ANOTHER LOOK: 2009 MONTEREY SPORTS CAR CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY PATRÓN

Setting the stage for 2010 opener at Sebring!

The first official practice sessions for the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is exactly a week away. So before diving head-first into the new season, take a look back at the final race of 2009 – the Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón at historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.


The 2009 closed with a bang – in more ways than one. In fitting fashion, Gil de Ferran ended his driving career with an overall victory in an extremely close fight with Adrian Fernandez as the retiring Brazilian legend won his fifth race with Simon Pagenaud in the de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a.

De Ferran beat Fernandez to the line by 0.662 seconds in an epic final race. The two ran nose-to-tail for most of the final 30 minutes in a duel reminiscent of their open-wheel battles at the circuit nearly a decade ago.

Fernandez and Luis Diaz won their eighth LMP2 race of the season in the Lowe’s Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b. They closed their championship year in grand style, tying a class record for victories in a season.

Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham and Scott Sharp placed third overall and second in LMP1. The team was the biggest winner on the night with the LMP1 team championship and driver titles for Brabham and Sharp.

Autocon Motorsports’ Tony Burgess, Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman placed third in P1 and fourth overall in the best finish for the team’s Lola B06/10-AER this season.

Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long won in GT2 for Flying Lizard Motorsports in their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, a victory enhanced by driver championships for the pair and the second straight team title for the Lizards. Bergmeister finished 1.037 seconds ahead of Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen after the two cars banged side-to-side coming out of the final turn. As they beat on each other toward the finish, Magnussen went around hard into the outside wall just before the start-finish line.

ORBIT Racing’s Guy Cosmo and John Baker were winners in the Challenge class in their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. The pairing, which started on the class pole, finished ahead of Gruppe Orange’s Nick Parker and Don Pickering, and the third-place entry of Richard Rodriguez and Galen Bieker placed third for P7 Racing.

The result was more than enough to secure the class championship for the Snow Racing tandem of Martin and Melanie Snow, who had to retire early with engine issues.

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will open its 12th season with America’s greatest sports car race, the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida from March 17-20. The green flag will fall at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 20 with live coverage on SPEED starting at 10 a.m. ET. Live coverage also will be available on American Le Mans Radio, as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245. 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.

Courtesy ALMS © RIF