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Johannes van Overbeek is in rare company at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The California pilot is one of only two drivers entered for this weekend’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge have won more than twice at the scenic Midwestern road course. A three-time winner in five career Mid-Ohio starts in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, van Overbeek is hoping to add a fourth win there as well as the first for Extreme Speed Motorsports.
“The recipe for success at Mid-Ohio is the same everywhere: be fast, have a smart strategy, stay out of trouble and flawless execution in the pits,” said van Overbeek, who will drive one of ESM’s Ferrari F430 GTs with team owner Scott Sharp. I’m hoping that my past success, combined with ESM’s continued hard work and progress, will result in a break through performance for Scott, me, Patrón and the team.”
All three of van Overbeek’s previous Mid-Ohio victories came with Flying Lizard Motorsports and Porsche. He had different winning teammates each year: Darren Law (2004), Wolf Henzler (2006) and Jörg Bergmeister (2007). He has made his mark already this year behind the wheel of the Ferrari with the fastest GT race laps at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Miller Motorsports Park. That current streak and his past success at Mid-Ohio may be the perfect combination this weekend.
“It is very similar to the track I learned to drive on – Sears Point in Sonoma,” said van Overbeek, who also was second in GT2 in 2008. “The blind corners and elevation changes make me feel immediately comfortable. I can’t wait to get back to Mid-Ohio.”
This year’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge – Round 6 of the 2010 championship – is set for 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 7. Live race and qualifying video will be streamed online at americanlemans.com – race coverage will start at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday and qualifying at 1:45 p.m. ET on Friday. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. The race will be broadcast at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 15 on CBS Sports. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.
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