ELKHART LAKE WI, August 22, 2010 – It was anybody’s race: four different prototype cars with different engines, separated by six seconds at the end of two hours and forty-five minutes of racing at the American Le Mans Series powered by eStar. In chamber of commerce weather at Road America, the #16 Castrol Mazda Lola finished fourth in a fuel mileage-determined race. “I think this is a testament to how competitive the series is,” said Chris Dyson. “We had four cars fighting all day long and the finish reflected the racing: close, close and closer. With some breaks in traffic we could have been on the podium. If there was one more lap we almost certainly would have finished second because our rivals were literally on fumes at the end. The ideal outcome would have been a repeat of our victory at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago, but the Lola-Mazda performed flawlessly and everyone on the team performed equally well.”
Chris Dyson started the race. He passed Simon Pagenaud forty minutes into his hour and eight-minute stint for second and stayed within a second of the first place car for the majority of the rest of his run. Guy Smith took over the car and after the third yellow of the race and pit stop shuffles, took command as the race leader. He increased his lead and pitted an hour from the end for a quick fuel stop. “There were great battles all race long. Chris had a great stint hounding Mowlem for first and fighting with Pagenaud. We made an early stop which dropped us from the lead but even saving fuel, we were able to move back to fighting for the front. The car was fantastic and the Dunlop tires were great but at the end we had to be conservative with our fuel strategy like everyone else. The racing was close and for the second race weekend in a row, the fans of great racing were rewarded.”
Today’s win marked the fifth different team to win in seven races so far this season. “Our congratulations to Drayson Racing on their first ALMS win. They had a fast car and as a team they did a great job today,” noted Rob Dyson. “We look forward to maintaining our strong momentum at Mosport next weekend and putting the Castrol Mazda back on top.”
The Dyson team has enjoyed more success at Mosport than any other venue on the ALMS calendar. The team has fourteen podiums at the Canadian track and their wins include 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2005, which was James Weaver’s 100th and final career win.
Pos | Car# | Class | Drivers | Difference | Car Make |
1. | 8 | P | Drayson/Cocker | 0 | Lola B09 60 |
2. | 6 | P | Bernhard/Graf | 1.051 | Porsche RS Spyder |
3. | 1 | P | Brabham/Pagenaud | 4.915 | HPD ARX-01 |
4. | 16 | P | Dyson/Smith | 6.062 | Mazda MZR-R |
5. | 99 | PC | Jeannette/Julian | 2 laps | Oreca FLM09 |
6. | 52 | PC | Gonzalez/Diaz | 2 laps | Oreca FLM09 |
7. | 90 | GT | Mueller/Hand | 3 laps | BMW M3 GT |
8. | 45 | GT | Bergmeister/Long | 3 laps | Porsche 911 RSR |
9. | 4 | GT | Beretta/Gavin | 3 laps | Corvette ZR1 |
10 | 3 | GT | Magnussen/O`Connell | 3 laps | Corvette ZR1 |