American Le Mans 2009 – Petit Le Mans – Road Atlanta

PETIT LE MANS | ROAD ATLANTA | SEPTEMBER 26, 2009

 

ALMS: Petit Le Mans Post-Race Notebook

Flying Lizard Tests E85

Flying Lizard Motorsports had a well-kept secret for much of the week at Road Atlanta. The GT2 championship leaders were evaluating the use of cellulosic ethanol in its No. 44 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

The Sonoma, Calif.-based squad first tested E85 in last weekend’s two-day test, but didn’t walk away with as much running time as they had expected to. So the evaluation continued into practice and qualifying, with team manager Eric Ingraham and crew chief Tommy Sadler green-lighting it for the race as well.

While Saturday’s Petit Le Mans was called short with just under five hours of running time, the No. 44 crew of Seth Neiman, Darren Law and Johannes van Overbeek had no fuel-related issues.

“We didn’t have any technical problems with it,” Ingraham said. “It seemed to provide some small performance advantage. I don’t think we got a handle on fuel mileage yet because we had so few clean, straightforward sessions. But it seems like it’s certainly got it’s advantages. I think we had a good first experience with it and will continue to run it depending on what presents itself.”

Ingraham told me earlier in the week that the reason for evaluating E85 was mainly performance-based. Porsche also showed some interest in the results, and could consider making E85 a compatible fuel for its 2010 model 911 GT3 RSR.

“It’s been something that Porsche has been thoughtful about for quite a long time,” Ingraham added. “This is the time in the season where, because of where we are in the championship, we can start considering other options. We’d rather do that testing [now], rather than roll it into next year when you begin with a new car.”

E85-powered GT2 cars are allowed 20 additional liters of fuel than standard E10 entrants because of its increased consumption rate. The No. 44 car ran close to the 110-liter fuel capacity in the race. And while no hardware changes were made to the engine, software mapping was adjusted to boost fuel delivery.

“We haven’t even discussed about running it at Laguna Seca yet.” Ingraham said. “We need to take the [fuel] cell apart and take a good look at everything to really understand it. It’s a first outing and it was a successful one certainly. Credit has to go to the team on the technical side, as it was really a seamless integration.”

The No. 44 car also took Michelin Green X Challenge honors for the GT class, despite its seventh place finish. Ingraham credits this achievement mainly to its fuel choice.

“Running E85 is a big boost in the Michelin Green X Challenge,” he said. “It made a difference in this race. Even though we finished seven laps down with equalization and all of the complex mathematical and technical components which go into the final Green X Challenge score, the different fuel made the difference. It was really positive.”

Flying Lizard was the first Porsche team to test E85, and given the results, we could be seeing more 911 GT3 RSRs running this alternative fuel in the future.

Patron Highcroft’s Remarkable Rebuild

If the American Le Mans Series gave an award each race for the hardest working team, it would certainly go to Patron Highcroft Racing after this weekend’s remarkable comeback.

Less than 48 hours before the start of Saturday’s Petit Le Mans, the LMP1 championship leaders had a destroyed prototype following Scott Sharp’s horrific accident in Thursday afternoon’s practice. Preparations began immediately to rebuild the Acura ARX-02a around a new tub.

The monocoque arrived by plane from HPD’s headquarters in California early Friday morning, and the Danbury, Conn.-based squad went to work. Twenty hours, and many energy drinks later, the rebuild was complete, and the car fired up for the first time at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday.

“My guys did a great job and I am very proud that their efforts have made Patron Highcroft Racing into a highly respected race team,” Dayton said. “Ever since we first became a part of the Acura program, we have worked night and day to provide value for them.  We were the little team from Connecticut up against the big names. My guys share my extreme passion for the sport. We love what we do and we know we must do all we can to provide value for our partners and sponsors. They don’t take no for an answer.”

With effectively a brand-new car built overnight, Highcroft’s Sharp, David Brabham and Dario Franchitti drove to a sixth place finish overall in the rain-shortened race, extending their championship lead heading into next month’s season finale.

“We have worked incredibly hard to hold this championship lead throughout the year and were going to do whatever it took to ensure we came away with points today,” Dayton added. “To actually extend our lead in the championship is a bonus. But the job isn’t done, we will be very focused in the final race at Laguna Seca to ensure we complete the task we set to do at the start of the year.”

Enjoy a time-lapse video of Highcroft’s Herculean rebuild, thanks to the team and its PR director Paul Ryan.

Salo To Get First NASCAR Test

Risi Competizione’s Mika Salo will his long-awaited first taste of NASCAR in November, when the Finn will test a Michael Waltrip Racing Sprint Cup Series car on a Florida short track. Salo scaled back his sportscar program this year to pursue his stock car racing dreams.

“I’ve been trying to have a go for a while and I finally got the chance from them,” Salo said. “I’ve never been on an oval and never tried a stock car before. All my efforts this year have been around getting a chance in NASCAR and it worked out. So now I have a chance in November to do it.”

Salo has watched Formula One star turned NASCAR ace Juan Pablo Montoya be a legitimate contender for this year’s title, but the Finn’s desire to go NASCAR racing hasn’t been swayed by any ‘transition’ drivers’ success in the sport.

“It’s my own feeling,” he said. “I went to see a few races and really liked the show. I’ve done pretty much everything else. I’ve been in Champ Car, Formula One, sportscars and rallies. NASCAR was really the only thing missing. I want a new challenge. GT is getting boring [for me], as I’ve won everything there is with this program. I know it’s going to be a big thing for me, but it’s nice to try something new.”

On Saturday, Salo and co-drivers Jamie Melo and Pierre Kaffer capped off the endurance racing “triple” with the GT2 class win in the Petit Le Mans, adding to their streak of endurance wins dating back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008. While Salo may be bored with racing sportscars, he’s certainly one of the best there is.

Successful Run For Biobutanol Dyson Lola-Mazda

All season long, Chris Dyson and Guy Smith couldn’t find a break. From mechanical failures to accidents, the No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola B09/86 Mazda appeared to be jinxed, with only four finishes out of the nine races heading into Saturday.

Well, for once, their luck turned around with a seventh place overall finish and highest of all P2 cars. But neither were able to stand on the podium after the race to celebrate, although for a very good reason.

The No. 16 machine ran unclassified this weekend because of a revolutionary new alternative fuel the team was using. For the first time, IMSA allowed the use of biobutanol, but any team that ran it was unable to score points and not be scored.

“I’ve raced a lot of cars that are good and a lot of cars that are bad, but I’ve never raced any cars that were unclassified,” said Rob Dyson. “Those guys did an excellent job in finishing seventh overall. So it’s kind of a 1-1 finish for Dyson Racing, a first in the unclassified class and first in P2.”

Developed by BP, biobutanol could be the next alternative fuel trend for the automotive industry, as the biomass-based fuel generally requires no modifications to a car’s engine, or even the infrastructure used to store and deliver the fuel. Dyson Racing made no changes whatsoever to its Mazda MZR-R-powered Lola.

“We’re very appreciative of the organizers and ACO for allowing us to run on biobutanol from BP,” Dyson said. “It’s been an important research and development effort taken upon by BP to get a more sustainable source of motor fuels, and they’re leading the effort in this green sustainability sphere.

“We have seen, so far in our R&D effort with BP, that there’s no degradation of the parts or any kind of decline in power. Arguably, it’s a little bit better than straight gasoline. In addition to that, it’s also greener. The tailpipe emissions have changed significantly, reducing some harmful pollutants.”

While Dyson and Mazda have yet to sit down and calculate its exact fuel mileage with biobutanol, early results look promising, with no drop off in speed and no significant decrease in fuel economy.

IMSA has allowed the fuel to be used for the remainder of the season and Dyson hopes it could be introduced as a fully classifiable, alternative fuel choice for 2010.

News & Notes

• Saturday’s race was red flagged for the first time in the 108-race history of the American Le Mans Series. Not only that, but it was called short. While the checkered flag flew at the eight-hour and 44-minute mark, the clock kept ticking during the nearly four-hour rain delay. It marked the shortest Petit Le Mans in its 12-year history (467 miles, 184 laps), and the first ALMS race not to run to its full length or time limit.

The general consensus among drivers was that officials made the right call to red flag the race, especially considering the massive amounts of standing water. But with a steady amount of rain falling during the red flag, could IMSA have called the race a bit earlier knowing conditions wouldn’t likely improve?

• Team Cytosport’s Klaus Graf set a new race lap record on Saturday, the only driver to do so. The German reeled off impressive lap times early in the wet race, putting all his LMP2 competitors a lap down by the first hour. However, Graf lost considerable time when almost getting stuck in wet grass after spinning the Porsche RS Spyder on his out lap on slicks. The team later battled fuel-related issues, relegating he, Porsche factory ace Sascha Maassen and team owner Greg Pickett to a third place finish in class.

• With the LMP2 victory by the No. 20 Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda of Marino Franchitti, Butch Leitzinger and Ben Devlin, the team secures an automatic invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Will Dyson Racing finally make its first trip to La Sarthe?

“We have been discussing doing Le Mans for a period of time,” Rob Dyson said. “Le Mans is a big bite for us, though. It’s not a small endeavor. However, I think everybody here has done Le Mans before. Clearly we have an invite. The question is what do our various stakeholders want to do? If they want us to do it, we’ll be there.”

 

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