Team owner-driver, Rob Dyson, who shared in a fifth place finish with co-drivers Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Chris Dyson, was delighted with the result. “I am really pleased for the team. James did a fantastic job all year, from winning the pole for the 24 Hours (in February) to this win. It was a busy season, but when the chips are down, James always delivers. The team championship means just as much. Pat Smith is the best there is, and the boys just dig a little deeper every year. Everyone — from Ben Lozano to Goodyear and all of our suppliers to Thetford and Norcold — deserves credit for this championship. This result puts us in a positive frame of mind as we go into 2002.”

Just as most Grand-Am events have come down to the line this year, the Daytona Finale proved to be another dogfight. This time, the Dyson team met its stiffest opposition in the form of none other than Dyson irregular Andy Wallace. Driving the Champion Lola Porsche, Wallace and Butch Leitzinger raced hard after a late-race yellow, and the Pennsylvanian managed to sneak by an instant before the course returned to caution. When the race re-started, Leitzinger stretched his lead, and enjoyed a 13.9 second cushion by time the checkered flag flew.

Asked about his championship, Weaver was upbeat. “I am delighted. The old girl (the team`s Riley and Scott mk3-Ford, now in its seventh season of competition) is just a fantastic car, and on balance it is still the best car to have around a place like Daytona. It has been a great season, I have really enjoyed myself. We are looking forward to next season.”

The sister #20 Riley and Scott Ford of EFR, Chris Dyson and Rob Dyson finished fifth overall, and fourth in the SRP-1 division. The group was treating the event as a preparation run for next February`s Daytona 24 Hours. Looking to get more time in the car, Chris Dyson drove two stints during the race and said that “it was a great learning experience for me. I made a few mistakes, but we accomplished what we set out to do.”

The Dyson Racing team faces an eight week gap in its schedule in the run-up to the Test Days for the 2002 Daytona 24 Hours in January.

Weaver started the Mid-Ohio event from seventh position on the grid and enjoyed a spirited fight with the Champion Audi of Andy Wallace, ending up fifth overall by the first round of pit stops. Butch Leitzinger took over from Weaver for the race`s middle stint, and benefitted from the miscues of the frontrunning cars to move up as high as third. Weaver resumed the controls for the race`s final segment, and ran a stirring second after a series of full-course cautions. For a while, it looked as if the other contenders would have to pit for fuel, but the length of the caution periods eliminated that wild card element. Weaver was passed by Capello with twenty minutes remaining and kept up with him. The Englishman caught the Italian Audi driver with four laps remaining and unfortunately could not complete the move to retake second position.

“Goodyear has really done a fine job with their tires,” Weaver said after the race. “And I have got to thank the boys for working so hard the past few weeks. If we can keep working on the new car and continue to fine tune the engine management, we will be right up there.”

Third place was tonic for the Dyson team, who showed this weekend that last weekend`s fifth place in the Mosport A.L.M.S. event was no fluke. On Thursday, the team`s new Riley and Scott suffered a faulty computer which prevented the car from starting. The team lost a whole day`s testing waiting for a replacement component to be shipped to the circuit, and, but for one hardship lap, the team went into Qualifying with no practice data. The result was a fitting conclusion to a grueling month for the Poughkeepsie, New York-based Dyson team. With four races on successive weekends, August yielded wins at Trois-Rivieres and Watkins Glen in addition to the past two strong finishes in American Le Mans Series events. Team boss Rob Dyson, who was in attendance at Mid-Ohio, praised his group. “The guys did a phenomenal job,” Dyson said. “Butch and James did a great job out there, and the pit work was excellent, really solid. We have got a lot of work to do with our car but the guys are doing their best. They put in a lot of hours the past couple weeks and I am proud of them. Pat (Smith) called another good race and everything seemed to fall into place. We are looking forward to better things in the future.”

Dyson team members have a passion for racing that extends beyond major endurance events. After the race, while Rob Dyson helped his son Chris tune his Spec Racer Ford for Sunday`s S.C.C.A. National event at Mid-Ohio, Team Manager Pat Smith was heading directly to nearby Attica Raceway Park with his son Link to watch the 410 Sprint Car shootout. “It is great racing,” Smith says with a smile. “Incredibly close, and very exciting to watch when they turn in to a corner flat-out.”

Indeed. And a great weekend of running in the American Le Mans Series for James Weaver, Butch Leitzinger, and the entire Dyson Racing team. The team will now enjoy Labor Day weekend recouperating at home in Poughkeepsie before getting ready for their next race, the Daytona Finale on September 15-16.

The team`s race was eventful from the start. Prior to the command to start engines, Butch Leitzinger discovered that his Goodyear-shod machine would not fire on its own and had to begin his charge from the pit lane. Leitzinger usually excels in treacherous conditions, and Sunday`s rain at Mosport was no exception. Soon after the green fell, the Pennsylvanian was slicing through the field and was up into fifth overall by the time of his first pit stop, which came forty minutes into the race. The circuit was drying with every lap, and Leitzinger opted for four new slicks. On his out lap the car stepped out as he accelerated through Mosport`s daunting turn two, and he managed to steer through a spin and escape with virtually no damage.

Thirty minutes later Leitzinger pitted and handed off to James Weaver, who brought the car within striking distance of the leading Audi-Panoz-Audi trio. The popular Englishman was amazed by the improving form of the Dyson team`s Riley and Scott mk3C. “It is staggering how much quicker the car is going,” Weaver noted. 7quotOur tires were fantastic this weekend and the engine was strong. We probably lost about two laps to the leaders during the race with the re-starting problems in the pits, but we learned an incredible amount. We have still got a lot of work to do but I am really pleased with this weekend.”

Leitzinger resumed the controls from Weaver and drove the final stint of the event. Pat Smith`s expert strategy had positioned the Dyson machine right behind the factory Cadillac effort, running on the same lap, and Leitzinger had the benefit of fresh Goodyears. In the race`s final moments he ran a series of scorching laps, his best within a second of the winning Audi. Leitzinger showed he had the measure of the Cadillacs on the race`s final restart, making a spectacular pass on Wayne Taylor on the outside of Turn two and pulling away. Leitzinger probably would have caught third but for a minor off shortly thereafter at the Moss hairpin. The Dyson star marched home to the flag in fifth, concluding an encouraging weekend for the team, now in its third consecutive weekend of racing.

After the race, Leitzinger echoed Weaver`s enthusiasm for the improving Riley and Scott mk3C. “The car was surprisingly good up here. I could not believe the lap times we were doing, it was great. It was also wonderful to see the support we received by being here this weekend. I think it will be very interesting to go to Mid-Ohio next weekend and see how it goes there. I am looking forward to it.”

The Dyson team will be following he ALMS tour to next weekend`s event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Be sure to stay tuned to dysonracing.com for details.

Weaver had qualified second Thursday afternoon`s twenty minute session, losing pole to erstwhile Doran Racing rival Mauro Baldi by less than half a second. In the post-qualifying press conference James was as witty as ever, claiming that the team had told him he needed “three seconds” to catch Baldi. The press room echoed with laughter. In the age of the soundbyte, Weaver never ceases to disappoint. Back to business, the English star worked hard to dial out some high speed understeer in time for Thursday evening`s happy hour practice, and went out and set a blistering time two-tenths under Baldi`s pole lap. “This is more reflective of our race pace,” the 2000 Grand-Am champion noted. “We are good to go.”

The sister #20 machine, which had been originally slated for Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Rob Dyson and Trois-Rivieres polesitter Dorsey Schroeder, spent most of Thursday`s practice in the hands of Dyson`s son Chris, who was surprised to making his debut in Friday`s Bully Hill 250. “I have been doing a good deal of racing this year, and at the beginning of this week my father told me to get a license and bring my kit up to the track. At first I was just going to treat the practice sessions as a test, but we decided to do the race together. Everyone has been a great help, and I am just trying to keep my nose clean and do a respectable job.” Elliott Forbes-Robinson qualified the #20 car fourth for the race. “The car has another second in it, but I figured I would park it because we have got to race on our qualifying tires and we are out to have a good time here.”

Weaver took an instant lead when the green flag fell at 6:30 PM Friday, while EFR settled in to a comfortable fourth. Weaver proceeded to stretch his lead over the first five laps before coming up on heavy traffic. Entering the final turn coming onto the main straight, Weaver checked up to avoid running up the back of a Porsche 911. Mauro Baldi, running in close company, attempted to pass the same Porsche and tapped the smaller car into a spin. Baldi soon pitted to repair bodywork damage, and the field was called under a full-course caution on lap 9 when the Porsche could not refire. The race restarted two laps later, with Weaver leading Intersport Racing`s Jon Field and EFR running third. When Field pitted on the next lap for bodywork damage, Dyson drivers found themselves running 1-2.

And it would stay that way until the first round of pit stops, when EFR handed the controls of the #20 machine to Chris Dyson. Running third, Dyson ran what he called a steady 35-lap stint before pitting to give the car to Rob Dyson. After a dozen laps– and nine short of the finish– the elder Dyson`s mount seemed to die on course. Rob managed to make it around to the pits where the crew diagnosed the car as a victim of a failed alternator or voltage regulator. “It is too bad,” Rob noted after the race. “With all the problems everyone else had, we probably could have finished third. It was just great driving with Chris and Elliott this weekend, we had a lot of fun. I look forward to doing it again.”

The #16 Dyson machine, in Leitzinger`s hands since lap 45, continued to pace the field under green with a spectacular sunset and huge crowds lining the historic circuit. Didier Theys was pushing hard at the wheel of his second-placed Doran / Lista Ferrari as Leitzinger was trying to conserve fuel, but the Pennsylvanian could breathe a little easier when the Belgian spun in Turn One with two laps to go. Leitzinger zoomed under the flag to claim his fourth win of the 2001 season, and set the stage for the Rolex Grand-Am championship finale at Daytona on September 12-13. Weaver and Leitzinger are currently 1-2 in the drivers tables ahead of Theys.

After the event, Leitzinger was elated: “It went great. James gave me the car halfway through and we were in very good shape. We made a pit stop kind of hoping that there would be a yellow flag, because it was a little bit early to make the rest of the way on gas. I kept going on without the yellow flag and they kept telling me to conserve fuel, so I was shifting in lower and lower RPMs and it was still not enough. I started coasting halfway up the straights sometimes to conserve fuel so I went on reserve. We had one gallon of reserve and I went on that a lap and a half from the end of the race. They just strained the fuel tank and we had a quart of fuel left, so it was very close. It was nice, the car was fantastic and the team played the strategy perfectly.”

In the hectic month that is August for Thetford / Norcold Dyson Racing, the team will be hustling home to ready its Riley and Scott mk3C in time for two successive weekends: next weekend`s American Le Mans Series event at Mosport International Raceway and the ALMS round at Mid-Ohio on August 25.

It was a dominant performance for the Dyson team which underscored their form in practice and qualifying, where they were comfortably fastest all weekend. Throughout the 92 lap race around the 1.501 temporary street circuit, the team relinquished the lead only once, for six laps during routine pit stops. Dorsey Schroeder, who had qualfied on pole in the #20 Dyson machine Saturday, led the first thirty laps of the race before being passed by team leader Weaver. Weaver handed duties off to Leitzinger on Lap 51, and the Pennsylvanian took the car to the flag. Elliott Forbes-Robinson followed Leitzinger home in second, completing the team`s sweep.

In taking their third victory in eight Rolex Grand-Am Series rounds, Weaver and Leitzinger extended their lead at the head of the drivers championship. With two rounds remaining, at Watkins Glen (August 10) and Daytona (September 17), the Anglo-American duo enjoy a healthy points lead over their nearest rival, Didier Theys.

“It feels great to win again,” Weaver said after the race. “Breaking down gets very annoying and it is good for our championship. The car was brilliant today and the Goodyear tires worked perfectly.” The Canadian win served as tonic for the #16 pairing`s early-race departure (due to engine failure) at the most recent Rolex round at Road America on July 8.

Thetford / Norcold Dyson Racing will spend Monday and Tuesday in Trois-Rivieres preparing its two Riley and Scott mk3 Fords for this Friday`s Bully Hill Vinyards 250-miler at historic Watkins Glen.

This past weekend that all changed, as the Dyson Racing team brought their famous Porsche 962-101 chassis to Lime Rock for the Porsche Rennsport Reunion. For those familiar with the heydays of the IMSA Camel GTP era, words could barely describe the emotions of seeing the car run alongside the bygone rival machines of Bayside and Holbert Racing. Team boss Rob Dyson was behind the wheel for the car`s first exhibition laps, and was overjoyed to discover that nothing had changed in all those years. Exchanging high fives and embraces with his crew, Rob was bubbling with joy. After debriefing about the shakedown run, Dyson looked around and noticed all the glorious old cars trickling in to the pits and could not help but say “This is great. What an experience!”

Originally, Rob had intended to run the car only on parade laps, with no intention of running at competitive speeds. Dyson team veteran John “Boz” Pultz was called upon to restore the car to running order, and along with colleague Tim Adams, Pultz surpassed all expectations. The car ran perfectly all weekend and looked downright immaculate in its 1985 Lime Rock Camel GP-winning livery. Pultz and Adams had worked many long hours tweaking and polishing the prototype, and the results spoke volumes. The car shone alongside its fellow combatants of yesteryear.

Dyson truck driver Vince Carr put in a gargantuan effort to bring the Porsche to Lime Rock. After the Dyson team concluded testing of its Riley and Scott mk3C in testing at Virginia International Raceway last Wednesday, Carr and teammate Lou Murasso drove all night in order to get the 962 to the track on Thursday. Vince was exhausted, but after a good night`s sleep that night, he returned to the track the next day ready and willing to help out. Credit must also go to junior Dyson crewmen Huy Tang and Stan Lent, who were on hand Friday to erect the truck canopy. Also sauntering out to the circuit on Friday and Saturday was Dyson veteran Ed Hosier. Hosier, who runs an engine performance shop adjacent to the Dyson workshop, was responsible for 101`s restoration, having repaired the car after its massive shunt at Road Atlanta in 1986. “I always loved this kind of racing,” Hosier said. Ed would later be seen working hard inside the Porsche`s cockpit to cure a faulty tachometer.

As expected, as the weekend wore on the desire to see the car run at speed grew. On Friday afternoon, after two exhibition sessions, Rob Dyson took the car out for the 956 / 962 Challenge free practice. Watching the car gradually building speed, as other earth-shaking Porsche prototypes blurred by, one was reminded of the glorious days when the marque utterly dominated the upper echelon of American road racing. The swelled crowd on Lime Rock`s hillsides was evidence that enthusiasm for the company`s top-line racing efforts remains as strong as ever.

Saturday was a blur of activity for the Dyson Racing team, as the boys worked hard to prepare the car in time for its three sessions. Parade laps at this point were an amusingly dead concept, and the day began with Qualifying for the 956 / 962 challenge. Dyson deliberately did not go for a time; he simply wanted to run the car a little harder without putting it at risk. He was experiencing a slight engine misfire, and in short order Porsche Motorsport North America`s Eric Bloss had resolved the problem in the car`s computer system. Another few exhibition laps indicated the car was fine, and the team made their way to grid a few minutes before the start of the Challenge race. Rob had initially claimed he would run 4 or 5 laps, then park it, but once the green flag fell Dyson showed no sign of coming in. For 15 laps, the team boss became reacquainted with his old mount in race mode, moving up through the order despite having the “wrong gears, a spool, and a slight miss.”

At the end of the day Dyson had nothing but praise: “It was sensational weekend, and my hat is off to Brian and James Redman, Porsche Motorsport North America, and Lime Rock Park for hosting such a quality event. The crew did a phenomenal job and I am happy it all worked out so well. We really enjoyed ourselves.”

While EFR and Schroeder enjoyed good fortunes throughout today`s 500-miler, the same could not be said for their teammates in the #16 Dyson Riley and Scott. James Weaver started from pole and looked set to check out on the field before he began suffering engine problems at the completion of Lap #2. The Dyson team examined the engine and discovered that a piston had failed, but before calling it a day they decided to give Butch Leitzinger one lap in the car for points. Leitzinger circulated slowly for one tour of the four mile layout before pulling off onto an access road, the Pennsylvanian`s race over after less than thirty miles of competition. “We had a great start and the car was running fine before the engine went off suddenly,” Weaver later noted. “It was totally unexpected. It is too bad, really because I think we had a strong package today.”

Quickly assuming the mantle, Schroeder ran a steady third in his #20 Riley and Scott before passing the reigns to EFR on Lap 21. EFR maintained position behind the Doran /Lista Ferrari and Intersport Lola until Clint Field spun on lap 35 and EFR was up into second. EFR pitted seven laps later and Schroeder took over. Within six laps Schroeder had overtaken the #27 Doran Ferrari of car owner Fredy Lienhard and began to stretch his lead. The Dyson team was ready when Schroeder pitted on lap 64, and EFR was back out again in short order, giving up the lead to Intersport`s Oliver Gavin for all of three laps before Gavin made his routine stop. EFR paced the field for the remainder of his twenty-lap stint and Schroeder resumed the controls in the lead on lap 85. The affable Florida star extended the #20 car`s lead over the Intersport Lola despite having a rather large coming together with an AGT car coming onto the pit straight.

“Dorsey came over the radio and said that he had hit a Camaro pretty hard,” said Team Manager Pat Smith. “Apparently the guy tried to turn into the pits from the left side of the track and Dorsey could not help but hit him. Dorsey was sure that the front end was trashed but it looked okay at the next stop so we did not change anything. After the stint I asked him about the car and he said “Well, other than the wheel being cocked a little left and vibrating a bit, it is okay. This car is a tank!” “I had to chuckle a bit at that one.”

After Schroeder pitted for service and a driver change at the 400 mile point, it looked like it would be a two-horse race between the Dyson team and its season-long rivals Intersport Racing. Intersport was almost a full lap behind and remained on the same lap through quick, well-timed pit service. The Doran car was in fact a lap down, with a revved up Didier Theys behind the wheel. All of the contenders had pitted around the 100 lap point, and it looked like it would come down to fuel consumption– should the race continue to run caution-free. In contrast to the 2000 edition of the Road America 500, this year`s race had been run without interruption. Any strategy went out the window on lap 104, when an SRPII Lola had contact and stalled on course, prompting race officials to bring out the race`s first yellow flag three laps later. The safety car picked up EFR and the Intersport and Doran cars blended into the pack behind him, erasing the #20 car`s lead and setting the stage for a dash to the flag.

After the restart EFR stretched his lead while Gavin and Theys made contact fighting for second place. EFR found himself balked in traffic and Theys cut the lead from 10 seconds to four and then passed EFR for the lead on lap 116. EFR fell back a bit and then made a final charge over the last three laps, taking his ill-handling car to within 2.5 seconds as the cars began their final circuit. Theys managed to take the win, but it was a truly heroic effort on EFR`s part to claim the runner-up spot.

“We really wanted to win this one for Elliott,” Pat Smith said after the race. “He has had some terrible luck this year and it would have been great, but the guys did a great job. It was not a pretty race car out there today but they brought it home.” In light of the Rolex Grand-Am Series point system, Weaver and Leitzinger will in all likelihood maintain a healthy lead in the drivers championship over Intersport Racing`s Jon Field, who finished third in the Road America 500. Three events remain on the Grand-Am schedule:Trois-Rivieres (August 3-5), Watkins Glen (August 8-11), and the Daytona Finale (September 12-17).

Last Year: Weaver and Leitzinger won the series most recent rounds at Lime Rock on Memorial Day and the win vaulted Weaver to a nine point lead over his teammate and a 30 point lead over Belgian Didier Theys Weaver is no stranger to victory circle at Mid-Ohio, having won here in 1999. Last year, he and Leitzinger started from pole and looked to have the win in the bag, only to suffer a mechanical woe in the race`s waning moments. EFR was left to pick up the challenge in the #20 Thetford / Norcold machine, but found himself caught out by a slower car with two laps to go, giving a well- earned win to Robinson Racing.

Schroeder`s Return: Dorsey Schroeder, who rejoins the Dyson team for the first time since 1999, has a wealth of experience at Mid-Ohio and an intimate knowledge of the team`s Riley and Scott Ford. Schroeder was a full-time Dyson driver in 1998 and finished fourth in the U.S.R.R.C. drivers standings. His Mid-Ohio win with E.F.R. was one of the most popular victories in 1998. Team owner Rob Dyson welcomes Schroeder back into the fold: “I am very happy that we were able to have Dorsey join us. He is a great guy and he is quick enough to keep the others honest. He and Elliott were a terrific team a few years back and it is going to be fun to see them back together this weekend. I think it should be a very interesting race up front.”

Weaver`s Thoughts on the Opposition: The 2000 Rolex Grand-Am Champion feels confident in the Dyson team`s chances: “The (Intersport) Lola team has found a lot of traction out of the low speed corners, and they will be tough this weekend. But I think that we can take a good fight to them and all the rest in race trim.”

The race weekend`s activities begin with a promoter`s test day Thursday and official practice sessions slated for Friday afternoon. A fifteen minute Qualifying session will be held at 1:15 on Saturday, and Sunday`s race begins at 2:15 PM. Be sure to follow the weekend`s action at www.grand-am.com

The predictions of rain had come to naught by the time the cars lined up for the 2 PM start of Race One. The sun was glistening and there was a cool breeze. As he has so many times here in the past, James Weaver jumped out to a huge early lead, which he continued to stretch with every passing lap over E.F.R., who was outpacing Mauro Baldi`s third-placed Doran / Lista Ferrari Judd. By the halfway point, Weaver and his #16 Dyson machine had lapped every car on the track but Baldi and E.F.R. As long as the car would hold together, at his race pace Weaver would be lapping Baldi right near the end of the event. Slashing through traffic effortlessly, the Englishman was in total control, and with five minutes to go he was ten seconds behind Baldi. Capitalizing on backmarkers, with a lap to go Weaver passed the Italian on the front straight and crossed the line a few car lengths behind E.F.R.`s #20 machine. To the delight of the Dyson team`s crowd, Weaver and E.F.R. put in a commanding performance which served only as a preview for what was to come in the second sprint race.

After a ten minute intermission and driver change, Butch Leitzinger assumed the inherited pole position besides Andy Wallace, who had taken over driving duties from E.F.R in the #20 car. Not to be upstaged by Weaver, Leitzinger set about making the second race a mirror image of the first. The 31 year-old Pennsylvanian quickly pulled out a gap over Wallace, who had his hands full with Didier Theys Ferrari-Judd and Jon Field`s Intersport Lola. After Field took an early off-course excursion the order was settled, and Leitzinger continued to build his gap over Wallace, who saw off a mid-race charge from Theys and held station in second. After forty-five minutes, Leitzinger crossed the flag to claim his third victory of the 2001 Rolex Grand-Am Series.

It was the team`s first 1-2 since the 1999 U.S. Road Racing Classic at Mid-Ohio, and its first 1-2 finish in Grand-Am competition. For Rob Dyson the win was special: “The guys did a terrific job. We have been here many years where we have had the race won only to have something knock us off at the end. It is very rewarding to back up last year`s win with a 1-2, especially with all of our family and friends watching.”

After his race win in the first sprint, James Weaver beamed and said the car was “magic. It could do whatever I wanted it to do out there today. My thanks to the boys for working so hard to get the car right for this race. Lime Rock is our most important race and I am really happy to have won here again.”

Butch Leitzinger had nothing but praise for Lime Rock`s loyal fan base. 7quotI have gotta take my hat off to the fans who sat through the rain and miserable weather early in the weekend. You guys are great and you deserved this beautiful weather today. Thanks for your support.”

The Dyson team has this coming weekend off before heading to Mid-Ohio for the U.S. Road Racing Classic on June 10.

In an event remarkable for its close racing and lengthy caution periods, Dyson`s Anglo-American duo fought hard with their #16 Thetford / Norcold Riley and Scott Ford. For the first four hours, the team was deadlocked in a fascinating duel with the Lola of Intersport Racing`s Jon Field and Oliver Gavin. Both teams had been caught out by Friday`s rainy qualifying and started the event in 21st and 19th positions, respectively. Slashing through the field, Weaver and Field were soon engaged in an all-out dogfight over the entirety of their first stint. Leitzinger replaced Weaver when the Englishman pitted for the second time, and immediately began stretching a slight lead over Gavin, who had relieved Field.

The gaps would never last very long, as the yellow flags started flying with alarming regularity. But the battle never calmed, for every restart, it seemed, was marked by a renewed fight for the lead. The Doran / Lista Ferrari Judd entered the mix, and for a while, it looked like the race would come down to pit strategy. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Coming through the uphill esses as the race neared two- thirds completion, Field`s Lola tangled with a slower car and the damage was extensive enough to end Intersport`s afternoon. Weaver had by this time relieved Leitzinger and soon was scrapping with Mauro Baldi for the lead. The Englishman`s engine began to bog down a bit and he slowed to a pace that could not challenge a healthy Doran car. The team continued to service the car but with an hour remaining it became a matter of survival more than anything else. Thankfully for the team and their championship hopes, Weaver finished second to the Doran team.

“The car just was not as good as I would have liked today,” Weaver remarked. “We had engine problems all day and the car`s setup just was not right. We tried switching around our tire compounds during the race and it helped a little, but the car felt like it was skating. Thankfully the team did a great job during our pit stops and we were able to get a decent result. We are really looking forward to Lime Rock next weekend.”

The #20 Thetford / Norcold Dyson crew had a troubled afternoon Saturday. Andy Wallace had set pole in Friday`s atrocious conditions and led the first ten laps of the Six Hour event. Afflicted by a loose condition, Wallace pitted early and the car improved, but only slightly. The English star handed the mount off to Rob Dyson at his second stop, and the team boss immediately found that the car was unusually darty on every section of the course. Relieving Dyson after an hour and fifteen minutes, Elliott Forbes- Robinson tried a different tire setup and it made a slight gain. But the 58 year-old North Carolinian soon found himself with an overheating engine, the result of a failed gasket on the water pump. Fully realizing that any competitive run was out of the question, the crew managed to repair the problem and Dyson set off for a few very slow laps before parking the car with drivetrain issues. All three of the #20 car`s drivers had complained of oversteer and it emerged that there was something amiss in the differential.

“Well, it was a frustrating day for our car,” Dyson remarked. “We were really looking forward to a good result after Andy put it on pole. But other than Andy`s first few laps of the race, none of us were even close to our best practice times in the race. The car was loose and we think it was a rear end problem. We will get it taken care of in time for Lime Rock.”

The team will be heading directly to Lime Rock, where they will set up for Tuesday`s press / test day at the picturesque Connecticut circuit. The Memorial Day event is the team`s “home event” and James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger won there last year.