“The 962 was an exquisite looking race car,” noted Rob Dyson. “And like the old air plane adage, if it looks right, it will fly right. It was a great car to drive and that is what Porsche does best, building ultimate customer race cars with their renowned engineering and support behind them. To combine that Porsche perfection with our successful tradition brings a whole new level of enthusiasm to our team for the upcoming season. This is a reuniting of old family members, building on our partnership of mutual respect and a shared winning history.”

Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche Motorsport worldwide, was pleased that a team of Dyson’s caliber has decided to embrace the RS Spyder program. “When we announced our ALMS participation, it was our target to have the RS Spyder being raced by customer teams in 2007,” said Krisen. “We will continue our development work together with the Penske Motorsports team. The results of this work will be made available to our customer teams. The RS Spyders for Penske and Dyson are exactly the same 2007 models, and the engines we are providing to the teams are identical as well.”

“We will be competing next year with a proven package that has race data and advancement behind it,” Chris Dyson said. “Porsche won the ALMS championship last year and that is a strong selling point. Our team will be racing at the most competitive level in ALMS, where new teams, drivers and manufactures are going to be focusing their considerable resources. We will be able to showcase who we are as a team and concentrate on winning races and championships.”

Dyson Racing has sixteen team and driver championships and sixty-one wins since that first GTP win at Lime Rock twenty one years ago. Anchoring this new package and era for Dyson Racing will be the familiar #20 blue and white Thetford/Norcold entry driven by Chris Dyson and Guy Smith and #16 with Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace. The team will be testing their first car at the January 21 – 24 ALMS Winter Test at Sebring and racing both at the first race of the season, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring March 17.

“I know it is an over worked word, but it really is an honor to be chosen for this seat,” said Wallace. “I drove with James for a dozen years at Dyson Racing and no one was quicker in a sportscar. This is a special team – family would be a better word, and to be back full time with the guys is a great early Christmas gift. Like most drivers for Rob Dyson, I have had a great enduring relationship with fond memories. Rob gives you the tools to do the job right and as a driver, you cannot ask for more.”

Wallace co-drove with Leitzinger and Weaver this year at the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, adding another Sebring class podium to his record. In recent years, Wallace shared the teams’ #20 car with Chris Dyson. In 2003, Wallace assisted in Chris Dyson’s LMP675 (now LMP2) championship, scoring three wins, four seconds and a third with the American.

“I am thrilled to have Andy back with us full-time,” noted Chris Dyson. “He is one of the great sportscar drivers. Andy is smooth, quick, consistent and unselfish as a team member. He has been part of our family for a long time and like James Weaver, is unparalleled on feed back and car set-up. He has contributed much to our success over the years. There really is no one better out there. It was a decision that made itself.”

The expanded twelve-race 2007 American Le Mans Series kicks off with the Winter Test January 21 – 24 at Sebring, FL, and the first race of the season will be the 55th annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on March 17th.

Weaver left the sport as he lived. He did not want any fan fare or attention. The focus was always on the team, not himself. He told the team of his retirement after the race was over and thanked the emotional gathering for all of his success. The next day was spent shopping for his daughter. The family comes first, not feeding the star-making machine.

In the “look-at-me” world of racing, Weaver was an inspiring breath of fresh air. A true gentleman, he was also a Renaissance man who was conversant on almost any subject. His graciousness, irrepressible humor and affable personality made him a favorite of the fans and motorsport’s best ambassador.

Helmet tilted forward and trademark orange gloves a blur of commitment, Weaver was brilliantly fast on the track. He was an implacable competitor and relentless in finding ways to improve the car. He was one of the best set-up drivers in the business. Long after other drivers had retired to their hotels, he was at the track poring over data and working on finding more speed. It was this singular dedication and work ethic on and off the track that made him such a fearsome competitor.

Weaver had been with Dyson Racing for twenty years. His core values of loyalty and sense of honor were unique. James has the universal respect of everyone in the paddock and in racing. In the highly charged competitive world of racing, nothing speaks better of the racer and of the man.

James Weaver on his retirement from racing:

“One of the hardest decisions for any sportsman is knowing when it is time to leave the playing field. Experience holds you in good stead, but eventually time tips the scales against you.

“I have been racing for over thirty years and twenty of those with Rob Dyson. It has been an enormous privilege to know him and to be part of his team. No driver could ask for a better environment in which to enjoy the sport. I was able to do what I loved doing – how I liked doing it. It was brilliant fun to be able to be a part of a sport I love and very unusual to be able to do it on my terms – all of which I have Rob to thank for.

“Rob’s charismatic leadership and generosity have made Dyson Racing a unique team. Leaving my home and family of the past twenty years is the toughest thing I have ever done and I will very much miss the friendships and camaraderie.

“I could not have made my career in racing without the help of numerous people and I would like to acknowledge my heart felt debt to them. Dyson Racing is only a small team, but historically we have always had excellent suppliers, many of whom have become friends. They have played a huge part in our success and I would like to thank them for their support and friendship.

“In looking back, some of my happiest memories are of test days with our old friends at Goodyear. We also had great fun with Riley & Scott, Ben Lozano, Lola, AER, AP, Pagid, Reid Washbon, and the folks from Penske Shocks – the list is exhaustive! During all these years, Marion Champlain did a fantastic job of feeding us and making sure that Dyson Racing always had the plum hotels. And Alyson Kimball proved time and time again that she is the best sports physiotherapist in the business. As always, it is the people that make the difference.

“None of this would be possible without IMSA and the ALMS and I would like to wish them every success for their bright future and thank all of their staff. The race officials, corner workers and the fans are the foundation of racing. The enthusiastic support of the fans means so much to a driver and has been very much appreciated over the years.

“I particularly want to thank everyone on the team and my teammates for making it so much fun. Rob and his long standing crew chief, Pat Smith, Ben Lozano, Bob Akin, Andy, Butch, Chris, Marion, Bob Shaffer and my friends at Goodyear, you are all very much in my thoughts.

“Racing with Rob has enabled me to see the best of America and I leave with the best of memories and a great regard for the country, the people, and above all for Rob, who will always be ‘The Guvnor.’”

Chris Dyson’s pick of some of James Weaver’s more notable races:

Las Vegas ALMS Finale, 1999: “This race was our last chance to secure the inaugural ALMS drivers championship for Elliott Forbes-Robinson. All year long, we had been the underdog getting steady results, and as we came into the last round, we had to beat Panoz to win the championship. Our Riley and Scott Ford V8 was a generation behind the top-running BMW, Panoz and Lola entries, but from the first few laps you would have never known it. At the flag, James drove like a man possessed, picking off the lead cars with impunity. It was mesmerizing. This pace was a surprise to our opposition, and when he pitted to hand off to Elliott we had been harrowing the top three. Elliott took over and the Panoz tangled with a slower car, and we ended up winning the championship. It was a great day for the team.”

Sears Point, 1995: “This was the first season running the Riley and Scott Ford, and by the time we arrived at Sears Point, the car was really coming into its own. The Ferrari 333sps had qualified well, but James was very confident that our Goodyear rubber would outperform the Ferrari’s Pirellis. He was absolutely right. From the green, he shot ahead of the field and never looked back. This was in the IMSA WSC days when the drivers did solo races, and this was one of the most impressive and controlling wins I have ever seen. No one could touch James that day.”

Daytona Paul Revere 2002: “We always had a great car every time we came to Daytona, and James had been on the pole for each 24 Hour since 1998. But this race was different. We had been struggling with an intermittent misfire all during practice, and the car was not quite right going into the race. It rained heavily in the afternoon before the race, and this completely changed the track. Didier Theys, who was our championship rival, had a Dallara which was as fast if not faster than our car. James and I managed to hold a lead throughout the race, but at the last round of yellows the field was bunched up and Didier had gotten ahead through pit stops. James executed a great pass on Theys in the infield after the restart and started driving away. A master strategist, James even backed off a little to shrink the gap to build a false confidence in his rival, and then started pushing and stretched the gap. We won the race by ten seconds or something. And the misfire had never really gone away… It was a stunning performance even by James standards.”

Sears Point ALMS, 2003: “This was the day David slung Goliath. We had been showing encouraging pace all year with our LMP 675 Lola-AER, but this was our breakthrough race. In practice, our car was substantially quicker than the Audi R8, with our Goodyears having an edge to the Audi R8 Michelins in the critical esses section leading back to the pits. In the race, the Audi had led, but a yellow with minutes remaining bunched up the field and James had a shot to track Marco Werner down. He did just that, turning the fastest lap of the race by over one second! James timed the pass for the lead perfectly and did it in typical Weaver style, late braking and going by him at the hairpin in front of the pits. The crew and the crowd went nuts.”

James Weaver Career Highlights

100 Career Wins

Sixty-Nine Poles

Seventy-Six Fastest Laps

Forty-One Lap Records

Over 200 Podium Finishes

2006 Second place ALMS LMP1 – seven podiums, two poles

2005 Fifth place ALMS LMP1 – two wins, five podiums

2004 Second place ALMS LMP1 – one win, five podiums

2003 Sixth place ALMS LMP675 – two wins, five podiums

2002 Third place Grand Am – four wins, seven podiums

2001 First place Grand Am – six wins, nine podiums

2000 First place Grand Am – four wins, six podiums

1999 Third place USRRC CanAm – one win, two podiums

1998 First place USRR CanAm – three wins, four podiums; Fourth place PSR World Sports Car – three wins, four podiums

1997 Third place PSR World Sports Car – four wins, seven podiums

1996 First place Global GT Championship – five wins

1995 Second place IMSA World Sports Car – five wins, seven podiums

1994 IMSA World Sports Car – one win: Sebring 12 Hours

1993 IMSA GTP Championship – Daytona 24 Hours, second in class; Indy Lights Championship – Dyson Racing Lola/Buick

1992 British Touring Car Championship – Nissan Primera GT

1991 IMSA GTP Championship

1990 Sixth place IMSA GTP Championship – one win, one podium

1989 Second place British Touring Car – eleven wins, Class B champion; IMSA GTP – one podium. CART Indy Car – Dyson Racing

1988 Fourth place IMSA GTP Championship – two wins, four podiums

1987 IMSA GTP – one win, Atlanta (first with Dyson), two podiums

1986 IMSA GTP; World Sports Car Championship

1985 World Sports Car Championship – second Le Mans; Japanese Group C

1984 British & European Touring Car – one win, three poles

1983 Third place European F3; British Thundersports Series – four wins

1982 Fourth place European F3 – three wins; fifth place British F3

1981 Sixth place British F3 Championship – one win

1980 Second place Derwent TV Sports 2000 Championship – six wins

1979 Second place Townsend Thoresen FF1600 – twelve wins

1978 Fifth place TT FF 1600 and Phillips FF 1600 – five wins

v 1976 Third place Dunlop FF 1600 Championship – five wins

Reflections on James Weaver:

ALMS media guide: “One of the worlds’s great racing drivers, no matter which discipline. Weaver’s knowledge and skill in and out of the car have translated into a plethora of driving titles and championships that make up a body of work very few drivers in the racing industry have or will achieve.”

Scott Atherton, American Le Mans Series President and CEO: “With the greatest of respect to all our drivers, James Weaver is one of my favorites. He exemplifies what it means to be a competitor in the American Le Mans Series and sports car racing in general. His quick wit, professional manner and courtesy, both on and off the track, have rightly made him a fan favorite in our paddock. His ability to maintain his competitive spirit and bravery long past the point that most hang up their helmets places him in a rare category of race driver. James is truly one of a kind, and we will miss his presence in the American Le Mans Series. We wish him and his family all the best.”

Chris Dyson, teammate: “It is impossible to quantify how much James has meant to us over the years. James was there for all of our important victories and championships and he was the leading force behind the team for the past twenty years. James has stuck with us through thick and thin and he has had unflagging commitment to the family and to the team.

“He had so much capacity beyond just driving quickly. He was always paying attention to what was happening with the car and how we could do better. No matter how well you have done, no matter how much success you have, it can always be better still.

“James does not have to be on the ‘front page.’ He never seeks the limelight and in an ego driven sport, that is unique. James is incredibly honest, very decent, and he is very secure in who he is. James is an iconoclast, a character, whatever it was the pink socks or his dry sense of humor, he always kept the big picture in mind. He understood he was never bigger than the sport and at the same time, he was a huge part of it, some would say larger than life. In a sport of often fragile egos James was comfortable in his own shoes. They broke the mold with James.

“If you look at the score, you have to say that James is one of the best sports car racers of all times. That is the black and white of the matter. But anyone who met him or worked with him knows that he left behind a great legacy of integrity, honesty, and open friendliness. I remember meeting someone who knew him in the 70’s and 80’s and he said that he had never met a more gentle person than James. I have to agree with that.”

Rob Dyson, team principal: “I would have to say that of all the people I have met in business and racing, James is one of the most decent and principled I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I have been blessed that our relationship spans more than twenty years. They have been years that have seen many changes to Dyson Racing and motorsports, but James has been our bedrock – our go-to guy who never let us down. The team came first and he always shared with his teammates. He was very unselfish. His commitment to being the best on the track and being fair and upright off the track has never flagged and has been instrumental in our success over those many years.

“His thirty-three race wins and three championships with us do not tell the story. The story is about what James meant to racing. He always, without fail, put on a good show. James was beloved by the fans and the fans know true when they see it. His sense of humor never left him. He treated everyone with respect. James is a gentleman in every sense of the word. You will never see any videos of him throwing a helmet at another car. He made a difference. He touched people and will always be known for his honesty, kindness, courtesy and humor.

“He has laid a foundation at Dyson Racing that we will be our bedrock for as long as we are racing. He will be missed, but he will always be with us.”

Oliver Gavin, Corvette C6-R: “I have known James since 2000. We met at Homestead, and it was the first race I had ever done in America. James was one of the first people to introduce himself, and he was a perfect gentleman. He offered his help and took me around to meet the principals at Dyson Racing, which started my relationship with the team.

“The next two years I often raced against James. There was a lot of banter and huge fun. James had great insight on how drivers were attacking corners or how the cars were handling. He had a great capacity to learn, and never thought that he knew it all – yet he had a massive amount of knowledge. I don’t think there is anyone better at setting up a race car. He is very analytical, almost as skilled as an engineer as he is as a driver.

“We had some great battles. I remember one at Mid-Ohio in 2001 where he was bearing down on me at a furious pace, but I managed to hang on for the win. James is fantastic in traffic; he has an amazing ability to scythe his way through traffic like Schumacher and Senna. I do not know know how he does it.

“We have become great friends. He is also such an entertaining chap to travel with. One day we were in Napa, California, and he decided we should drive to Lake Tahoe. So I drove all the way there, and we found a nice place to have lunch. He than decided we should drive all the way back to Napa. He slept all the way back, and I drove about 600 miles in a day to have lunch at Lake Tahoe. That is just James, to do things on a whim.”

Marty Kaufman, IMSA Race Director: “I have known James since my IMSA beginnings and have always found him to be a delightful, straightforward, honest person. One of the episodes that stick in my mind was the incident at Del Mar when he ran into the sound meter: After the incident and the race, he came to see me apologizing profusely for what could have been injury to those personnel around the flying meter. He said that he was just so frustrated with the entire matter that he lost his head and thought that by eliminating the meter, it would have helped eliminate the problem. As I said, he was very humble and apologetic. The next person into my office was Bob Akin. Bob said that James’ windshield was covered in oil and other debris and that obviously caused him not to see the meter and that is why he hit it. I told Bob that James had been in moments before and told me what happened. Bob got a wry smile on his face and left.

“James’ honesty was very much appreciated. He is just a really neat guy – a fierce, terrific competitor and I will miss him greatly.”

Karl Koenigstein, Michelin N.A. Technical Team Leader: “What set James apart was that in an age where lots of drivers have been driving since they were kids and racing in professionally prepared cars, James had a good amount of his own mechanical ability. He truly understood the car which helped him sort it out.

“James could be really incredible when conditions changed or the car was off. He would drive around the cars weak points and emphasize its advantages. If the car was not exiting a corner well, he might brake more aggressively to unsettle the rear of the car, then catch it and lean on it and power out. And he could do it lap after lap.

“Even in difficult and frustrating times, James always kept a good sense of humor and his perspective — a true professional and a class act. I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him through our relationship with Dyson Racing. Working with James was an honor and it was fun.”

Butch Leitzinger, teammate: “It is tempting to cite all of the victories, pole positions, fastest laps, and championships that James has won to measure his stature in the racing world. But far more representative of the man is the humility and grace that he carried, in an environment that is accustomed to neither.

“He was the perfect teammate, always focused on the team, rather than himself. He always left his book open, never hiding his notes. When I would make a mistake that would cost us a position or a victory, he would react not with anger or frustration but with empathy, although where that empathy came from I do not know, because I can scarcely remember him making a mistake.

“James liked to say that I would have had much more success if I had not gotten mixed up with him, but that could not have been further from the truth. Not only did he allow me to ride on his coattails for all of these years, but he also showed that being absolutely committed to the team and having a fun time were not mutually exclusive things.

“Above all, James had the ability, even in the ugliest situations, to see the humor. However many victories we have shared, we have shared a thousand more laughs. The sharpest part of his wit was his command of the English language. In my early days I would try to spar with him, only to be verbally drawn and quartered, and left shivering in the corner.

“When a sporting legend retires, it is customary to look at his career in the form of statistics. But quantitative measurements can not encapsulate the impact that James has had. For many of us, we are better people having known him. No statistic can capture that.”

Dick Martin, IMSA Chief of Pits: “James Weaver has set the standard for sports car drivers year in and year out. He is a true gentleman, class act and has earned everyone’s respect both on and off the track. Not only will I miss his driving ability but also his demeanor, humor and friendship in the American Le Mans Series.”

Allan McNish, Audi R10: Returning to the American Le Mans Series this year, James reminded me on numerous occasions just what a hard, no compromise racing driver he is – right up to his last race at Laguna Seca. He was undoubtedly one of the worlds very best sportscar drivers over the past two or three decades and off-track, epitomized the typical English gentleman – although he must be colour blind – only joking James! Enjoy your retirement.”

Emanuele Pirro, Audi R10: “I have known James for 25 years, and he has always been a great driver as well as a great gentleman, both inside and outside of the race car. I personally think he retired too early because I feel he still has a lot to give motor racing and there is a great deal he could teach others, so I hope he changes his mind in the near future. I think he has been a great example of longevity, integrity and race craft and he has also proved that it is possible to be a great driver without having been an F1 driver! He has been a real icon for sportscar racing and for Team Dyson – I will miss his tweed jacket which gave him a very British, and a little bit of a goofy look, but above all he was always tough competition during a race. I also remember that his statements at Drivers’ Briefings and at press conferences were always appropriate and very full of personality. Come on James, come back, I don’t want to be the most experienced driver in sportscar racing!”

Guy Smith, teammate: “I remember when I first met James it was at the start of the Bentley program in 2001,I knew a lot about him and how good he was. In fact when I was 6 my dad used to sponsor a guy called Dave Scott in British Formula 3 and I remember going to watch Dave with my dad at Silverstone, and a chap called James Weaver won that day.

“When I joined Bentley I was a kid and had no experience of Le Mans, James and I were at a shake down test at Santa Pod just before the Le Mans test, James sat me down and talked me through Le Mans and the pros and cons but mainly about the safety and what to look out for when driving there, he did not need to but he did.

“We met up again when I joined Dyson and I was immediately impressed by his speed. His ability to do a one-lapper was as good as I had ever seen and he could pull out a mega lap on very old tires when no one else could: that is talent. James is a fierce competitor who never showed any signs of letting up. I wish him all the best.”

Andy Wallace, teammate: “James is a very special human being. We were together eleven years with Dyson Racing. You could not ask for a better, more helpful friend. Everyone says that sportscar racing is a team effort, but to actually find a teammate who is unselfish as James is very rare.

“For me, not only is James one of the fastest and most entertaining drivers to watch, he is also the most technically gifted in the paddock. His knowledge and feel for a racing car is legendary. He is a generous teammate and a true friend and his sense of humor keeps us all amused. We will miss him a lot. Some say he has never been within 2 feet of an apex. They back this up by pointing to the countless number of pictures showing James and the apex on opposite sides of the page. But that is beside the point. Anyway, apexes are overrated in my opinion. There is never a dull moment with James around.”

And the Fans: “The world of sports car racing will absolutely not be the same without him.” “I just wanted to say thanks to Mr. Weaver for all of the years of thrills and fun he has brought to race fans all over the world.” “He was always a gentleman, never tired of talking to the fans like me, or signing books chronicling his long career.” “James, I want to thank you for all of the pleasure you have provided me in watching you drive.” “He was always the best TV interview in racing.” “He was one of my favorite drivers who could take it to anybody on the track.” “We, and so many fans, were totally impressed with everything he has done for the sport.” “He is such a fine person. I hope he knows how much he will be missed.”

Weaver has driven for Dyson Racing for twenty years. He has 100 career victories – achieving that milestone at Mosport in 2005. He is one of the world’s finest sports car racers: he has claimed sixty seven poles, seventy fastest laps, thirty six lap records, and over 200 podium finishes. “James is phenomenal,” said team owner Rob Dyson. “He has been one of the primary factors in our success these past twenty years. James was always willing to put in more hours than any other driver to get the car right, and that is what separated him from everyone else.” James won thirty-three races and three championships for Dyson Racing.

Today’s race was classic Weaver. The #16 Thetford/Norlcold car started sixth for the four hour race into dusk. Weaver started the car and passed everyone in front of him—twice– and took advantage of the team’s strategy to bring it in first place when pitting at both the one hour and two hour mark.

The car ended up fourth in class today in the eighth annual race here on the Monterey Peninsula. Chris Dyson got in at the two hour mark and when it went green on lap 97, he executed an Alex Zanardi-like move at the Corkscrew to pass the number two Audi for second, where he remained for several laps. Unfortunately, the American’s set of tires were not consistent, and as the track temperatures fell, the car developed understeer that took away from the optimum handling the car enjoyed the first half of the race.

But today was more than just a race. It marked an end of an era.

“Driving with James in his last race is a great honor,” said Chris Dyson. “He is what every driver aspires to be and more importantly, what every person aspires to be. There is no one more honorable, upstanding and giving as a person. He has been a member of our family, and he’s one of the most influential people in my life. That will never change. It’s an emotional day for all of us, but we’re looking forward to the next challenge. James would have it no other way.”

Season Ending Points:

First: Allan McNish – 204, Rinaldo Capelo – 204 Second: James Weaver – 119 Third: Butch Leitzinger – 106 Fourth: 106 Emanuele Pirro – 99, Frank Beila – 99 Fifth: Chris Dyson – 73 Sixth: Guy Smith – 60

Rob Dyson’s thoughts on the 2006 season:

“I think what we have shown this season is that amidst an assimilation of a brand new car and a brand new engine, our team is capable of handling almost anything. I think with the help of Lola and AER and all of our suppliers, we have been able to accomplish quite a bit. The overriding thing I feel is that the guys have done a terrific job in evolving the cars and making them work better. The long and short of it is that we have proven ourselves to be a very innovative team: a bunch of guys who can work very hard in a situation where many components had to be designed, redesigned, run, redesigned, and run again. We put in some very credible results this year.

“Every season has some negatives. We had one with the crash of the #20 car at the Petit Le Mans that was brought about by a component part failure. That is always a fearful and fearsome thing to have occur. But the main thing is that Guy Smith is fine and bouncing his baby girl on his knee even as we speak.

“In racing, it all comes down to people, passion and commitment and I think our guys showed all of that this year in spade. And our drivers are the best. I think this was the year that Guy Smith showed that he was an excellent addition. He came on and did a terrific job for us: he is quick and good with the car. Guy is fully stitched into the fabric of Dyson Racing. This year showed that Chris is coming into his prime. As a set-up driver, he has learned his lessons from the master, James. I think Butch has shown his remarkable ability to do whatever has to be done, when it has to be done with no effort. The highest compliment I can pay to Butch is that he is low maintenance. The guy is a consummate pro, gets in the car, does his job, is great with the crew and great with the car. Andy Wallace joined us for the longer races this year and did a phenomenal job as always. He was busy with some other commitments this year but he was on it every time he returned to our team. When I talk about James, what can I say? He is the complete package. He is the master and has been our team leader for twenty years, a number one’s number one. He is the ultimate example of what every team is looking for: capable, disciplined, pays attention to every detail and is constantly striving to make the car better. He never accepts the situation we are in, rather saying we can always do better. And aggressively perusing it in an articulate, calm and enthusiastic way. And in addition, when he gets out on the track, there is no competitor that does it better. He is fast, safe, smart and immensely capable on a race track. It has been a singular honor to have James as a comrade in arms and as a friend for twenty years.”

Yesterday’s single practice session saw the #16 Thetford/Norcold Lola-AER struggling to achieve a balance. Burning of the midnight engineering oil produced a much improved car. “We are back in the game,” said Chris Dyson this morning. Recounted James Weaver, “We had a problem yesterday when the right front brake duct fell off, causing that brake to run hot, so when you put your foot on the brake, the right front was steering the car all over the place. Last night, we went down a hundred pounds on the rear springs, added some damping all the way around and took some rebound out of the front. We reduced the camber front and rear and the car was much better this morning.”

But qualifying proved to be another matter. “Qualifying was disappointing,” said Weaver. “I thought we should have been able to do a 14.5. We had a little vibration from the front end and understeer during qualifying. We were fine this morning, but now it looks like the car is touching the ground on the right front, so we will look at that tonight.”

“Last year`s race at Laguna was definitely one of the closest fought battles of the year,” said Dyson. “The track has a variety of corners and you have to be incredibly focused to do well here. James is second in the championship and I expect tomorrow’s race to be a strong end the 2006 season.”

Dyson Racing is the premier sports car team in America with sixteen team and driver championships and sixty-one wins in the past twenty years. Tomorrow’s race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel from 5:30 to 10:00 PM EDT.

Two and a half hours into today’s ten hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Chris Dyson and Guy Smith’s race ended in turn five. Smith had passed the third place Audi and was less than a second behind the leading Audi when the car veered off the road. “The car was going really well,” said Smith. “We were tracking the race leader and running a comfortable pace. I don’t know what happened. It just snapped and I was facing backwards, and I thought, ‘that is not good’ and than I saw those big imposing concrete walls, and I thought, this is really not very good!”

Another two and a half hours latter, the sister car of Butch Leitzinger, Andy Wallace, and James Weaver retired with an oil system failure. “There was an oil pressure warning at one point in a fast corner, and I checked back with the pits, but their telemetry was fine,” said Wallace. “All of a sudden, I smelled smoke and I thought I better get off the road quickly and sure enough, there were flames coming out of the right hand tail pipe.”

“We have made some huge steps forward this year and we had two cars that ran up front this weekend,” noted Chris Dyson. “If circumstances had been different, we would have been on the podium like we were last year. We will go back to the shop and take a look at the data for the #20 car and analyze various components on the #16 and see what took them out. We will gather ourselves up and have two cars ready for the last race of the season at Laguna in three weeks time.”

And that is the defining hallmark of racers compared to other sports – the ability to turn disappointment into a motivating redoubling of effort for the next event.

Dyson and Smith have a good car for tomorrows’ 1000 mile Petit Le Mans – the only race on the ALMS schedule that is measured by distance and not time. The teams have been here since Wednesday and by this morning’s practice, Dyson and Smith had fine-tuned the balance of the car to the point that they were working on handling characteristics in individual corners. But changes to the #20 Thetford/Norcold car before qualifying did not work as well as expected. Noted Dyson, “It is frustrating because the data from this morning showed we could do a high 1.10, but to put it in perspective, at last year’s Petit Le Mans, Guy Smith and I fell down to the back of the field after having to replace our wastegate and we worked our way back to second by the end. This is a ten hour race and is long enough to surmount these kinds of challenges.”

Andy Wallace rejoins the Dyson squad for this endurance event and offers a unique perspective on the progress the team has made with their new AER-powered Lola. “I last drove at Sebring, the first race of the year,” said Wallace. “In the intervening period, the first thing you notice is how much more drivable the AER engine is. The engine just drives so smoothly. The balance of the car is much better. It is the best car I have ever driven around Road Atlanta. The team has put a lot of hours in the car and it shows.”

Dyson Racing is the premier sports car team in America with sixteen team and driver championships and sixty-one wins in the past twenty years. Tomorrow’s race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT and 3 to 10 p.m. EDT

“We compromised on set-up between wet and dry settings for the race, but all things considered the car was very good today,” Dyson said. “We were only ten seconds down to the leader when Guy got in the car after the first hour. Considering I had spent a good part of my stint racing with one of the Porsches, I was pleased by how close we were to the leader. In clean air the car was particularly good. I did my stint on the soft tires and we hadn’t run them here yet. The car was reasonable but I knew we needed to switch compounds to get the most out of it. We went to the mediums for Guy and that was the ticket. He drove a phenomenal stint and we had the fastest car on the track. The Audi beat us on fuel consumption today. I’m very proud of our effort.”

Leitzinger held the lead for the first third of the race. Each time he was passed by the Audi, he passed them back on the same lap. “The car ran very well,” remarked Leitzinger. “We were a little slow in the beginning while the tires got up to pressure but than we were able to control the race and I had a good battle with the Audi. I was looking forward to James getting in the car because he has been flying all weekend, but unfortunately we had a stuck wheel gun and that was just enough to hurt us.”

Dyson Racing has won the past two Mosport American Le Mans races, but a three peat was not to be. “We will be racing the ten hour Petit Le Mans in four weeks,” said Dyson. “We have found reliability with our new cars and are working hard on the speed as shown by podium finishes in the past four consecutive races. We are hitting our stride with our new AER-powered Lolas.”

Dyson Racing has won the past two Mosport American Le Mans races. Last year’s win with Weaver and Butch Leitzinger was Weaver’s 100th career win. In 2003, Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace took the LMP675 class win. “This is a track that suits us well,” noted Weaver. “Lola has engineered these cars so well aerodynamically. Most of the corners here are 140, 150 mph corners and when they do wind tunnel tests, you do it at 150 mph, so we have a very accurate aero map at that speed, resulting in a large amount of grip on this track.”

Rob Dyson joined the driver line-up this morning on the #16 car, running a half hour of the practice session. Leitzinger left here yesterday to run a race in Salt Lake City. He is due back tonight, but on the off-chance that weather prevents his return, Rob Dyson is ready to help with the driving chores. “I sincerely appreciate that the organizers gave me the opportunity to do this on short notice,” said Rob Dyson. “The car is incredible. It was a great experience driving this track. There are few classic race tracks in the world and this is one of them. In some ways I hope that Butch can’t make it!

“James and our team did a great job today,” said Chris Dyson. “We focus on race set up during the weekend and this morning’s time was that much more notable. I think one of the reasons we tend to do well at the end of a race is because of our concentration on engineering a good race car. Last year’s race was one the season’s highlights and Guy and I look forward to another notable Labor Day weekend north of the border.”

Dyson Racing is the premier sports car team in America with sixteen team and driver championships and sixty-one wins in the past twenty years. Tomorrow’s race will be broadcast live on SPEED at 3:00 PM EDT.

The race started with the same kind excitement as the ending: James Weaver started the #16 car fourth, but b the first turn had moved up to second with one of the Audi’s taking a side excursion through the gravel. “Alan McNish was blocking quite a bit, which he is entitled to do,” said Weaver. “But while he was busy blocking, Frank Biela got hung out to dry on the outside and Frank had no where to go, so we all met in the middle and he unfortunately slid off the road.”

Guy Smith, with the fastest race lap to his credit, finished seventh with Dyson. The #20 Thetford/Norcold would have been with the leaders but for the slings and arrows of misfortune. On the first lap, Dyson had a puncture and had to come in, putting him down to last. “I had no choice but to hang in there and plug away at it,” said Dyson. He had moved up to seventh by lap nine and was second by the nineteenth lap. By the thirty-first lap, Dyson had to come in for fuel: he was on the reserve tank and the fuel alarm had sounded. But the track went yellow and the pits were closed. “I had no choice but to come in,” recounted Dyson. “It was either that or run out of fuel on the track. Our team manager made sure there was no work done to the car so we would not violate the regulations. But they still hit us with a one minute and fifty second penalty. That just took the race away from us.” Smith got in the car and added to a race that never saw a dull moment, finishing seventh, in tandem with the #16 car.

The American Le Mans series travels across the border for its next race in Mosport, Ontario Canada on September 3.