{"id":7633,"date":"2010-08-07T22:53:39","date_gmt":"2010-08-08T02:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/?p=7633"},"modified":"2010-08-07T22:53:39","modified_gmt":"2010-08-08T02:53:39","slug":"dyson-lola-mazda-take-nail-biter-over-patron-highcroft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/alms\/dyson-lola-mazda-take-nail-biter-over-patron-highcroft\/","title":{"rendered":"Dyson, Lola-Mazda take nail-biter over Patr\u00f3n Highcroft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dyson Racing won an absolute classic race Saturday in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n as Chris Dyson held off Patr\u00f3n Highcroft Racing\u2019s Simon Pagenaud by 0.506 seconds in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. Dyson and Guy Smith each won overall in the Series for the first time, as did their Castrol-liveried, Mazda-powered Lola B09\/86 coupe running on isobutanol.<\/p>\n

\"Dyson-2-Mid-Ohio\"<\/p>\n

After showing flashes of brilliance but being knocked around by Lady Luck early in the season, things finally went right for the Dyson camp. After Intersport Racing\u2019s Clint Field dominated for the first two hours, Dyson led the final 24 laps in one of the best races the Series has seen. Dyson Racing won overall at Mid-Ohio in 2005, a race where Mazda also won its first Series race in LMP2.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really just tried to keep my head down and concentrate on the corners ahead,\u201d Dyson said. \u201cSimon is a really hard charger, and Mid-Ohio is one of the most physically demanding track we race on. I couldn\u2019t be happier for everyone on this team. \u2026 We had a good car all weekend and I felt very comfortable. We had run with the Highcroft car during the practices all weekend. They were stronger than us on some points but we were better in other parts. I tried to work the traffic to take advantage of our strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dyson LMP led the final 34 laps after some good fortune from the aforementioned Lady Luck. The team was bringing Dyson in for the team\u2019s final pit stop when the race went under its second caution period. The car exited pit lane right as the pits closed, and the Patr\u00f3n Highcroft HPD ARX-01c ducked in three laps later once the pits had opened.\"Dyson-1-Mid-Ohio\"<\/p>\n

It was that kind of Dyson Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first race I\u2019ve started since Road America last year. Looks like I\u2019ll be starting a few more races from now on,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe had a great start, and Clint was great. I was able to build a gap over the Patr\u00f3n car. The Mazda engine was working great and so were the Dunlop tires. Chris drove a great race and it\u2019s one of the best I\u2019ve seen from him. We\u2019ve had an exceptional car most of the year. We knew we were competitive and have a great package. Spirits were low but we came in with a new attitude and showed the strength of this Dyson Racing team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pagenaud and David Brabham were runners-up for the second straight race but maintained their LMP championship lead. Autocon Motorsports\u2019 pairing of Tomy Drissi and Bryan Willman placed third in class and fourth overall after starting next-to-last on the grid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat last lap was a long one,\u201d said Dyson Racing team owner Rob Dyson. \u201cWe have been waiting for this one for quite awhile. We had a car that was always quick but had all the ingredients that didn\u2019t always work. It\u2019s great to see us bring this one home first. We\u2019ve had great success here over the years. Guy and Chris really put the pedal to the metal. The biggest thing for us is that they both did a great job in traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Risi-Mid-Ohio\"The other nail-biter was the GT victory for Risi Competizione\u2019s Jaime Melo and Gimmi Bruni in their Ferrari F430 GT. Melo drove the final 90-plus minutes on a reserve fuel pump when the primary system failed and dropped Melo to sixth place for a time. He worked his way back into the lead by going around both of Rahal Letterman Racing\u2019s BMW M3 GTs 55 minutes later. He beat Corvette Racing\u2019s Oliver Gavin by 0.582 seconds for Risi\u2019s first victory at the venue.<\/p>\n

There were two critical moments in Melo\u2019s stint. The first was a call \u2013 by Melo and Risi technical director Rick Mayer \u2013 for left-side only tires with 50 minutes left. He exited the pits first and got around the BMWs \u2013 neither which pitted during a caution period \u2013 on the second lap following the restart. He then had to hold off Gavin after another restart with nine minutes left.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a very consistent car and I could keep very good lap times,\u201d Melo said. \u201cI had some slow traffic on the last two laps and brought the No. 4 Corvette very close. I tried to stay calm and not make any mistakes. This was very hard but important for us to win here. Gimmi did a great job at the start, and it was a combination of Michelin tires, the car, the team and teammate. (The pass on the BMWs) was the only chance to get around them because it was almost impossible to get around them on a straight line. I actually got a little bit in the grass but it worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melo on the decision to take left-side tires: \u201c\u201cThat was a decision we made coming into the pits. I wanted a full set but had the Corvette right at me so we decided to change just the left side and it was a good move. The tires were very consistent and I didn\u2019t have any issues and I could manage any situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruni got around class pole-sitter Toni Vilander in the second Risi Ferrari at the start and led the first 48 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of this win is Jamie\u2019s. He made very good moves on the BMWs and Corvette,\u201d Bruni said. \u201cI pitted from the lead and lost four or five places before Jaime drove back to the lead. I know how good he is. The race was good. I made a good move on the No. 61 team car to lead early and it was a matter of building a gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gavin and Olivier Beretta placed second in class for their first victory of the year, one year after Corvette debuted in the GT2 class. Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner placed third for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing in the first of the BMW M3s.<\/p>\n

Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker won in LMP Challenge for Level 5 Motorsports to extend their championship lead. Bouchut made the winning pass in his ORECA FLM09 with less than hour left when he got around Green Earth Team Gunnar\u2019s Gunnar Jeannette, who drove with Elton Julian.\"Level5-Mid-Ohio\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I jumped in the car, it was not so easy to drive,\u201d Bouchut said. \u201cBut after some time, we picked up a lot of rubber on the tires and I had to be patient. After taking the lead, the focus was getting through the traffic. Gunnar and I had a great battle until he went off. It\u2019s a really nice track here. All the corners are challenge and this weekend was my 100th win. Here we go to win 100 more!\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucker retained his lead in the driver\u2019s championship with the victory. It would be quite an accomplishment in his first year of Series competition. The duo also finished third overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first stint went pretty well,\u201d said Tucker, the team owner. \u201cWe had a small incident at the start but after that things started to settle down. The first yellow worked out well for us. The whole team has been working very hard for the championship and are very happy to be leaving here leading.\u201d<\/p>\n

PR1\/Mathiasen Motorsports\u2019 pairing of Luis Diaz and Ricardo Gonzalez placed second in their first LMPC race of the year. Jeannette and Julian were third in G-Oil\u2019s GETG entry.<\/p>\n

Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen won their third GT Challenge race in four tries for Black Swan Racing. Pappas drove the team\u2019s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car from last to second after being hit at the start. Bleekemolen got around ORBIT\/Paul Miller Racing\u2019s Bryce Miller just past the halfway point and led the rest of the way.\"BSR-Mid-Ohio\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has worked really hard at Black Swan and we\u2019ve come a long way,\u201d team owner Pappas said. \u201cSo it was disappointing but I had to keep my head down and work my way back up. The yellow really was good with timing for the driver change and fuel. To come back and run the way we did, it felt like karma was on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n

GMG Racing\u2019s James Sofronas and Bret Curtis were second, their highest finish of the season. Sofronas was a scant 0.247 seconds ahead of Alex Job Racing\u2019s Bill Sweedler and Romeo Kapudija.<\/p>\n

Miller and Luke Hines led the ORBIT entry for the first 64 laps. An unfortunate incident with a prototype near the 1:35 mark sent the ORBIT car back in the pack to fourth.<\/p>\n

\u201cTim did a great job of coming back,\u201d Bleekemolen said. \u201cI knew we had a good chance with the most consistent car. The ORBIT car was quite fast down the straight but I knew I could get around him. When he got hit by a prototype and that was just about it. From then on, it was about keeping the car on the track.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the victory, the BSR duo moved into the class championship lead. Not bad for a team that missed the season-opener at Sebring and placed eighth in class at Long Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to try GT2 and it didn\u2019t make sense for us at the Winter Test,\u201d Pappas said. \u201cWe put this together at the last minute, got the car four days before Long Beach and just had a horrible weekend. Jeroen and I have done our part but it is absolutely amazing to watch our team because they are just fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Winners-Mid-Ohio\"<\/p>\n

The Mid-Ohio round will also be the subject of INTERSPORT\u2019s next production of the American Le Mans Series. It will air at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 15 on CBS Sports.<\/p>\n

The next round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n is the American Le Mans Series powered by eStar. The seventh round of the 2010 championship is set for 2:05 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 22. SPEED will air the race live at 3 p.m. ET with live radio coverage 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 242. Americanlemans.com will stream Friday\u2019s qualifying session starting at 3:10 p.m. CT. Visit the Series\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, Lexington, Ohio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s Results<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. (2) Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Lola B09 86\/Mazda (1, LMP), 119.<\/p>\n

2. (3) David Brabham, Maidenhead, GB; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon, FR; HPD ARX-01c (2, LMP), 119.<\/p>\n

3. (5) Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Christophe Bouchut, France; Oreca FLM09 (1, LMPC), 115.<\/p>\n

4. (32) Tomy Drissi, Los Angeles, CA; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Lola B06 10\/AER (3, LMP), 114.<\/p>\n

5. (6) Ricardo Gonzalez, Monterrey; Luis Diaz, Mexico City; Oreca FLM09 (2, LMPC), 114.<\/p>\n

6. (8) Elton Julian, Santa Monica, CA; Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT; Oreca FLM09 (3, LMPC), 113.<\/p>\n

7. (7) Brian Wong, Newport Beach, CA; Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, ON; Oreca FLM09 (4, LMPC), 113.<\/p>\n

8. (10) Andy Wallace, England; Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Oreca FLM09 (5, LMPC), 113.<\/p>\n

9. (13) Gianmaria Bruni, Rome, IT; Jaime Melo, Milan, IT; Ferrari 430 GT (1, GT), 112.<\/p>\n

10. (14) Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings, GB; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (2, GT), 112.<\/p>\n

11. (18) Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; BMW E92 M3 (3, GT), 112.<\/p>\n

12. (19) Patrick Long, Bellaire, FL; Joerg Bergmeister, Langenfield, DE; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT), 112.<\/p>\n

13. (20) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Ferrari 430 GT (5, GT), 112.<\/p>\n

14. (16) Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo, Monaco; BMW E92 M3 (6, GT), 112.<\/p>\n

15. (9) Christian Zugel, Holmdel, NJ; Frankie Montecalvo, Highlands, NJ; Oreca FLM09 (6, LMPC), 111.<\/p>\n

16. (24) Seth Neiman, San Francisco, CA; Patrick Pilet, Le Chesnay; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT), 111.<\/p>\n

17. (22) Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA; Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen, DE; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8, GT), 110.<\/p>\n

18. (23) Paul Gentilozzi, Lansing, MI; Marc Goossens, Huntersville, NC; Jaguar XKRS (9, GT), 107.<\/p>\n

19. (25) Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Jeroen Bleekemolen, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, GTC), 106.<\/p>\n

20. (27) Bret Curtis, Valencia, CA; James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, GTC), 105.<\/p>\n

21. (29) Romeo Kapudija, Lincolnwood, IL; Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, GTC), 105.<\/p>\n

22. (26) Luke Hines, Essex, UK; Bryce Miller, Summit, NJ; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, GTC), 105.<\/p>\n

23. (28) Jerry Vento, West Palm Beach, FL; Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (5, GTC), 103.<\/p>\n

24. (33) Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA; Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (6, GTC), 103.<\/p>\n

25. (31) Doug Baron, Pacific Palisades, CA; Loren Beggs, Montclair, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (7, GTC), 103.<\/p>\n

26. (4) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06\/10 AER (4, LMP), 100.<\/p>\n

27. (12) Toni Vilander, Kankaanpaa; Giancarlo Fisichella , Rome; Ferrari 430 GT (10, GT), 100.<\/p>\n

28. (17) Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, FL; Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Ferrari 430 GT (11, GT), 96.<\/p>\n

29. (21) David Murry, Atlanta, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Design Ford GT (12, GT), 96.<\/p>\n

30. (15) Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Roskilde, DK; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (13, GT), 49.<\/p>\n

31. (11) Andrew Prendeville, Chatham, NJ; Chris Buncombe, London, UK; Radical SR9\/IES (5, LMP), 44.<\/p>\n

32. (1) Paul Drayson, London, GB; Jonny Cocker, Guisborough, GB; Lola B09 60\/Judd (6, LMP), 39.<\/p>\n

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

Dyson Racing won an absolute classic race Saturday in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n as Chris Dyson held off Patr\u00f3n Highcroft Racing\u2019s Simon Pagenaud by 0.506 seconds in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. Dyson and Guy Smith each won overall in the Series for the first time, as did their Castrol-liveried, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[9],"tags":[5264,5334,5333,5288,5363,40,5285,1085,5295,103,522,5357,206,436,143,5281,5362,2072,519],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7633"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7637,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633\/revisions\/7637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}