LEXINGTON, OH August 7, 2009 –Three hundredths of a second separated Chris Dyson in the #16 BP Mazda Lola from the pole-winning car for the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “You can’t get much closer than that,” commented Dyson. “We did our first run and put it in the bank and we thought if we bled the tires down, we could get more. I was pleasantly surprised how much better the car was once we did that. The team’s win at Lime Rock two weeks ago showed that we have the race pace and it is nice to have the speed in qualifying too.”
Butch Leitzinger was half a second back, posting the third fasted LMP2 time. A slight misfire at the end of the session slowed his advance. Noted Rob Dyson, “We are pleased that, for the third race in a row, we are quick off the truck. That makes a big difference when you are not playing catch-up. You can focus on changes to the car that translate into direct results.”
The Mid-Ohio track holds special significance for both Mazda and Dyson Racing. Mazda’s first class win in the ALMS came here in 2005. That year also saw Dyson Racing finish one – two in the race with Butch Leitzinger and James Weaver driving the winning car followed by Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace. In the past eight Mid-Ohio sports car races, Dyson Racing has two poles, two fastest laps and has finished on the class podium five times overall. “We were also running a Lola prototype back in 2005,” said Chris Dyson. “You could not ask for a more committed or better partner than Lola. The car is state of the art and is clearly becoming the class of the field. It has been a great relationship over the years and their support is second to none. Our record here and our speed today would not be possible without the support of our partners at Mazda, BP, AER and Lola.”
Tomorrow’s race is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EDT. The broadcast will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 9 on NBC. ALMS Radio and live timing & scoring will be available at Racehub on americanlemans.com. You also can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes).
Mazda is the brand choice of road racers across North America. On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race-tracks of America than any other brand. You will see MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car.
Pos | Car# | Class | Drivers | Time | Car Make |
1. | 66 | P1 | de Ferran/Pagenaud | 1:09.443 | Acura ARX 02 |
2. | 9 | P1 | Brabham/Sharp | 1:09.512 | Acura ARX 02 |
3. | 15 | P2 | Fernandez/Diaz | 1:10.464 | Acura ARX-01 |
4. | 16 | P2 | Dyson/Smith | 1:10.498 | Mazda MZR-R |
5. | 20 | P2 | Leitzinger/Franchitti | 1:11.042 | Mazda MZR-R |
6. | 6 | P2 | Pickett/Graf | 1:11.404 | Porsche RS Spyder |
7. | 37 | P1 | Field/Field | 1:12.145 | Lola B06/10 |
8. | 19 | P2 | van der Steur/Pecorari | 1:15.898 | Radical SR9 |
9. | 12 | P1 | Burgess/Drissi | 1:16.153 | Lola B06/10 |
10. | 45 | GT2 | Bergmeister/Long | 1:21.022 | Porsche 911 |