This year’s Daytona effort will be run by Howard Motorsports. No stranger to success, they won three Grand American Rolex Series races in 2005, and placed third in the championship. They were also second and third in last year’s 24 Hours of Daytona. This year’s Daytona 24 Hours is a continuation of the successful collaborative partnership formed last year when they ran Rob and Chris Dyson in five Grand Am races.

“All the components are in place for a seriously competitive effort,” confirmed Rob Dyson. “Rick Howard runs one of the most skilled teams in sports car racing, and Max Crawford builds a winning car that has what it takes to go the distance. Oliver Gavin is a seasoned, world class professional and we’ve worked with him in the past. Guy Smith was an integral part of our hard-fought efforts at Sebring and Petit Le Mans last season. Guy has a second and a fourth to his credit at Daytona and Oliver is coming off his best year yet in 2005.”

Completing this underpinning of experience is Chris Dyson’s six runs at the Daytona track, where he won twice in 2002. For Rob Dyson, 2006 marks his 19th Daytona 24 Hour event. The team principal has two wins in the twice-around-the-clock classic: 1997 as a driver and in 1999 as an entrant.

“The longer the race, the more important the team,” added Rob Dyson. “This is an assemblage of star players with a commitment and enthusiasm to win that is second to none. We can’t wait.”

The Rolex 24 at Daytona starts at noon on Saturday, January 28 and will be shown live in three parts on SPEED Channel starting at 12:00 PM EST.

“Advanced Engine Research has been an incredible technical partner for the past four years,” stated Rob Dyson, team principal. “They share Dyson Racing’s cultural and philosophical outlook: always looking to improve and doing whatever it takes to win. The team at AER is an extremely committed, flexible and determined engine partner. Their contributions will ensure a competitive season for Dyson Racing in 2006.”

“We are very pleased to have been chosen as the engine partner for Dyson Racing on their exciting new LMP1 program,” commented Mike Lancaster, Managing Director for AER. “They are one of best teams in sportscars and great to work with at the track.”

“After all the months of hard work, seeing the engine run on the dyno and exceed expectations has been a great satisfaction,” noted Oliver Allan, Technical Director of AER. “But what we are all waiting for is to see the car run on the track. For that car to be a Dyson car is fantastic, as they have been the team to consistently challenge Audi. The whole AER team is looking forward to a successful 2006.”

The new V8 engine was designed from a clean sheet of paper specifically for the ACO’s LMP1 rules. It sets new standards for size and weight, while minimizing frictional losses. The 75-degree V8 first ran on the dyno in September. Designed with the focus on durability, the engine is more compact than any existing V8 in the series.

The ten race American Le Mans season kicks off next year with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 18.

“I am very happy with the result,” reflected Dyson. “The boys just never gave up this year. They kept their heads down and I am a reflection of their efforts.”

“It was very hard fought race,” added team principal Rob Dyson. “The Champion team is very tough and to split the two cars and to secure second place in the championship for Chris is very rewarding for the team.”

The second Dyson Racing entry finished sixth. Butch Leitzinger took the lead going into turn two at the start and held it for the first thirty minutes until coming if for fuel during the second full course yellow. This plan was for the car to make it to the end with only two more pit stops. The far-sighted strategy was negated when an unscheduled green flag stop during the race for punctured tires put them down the field. Both Leitzinger and James Weaver would lead later parts of the race, and Weaver did his patented hounding and passing, but the puncture ended up derailing their charge.

Andy Wallace was equally masterful keeping the Audis at bay for the last forty-five minutes of the race on Michelin tires that were past their “sell-by-date.” “We had a good old battle going and kept the Audi’s behind me for a long time,” Wallace said later. “The only way to get ahead of the Audis was to not change tires so once I got fifteen, twenty minutes into my second hour with the same tires, it became quite the challenge. It was very cold out, plus when you wear the rubber off, the tire temperature goes down and you start to slide around even more. It was as much as I could do to keep it on the road and that really was my sole concern so that we could finish ahead of the #1 Audi and get Chris second in the championship.”

“It was a great year,” summed up Rob Dyson. “Randall Kelsey and all the boys did a phenomenal job and to finish ahead of one of the Audis in the points chase and to have won a couple of races: I think we have a lot to be proud of this year.”

Randall Kelsey, Team Manager:

“It was a good season. We had a few disappointments but in the end we got Chris second in the championship, so that is good. The team hung in with the Audis in every race so I am happy with the way it went.

“I will be sorry to see these cars go. They were the first cars that I was a team manager of and we did some things with them that not many people were able to do. We beat the Audis and that was something special.”

Rob Dyson:

“The race was terrific. We would have given them a better run if we had not had the tire problems. I am really impressed with how Andy and Chris drove to get Chris the points he needed. They did what they had to do and Randall did a great job on the pit strategy.

“Overall I think the season was hard-fought. We had a few systems problems and minor accessories problems that we have since redesigned and improved and I think the cars are pretty much bullet proof now. To secure second in the championship at this level of competition is gratifying. It is very rewarding for the team. Not only as a car owner, but as a father I am very proud of the job the boys have done and very proud of the job Chris has done.”

Chris Dyson:

”It is a great result for the team. We were consistently competitive all year. If luck had gone our way in a couple other of the events this year, we would have been right up there for the championship.

“This is the last race for the Lolas in Dyson Racing hands, but we are hoping to keep them in the series next year. We are talking to some interested parties. A page has been turned and we are moving on. We look forward to running next year with the new car. As we said at the beginning of the year, all things are in motion and nothing is at rest at Dyson Racing.”

Final 2005 ALMS LMP1 Points Standings

Emanuele Pirro 182

Frank Biela 182

Chris Dyson 154

Marco Werner 148

JJ Lehto 148

Andy Wallace 135

James Weaver 124

Butch Leitzinger 124

Michael Lewis 45

Bryan Willman 45

Guy Smith 38

“Qualifying was very interesting,” Wallace said afterwards. “We got our cars extremely close together. Butch did a brilliant job; I take my hat off to him. We figured the Zytek was going to make a good run for the pole but this is a four-hour race, so we are in good shape.”

Talking about tomorrow’s “Racing into the Darkness” four-hour race, Leitzinger said, “The top six cars are all within a close gap: I think it should be a really good punch up. We could have another train like we had at Mid-Ohio where we had an exciting race with six, seven cars battling for one position. You know, the team has worked so hard this year and if we could cap it off with another win and take this car out in a blaze of glory and get some momentum for next year, that would be great for us.”

In a season that has seen Dyson Racing garner five of ten poles, this is also the third time their two cars have qualified ahead of both Audis. The last time was at Mosport where Leitzinger went on to win the race. The team couldn’t think of a better way to cap the season on Saturday.

You can listen to a live radio broadcast of Saturday’s race from 6:15 to 10:15 PM EST on www.americanlemans.com and watch the broadcast on Sunday, October 16 on SPEED Channel from 1:00 to 5:00 EST.

Alton, VA (October 9, 2005) … Chris Dyson and Harrison Brix co-drove the #06 Thetford / Norcold / Sirius Pontiac Crawford to a seventh-place finish in the VIR 400 on Sunday afternoon. It was the first top-ten finish of the season for the #06 car in their five-race schedule with Howard-Boss Motorsports for the 2005 Grand American Rolex Series season.

The weekend at Virginia International Raceway began with a promoters test day on Thursday, October 6th. Dyson and Brix took full advantage of this opportunity to “fine tune” their Pontiac Crawford for the upcoming VIR 400. Little did anyone know at the time that the practice on Thursday would be the most time on the course prior to the race. Inclement weather with fog and heavy rain kept practice to a minimum on Friday and Saturday for the Rolex Series cars.

The weather conditions were so bad that qualifying was cancelled on Saturday afternoon and the starting grid for the VIR 400 set by the Grand Am rulebook. Using that formula, the #06 Pontiac Crawford started 20th on the grid for the 2 hour 45 minute sprint.

Chris Dyson started the #06 Pontiac Crawford and was forced to make a trip through pit road when the race went to green. The crew made an adjustment to the car while on the starting grid, thus the drive-through penalty. However, Dyson was able to overcome the early setback with excellent pit strategy and a determined effort on the course.

When the caution waved on 15 for a stalled car on the track, Dyson pitted for fuel only and rejoined the event. Then, as the leaders began to make their initial pit stops on lap thirty, Dyson was able to move into the top five in the running order.

Dyson kept the #06 Pontiac Crawford in the top ten until he pitted on lap 47 for fuel, tires, and a driver change. Harrison Brix took over the controls and was able to maintain a top-ten position in the race. However, Brix had no radio contact with the crew and was unable to communicate with Crew Chief Peter Weston for the remainder of the event. Through three very trying restarts after cautions, Brix managed to keep the #06 Pontiac Crawford in the top ten and finished in the seventh position.

“We’ve had four races with tough luck prior to this weekend, so it was good to finally get a decent finish,” Dyson commented. “The conditions were tough on the course with all the rain, and I believe staying on the track was huge today. The crew doing a great job on pit road was also a big factor in keeping us in contention.”

The VIR 400 was the fifth and final race of the season for Dyson, Brix and the #06 Pontiac Crawford from the Howard-Boss Motorsports stable. And, although tough racing luck kept the results from meeting expectations, the determined team effort and knowledge learned during these five races will be strong “building blocks” for the future.

Added Dyson, “I would also like to congratulate Champion Audi and Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela on winning the race today and the championship. They are a class act and great competitors. Well deserved”

The #16 AER powered Lola fell victim to more serious maladies which put a premature end to a persistent effort. James Weaver, after taking the lead at the start, came in two laps later with a “long brake pedal.” Multiple stops to bleed the brakes put Weaver down to twenty eighth. Finally, on lap twenty-two, the car went back to the garage to replace the two master cylinders, loosing sixty-one laps. The coupe de grace occurred five hours into the race when the turbo went shortly after Butch Leitzinger started his first driving stint in the car. The decision was made to retire the car. Explained Rob Dyson, “We were more than sixty laps down and replacing the turbo would have put us down another forty or forty-five. That would have been too much of a deficit to make up and be able to finish the necessary seventy percent of the race to be classified as finishers.” But the end of the race was not without drama as Chris Dyson reported the engine running rough a half hour from the end. Careful nursing brought it home to the celebrating team. “It was a nerve-racking run to the end, but this is a good result for the team,” Dyson said afterwards. “We had the car today and we certainly had the pace. I want to thank Guy Smith for another great drive for Dyson Racing. He drove an excellent race and I couldn’t have done it without him. His efforts helped secure our come-from-behind finish. As at Sebring this year, he was a valuable addition to our team. “

Chris Dyson goes into the last race of the season at Laguna Seca second in the championship. The race will be broadcast at 3:00 PM EST on Sunday, October 16 on Speed Channel.

The green flag for the eighth Petit le Mans will be thrown tomorrow morning at 11:20 and will be checkered after ten hours or 1,000 miles later, whichever comes first. It has become a classic endurance race here in the red clay hills of Georgia. As at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Dyson Racing welcomes back Guy Smith, who will pair with Dyson in the #20 Lola. “I particularly like this circuit,” noted Smith. “It is a fast course with a variety of turns that keeps you on your toes. For a ten hour race, you want a car that is easy to drive. If you are off the ultimate pace, but you can do that pace consistently, lap after lap, that is what is important.”

The Sebring pairing will also be repeated for the #16 car with Butch Leitzinger, Andy Wallace and James Weaver sharing driving duties. Both cars do feature more permanent pairings: Guy Smith was married on August 20 (“it was a big wedding – the best day of our lives”), and Andy Wallace is planning to tie the knot this fall. We wish them all the best.

The Petit Le Mans will be shown live on SPEED Channel from 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM and 5:30 – 9:30 PM EST on Saturday, October 1.

Watkins Glen, NY (September 24, 2005) … Rob Dyson and Harrison Brix were on their way to a potential top-ten finish in the Crown Royal 250 on Saturday afternoon at Watkins Glen International when a late-race accident ended their hopes. A multi-car incident on lap 43 eliminated the #06 Thetford / Norcold Pontiac Crawford just when their race strategy was beginning to show dividends. The result was a 20th-place finish in the Daytona Prototype class in the third and final race of the Rolex Series season at the historic New York road course.

The weekend began on Thursday with a practice session in the afternoon for the Daytona Prototype cars. Rob and Chris Dyson, as well as Harrison Brix, took advantage of the session to practice the #06 Pontiac Crawford. After two more practice sessions on Friday, Rob Dyson was selected to qualify the car. Dyson’s fast lap of 1:50.326 / 110.944 mph would place the Howard-Boss Motorsports entry 18th on the starting grid for the 250-mile race.

A multi-time winner at Watkins Glen International, Rob Dyson worked his way into the top fifteen during the first stint of the race. His lap of 1:48.694 on lap 20 was nearly two seconds faster than his qualifying lap and was the fastest lap recorded by the #06 Thetford / Norcold Pontiac Crawford during the Crown Royal 250. Dyson would pit under caution on lap 25 for fuel, tires, and a driver change. Harrison Brix would take the controls and begin his march to the finish for the Howard-Boss Motorsports Team. However, his hopes for a top-ten finish ended on lap 43.

On a restart after a caution period, several cars drove wide into turn one. The #66 Pontiac driven by Max Papis made contact with the #4 BOSS Snowplow Pontiac Crawford as they exited the turn. The #4 car was knocked into the grass, losing the front nose section of the car in the process. As the entire field began to “bunch up” as they headed up the “Esses” section of the course, several cars made contact and the melee was on. Brix had nowhere to go as he got hit from the rear and spun the #06 Thetford / Norcold Pontiac Crawford into other spinning vehicles. At least eight cars were involved with five receiving significant damage. With the entire front section ripped from the #06 Pontiac Crawford, as well as damage to the rear of the car, the afternoon was over for the Dyson / Brix duo.

“We were sitting in a good position for the restart when the accident happened,” Brix commented. “We were in 12th position and had fuel to go to the finish, so everything looked promising. Then, I got hit and turned around when the accident started. I had nowhere to go and just got caught up as an innocent victim. I felt as though we would have been a strong top-ten car today and everything was pointing in that direction. My thanks to the guys on the Thetford / Norcold Howard-Boss Motorsports Team for all their hard work and effort this weekend.”

“It was very unfortunate for Harrison and our team,” Dyson stated. “The crew did a great job making adjustments to our Pontiac Crawford and putting us in good position for the finish. We were just in an unavoidable position when the wreck began.”

The next race for the #06 Thetford / Norcold Pontiac Crawford will be the VIR 400 at the Virginia International Raceway on Sunday, October 9th. Speed Channel will provide live coverage of the 400 kilometer race beginning at 1 pm ET. The event will be the fifth and final race for the #06 Howard-Boss Motorsports entry in the Rolex Series for 2005.

This is James Weaver’s 100th career race win. “I want to congratulate my friend and compatriot of the past twenty years on his 100th race win,” said Rob Dyson. “He won his first sports car race with us in’87 at Atlanta and he is just one of the best.”

Weaver took the lead on the first turn of the first lap. The #16 AER powered Lola led for the first forty two laps until coming together with the Audi of Marco Werner. “We were fighting hard and he pushed me wide. It was just one of those things that happen in racing and unfortunately he came off the best.” Weaver nosed into the tire wall, grabbed reverse and was back out on the track, loosing about 25 seconds. He handed over to Leitzinger five laps later and the chase was on. This was the second consecutive Mosport win for the pair and their second win of the year.

An unscheduled pit stop to replace a punctured tire put the polesitting #20 entry of Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace down a lap early in the race. “The car was not right from the start, but I was staying in touch the leaders,” Chris Dyson said. “Then the car became extremely difficult to drive and it was getting worse. I knew we had a problem and unfortunately we lost too much time with unscheduled stops today.” Wallace experienced similar woes and had to take on tires at his last stop with just under an hour remaining. “Andy drove a great race,” Dyson added. “But with no yellows today, we did not get a chance to make up that time.” The #20 pairing would have to settle for fourth.

“I do want to congratulate James,” Rob Dyson said later. “He is a true English gentleman, funny and articulate, who is an amazing driver and has been a cornerstone of our team for twenty years. We and racing owe him a lot.”

“I am really pleased for the guys,” said Dyson. “We have been here since last Sunday testing. The guys are like family and it has been a long season and frustrating for everyone in some respects, so this is a nice way to end the week for us.” Added Rob Dyson, “My congratulations to Chris. The guys have been working exceedingly hard and as far as work effort goes, this is probably the hardest season we have ever had. It is always gratifying to win qualifying.”

Chris went on to say, “This is kind of a second home track for us after Lime Rock. We have spent many a cold spring day here testing. It is one of those tracks that shows our cars’ strengths. Mosport is a very fast, flowing circuit where you have a lot of downforce on the car at all times which means our cars work right in the meat of that aero window.” Added James Weaver, “You have to be on top of your game here to get a good lap time. Mosport sets the standard and we always try to take this attitude with us to all the other tracks we race on.”

Weaver and Butch Leitzinger won the race here last year from pole, leading 100 of 137 laps. Here’s to a season of hard work paying off on this Labor Day weekend.

Sunday’s race will be seen live on SPEED Channel from 3:00 PM to 5:45 PM EDT. There is also live radio available at www.americanlemans.com.