred, Bell turned quick lap times as he rejoined the track for his final stint of the race. He overtook the lead car to be back on the lead lap of the GT2 class, and crossed the line in fifth place at the chequered flag.
Bell commented after the race, "The car felt good during my stints and we were quick when we weren’t stuck behind traffic, so without the small technical issues we had we could have had an even better finish. Looking at the positives I can take away from the weekend, and my time in the ALMS as a whole, I’ve been able to come out here and learn new tracks and spend time with a top class team; the experience will be invaluable for me in the future. I really enjoyed my experience with the Risi Competizione team; I’d like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to drive for them."
Bell now returns to Britain for the final round of the Le Mans Series (LMS) at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire on the 13/14 September. Bell will be back driving for the Virgo Motorsport team as they aim to wrap up the drivers and constructors championships in the GT2 category.
Looking ahead to the final race of the LMS season, Bell commented, "I’m looking forward to the challenge at Silverstone, we’ve had a strong season in the LMS and we only have one goal, which is to win the championship. The car is quick and our overall package is capable of winning, so we are ready and prepared for the fight. I know Silverstone well, it is my home track on the LMS calendar and what better place to possibly take home both titles. Fingers crossed everything goes well for us."
Marino Franchitti
Returning to the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix was very much like putting on a worn glove, both familiar and comfortable, but the drivers were met with weather conditions that were far from friendly on Friday for the first practice session. Despite blue skies and warm sunshine on Thursday for track orientation, Friday morning's practice session began in heavy rain. Standing water on the track made conditions impossible for some of the prototypes which remained in their pits for much of the session. However as the rain eased both the Dyson Racing LMP2 Porsche Spyders took to the track and as the 90-minute session came to a close the #20 Dyson car, with Marino Franchitti at the wheel, popped to the top of the timing charts by a huge 2.5 seconds over rest of the field. "The car was feeling really good, and the weekend was looking promising" said Marino at the conclusion of practice.
The second and final practice of the day came just prior to qualifying and it threw a completely different complexion on Marino's weekend. Butch Leitzinger, Marino's co-driver, was behind the wheel on slick tyres when heavy rain began falling once again and Butch was suddenly in the tyre wall! Damage was fairly extensive, and time was precious, the team did an amazing job and managed to complete the repairs, but without time to do any set-up procedures as qualifying had just commenced. Marino qualified the #20 car, but found it a handful. Despite that he still managed to get the Thetford/Norcold car into the top ten and 8th in class with a time of 1:16.554 around the 2.074 mile circuit.
When the teams arrived at the circuit for today's race, they found it cloaked in a blanket of fog which magically lifted as their race proceedings began. "The start of the race looked fairly promising" said Marino, but then added, "it suddenly went downhill". Up to the first cautionary period the #20 Dyson Racing Porsche Spyder had very bad understeer and progress was difficult. By the second full course yellow Marino had no grip left in the tyres and likened it to driving on ice. At the third yellow, just over halfway into the race, the team called Marino to the pits for a driver change, but as new tyres went on a wheel nut was dropped necessitating a "Stop and Go" penalty and causing the team to go a lap down. Then an unexpected puncture resulted in the loss of a further lap for the #20 car. However, the team regrouped and Butch eventually brought the car home 8th overall and 8th in class. "The weekend started with a lot of promise, then gradually got worse" said Marino. "It was a really tough race" he continued, "but now we move to Road Atlanta, and Petit Le Mans. The longer races seem to have suited us this season, and the track is another of my favourites, so I'm really looking forward to it".
The tenth round of the American Le Mans Series will be held on the Road Atlanta circuit on Saturday, 4th October, 2008.
Michelin
ANDRETTI GREEN LEADS ACURA FEST AT DETROIT
Double-stinting Michelin "Street Soft" Tires to Victory
DETROIT (August 30, 2008) - Using the speed and consistency of their MICHELIN "street soft" tires, Franck Montagny and James Rossiter claimed the first overall American Le Mans Series victory for Andretti Green XM Acura at today's Detroit Sports Car Challenge on Belle Isle, driving the final 83 laps of the 2.07 mile circuit on the same set of MICHELIN® tires.
After a 45-minute opening stint by Rossiter, the Andretti Green XM Acura team pitted during a caution period to change tires and drivers with two hours remaining in the ninth race of the 2008 ALMS season, then took only fuel on their final stop to gain track position.
The move paid off. Taking the lead for good on lap 58, while his rivals chose to change tires as well as take on fuel, Montagny was able to pull away, withstanding pressure from Porsche's Timo Bernhard and Acura's David Brabham on successive late restarts. Montagny led an Acura 1-2-3 finish ahead of the Patron Highcroft Acura of David Brabham and Scott Sharp and the de Ferran Panasonic Acura of Simon Pagenaud and Gil de Ferran. The three teams combined to lead every lap of the 104 lap, two-hour forty-five minute event.
"I told the team that the tires were fine so there was no need to change on the pit stop," said Montagny. "I knew that I had to push hard, but the MICHELIN tires were very consistent and we could still run very good lap times all the way to the end. To make such soft tires run consistently for so many laps is quite a big job, so thank you to Michelin," said Montagny.
REVENGE OF 'THE OLLIES'
Ending a frustrating string of disappointing finishes, the #4 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta prevailed over their teammates Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell to claim their second victory of the season in the GT1 class.
LIZARD STRIDES
Taking a flying leap toward their first ever ALMS GT2 class championship, the #45 Flying Lizard Porsche of Wolf Henzler and Jorg Bergmeister emerged on top over teammates Patrick Pilet and Johannes van Overbeek, extending their lead in the GT2 championship. The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari of Mika Salo and Jaime Melo spoiled a Lizard sweep, claiming the third spot ahead of the third Flying Lizard entry of Lonnie Pechnick and Martin Ragginger, as Michelin swept the top six spots in the tight GT2 class.
AUDI WIN OVERTURNED
An apparent LMP1 class victory for the #1 Audi R10 TDI of Emanuele Pirro and Marcel Fassler was voided when the car, damaged in the morning warm-up, failed the post race minimum weight test. Combined with an early accident that claimed the Audi sister-car of Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner, the disqualification meant that the 23rd place car of Jon and Clint Field, which encountered mechanical problems but completed the requisite 70 percent of the race was awarded the LMP1 class victory, ending a 20-race string of victories in all four classes for Michelin.
The overall victory completes a Michelin 'hat trick' on the 2008 ALMS street circuits. "We developed our MICHELIN "street soft" tires for the three temporary circuits on the ALMS schedule; St. Petersburg; Long Beach and Detroit," said Silvia Mammone, motorsports manager, Michelin North America. "Our technical partner teams were able to be competitive despite having limited track time with both of the Friday practice sessions run in wet conditions. That is a tribute both to our technical partner teams and to each of our Michelin engineers who works exclusively with one team."