BOWMANVILLE, ONT. August 30, 2009 – Dyson Racing followed up on its one-two qualifying effort at Mosport with an equally eventful race. Marino Franchitti and Butch Leitzinger led the LMP2 class for 97 of the131 lap race in their #20 BP Mazda Lola Coupe. Pole winner Franchitti held the overall race lead for six laps, and set fastest LMP2 race lap on the sixth lap. Franchitti and Leitzinger ended up claiming a class second in Canada’s biggest sportscar event.
Unfortunately the #20 car did not see the checkered flag, expiring thirteen laps from the end while leading LMP2. Leitzinger was in the car for the last two stints, passing the Lowes’ Fernandez entry on lap 60 and holding the class lead for the next hour and twelve minutes. “Butch was doing a great job,” said Rob Dyson. “One of the telemetry values was drifting a little bit when something let go in the back end.” The car had completed enough laps and was classified second in class.
The #16 car of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith came in while leading the P2 class on lap 39 for fuel only with race-starter Dyson staying in the car. Four laps later, its race was over after crashing in turn one. “We damaged a left front dive plane a couple laps before and this was really upsetting the balance of the car in the fast right-handers,” explained Dyson. “I went into turn one and the front end washed out, than loaded up with grip. The car stepped out and I tried to correct it, but the speed was too high and I ended up backing into the wall. It was a hard hit and I want to thank Lola for building a strong car and Stand 21 for making an equally strong helmet”.
“Without a doubt, we have had better results here,” Rob Dyson said afterwards. “But for the first time this season, an LMP2 car led an ALMS race on speed and pace and we are glad that we were able to give Mazda that distinction. The car definitely has the pace. All of our guys have a very strong desire to win and we will continue to build on our momentum and take it to them again at the Petit Le Mans.”
Pos | Car# | Class | Drivers | Behind In Class | Car Make |
1. | 9 | P1 | Brabham/Sharp | 0 | Acura ARX 02 |
2. | 66 | P1 | de Ferran/Pagenaud | 1 lap | Acura ARX 02 |
3. | 15 | P2 | Fernandez/Diaz | 0 | Acura ARX-01 |
4. | 37 | P1 | Field/Field | 2 laps | Lola B06/10 |
5. | 20 | P2 | Leitzinger/Franchitti | 9 laps | Mazda MZR-R |
6. | 3 | GT2 | Magnussen/O`Connell | 0 | Corvette C6 |
7. | 62 | GT2 | Melo/Kaffer | 0.331 | Ferrari 430 |
8. | 4 | GT2 | Beretta/Gavin | 1 lap | Corvette C6 |
9. | 87 | GT2 | Henzler/Werner | 1 lap | Porsche 911 |
10. | 45 | GT2 | Bergmeister/Long | 2 laps | Porsche 911 |