{"id":4365,"date":"2010-04-12T22:38:05","date_gmt":"2010-04-13T02:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/?p=4365"},"modified":"2010-04-12T22:41:47","modified_gmt":"2010-04-13T02:41:47","slug":"tequila-patron-american-le-mans-series-at-long-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/alms\/tequila-patron-american-le-mans-series-at-long-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"Tequila Patr\u00f3n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"
Busy days for Hunter-Reay, Racing to Green, Orbit’s return and more! <\/span><\/h5>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"RHR\"No driver in the Long Beach paddock will have as much track time this weekend than Ryan Hunter-Reay. And that\u2019s just fine with him. The 29-year-old native Texan will saddle up<\/a> in one of Level 5 Motorsports\u2019 two LMP Challenge entries alongside team owner Scott Tucker for Saturday\u2019s Tequila Patr\u00f3n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach.<\/p>\n

It will be the second start in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n for Hunter-Reay, who also will drive for Andretti Autosport in Sunday\u2019s IndyCar race along with Level 5\u2019s No. 95 ORECA FLM09 prototype. He is the first driver to run both series on the same weekend since Ryan Briscoe did the double for Penske Racing at Belle Isle in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year I\u2019ve been driving with Level 5 quite a bit. It\u2019s a great team and the opportunity really presented itself where I could do both races,\u201d said Hunter-Reay, who posted the fastest LMPC race lap at Sebring. \u201cBoth teams are pretty cooperative letting me drive in both series. It shows that they have a lot of faith in my abilities. I\u2019ve been used to jumping in and out of race cars pretty quick. So I think I can adjust to things pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n

His career at Long Beach dates back to 2002 in Formula Atlantic (he was 18th but started second and had the fastest lap of the race). Hunter-Reay has raced there in both Champ Car and IndyCar so there\u2019s definitely some familiarity there. How those will compare to racing the Level 5 prototype will be a bit of a mystery until Friday morning\u2019s first practice.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE RACE GOES GREEN:<\/strong> Drivers. Series Executives. Team Owners. All are represented in the Motorsport Industry Association-SEMA \u201cRace Has Gone Green\u201d conference to be held Friday<\/a>, April 16 at the Long Beach Convention Center held in concert with the 39th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The weekend also will feature the second round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n on Saturday.\"Atherton-Drayson\"<\/p>\n

The conference will focus on the future of racing and emphasize the importance, and viability of developing products for the racing and automotive industries with efficiency and the environment in mind. Panelists and keynote speakers will explain how they are profiting from this new business and share information about that success.<\/p>\n

At least five participants have direct involvement with the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n. Scott Atherton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Series, will participate on a panel entitled, \u201cIs Green Racing Here to Stay?\u201d along with Michelin\u2019s Technical Director Forrest Patterson. Michelin, a world leader in tire research, also supports the American Le Mans Series\u2019 MICHELIN\u00ae Green X\u00ae Challenge that awards teams each race for their overall performance, fuel efficiency and low environmental impact via reduced carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

ORBIT RETURNING AT LONG BEACH:<\/strong> ORBIT Racing is the latest team to enter the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n\u2019s GT Challenge class for 2010 with a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry for Bryce Miller and John McMullen<\/a>. The team will make its season debut at this weekend\u2019s Tequila Patr\u00f3n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach in southern California.<\/p>\n

The 2010 No. 48 Porsche will carry the colors of Marquis Jet, IPC Systems, TOTAL, Bergen County Auto Group and Macha Racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very excited to partner with Orbit again \u2013 my first sports-car season began with this team,\u201d said Miller, who won in GT2 at Road America in 2008 with a Porsche. \u201cWe\u2019ve had good success together in the past and I look forward to picking up where we left off. It`s great to be back with IMSA and the ALMS, too, after racing in other series. Everyone really wanted this deal to come together, which will be useful when chasing down the points loss from our late entry.<\/p>\n

PIT NOTES:<\/strong> Corvette Racing’s Johnny O’Connell<\/strong> has the longest history at Long Beach, dating back to a 17th-place finish in a 1986 Formula Mazda race. Extreme Speed Motorsports’ owner\/driver Scott Sharp<\/strong> raced in a 1989 Trans-Am race at Long Beach, as did O’Connell. … Porsche factory drivers Joerg Bergmeister<\/strong> (Flying Lizard Motorsports) and Wolf Henzler<\/strong> (Team Falken Tire) drove an entirely trouble free race in the new Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid over the weekend in the second round of the Nurburgring Long Distance Championship. The hybrid vehicle impressed with outstanding efficiency and one less pit stop than most competitors. … Patr\u00f3n Highcroft Racing’s Simon Pagenaud<\/strong> returns to Long Beach as the defending overall champion. He won last year with Gil de Ferran. In fact, Pagenaud’s first race in America was with Walker Racing in the 2006 Atlantic Championship at Long Beach. … Corvette Racing<\/strong> and Car Amigo-Alex Job Racing<\/strong> will represent the Series at Long Beach’s tremendously successful Thunder on Pine event Thursday night on Pine Street in downtown Long Beach. Both teams will participate with a couple of pit stop demonstrations.<\/p>\n

\"LB-Demo\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tequila Patr\u00f3n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach is the second round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n. The race, set at the historic Long Beach street circuit, is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 17 with coverage on SPEED set for 8 to 10 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche \u2013 a production of Radio Show Limited \u2013 as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245. Visit the Series\u2019 schedule page<\/a> 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<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Courtesy ALMS \u00a9 RIF<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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