ALMS 2004

Sebring Mid-Ohio Lime-Rock Sears-Point Portland Mosport Road-America PLM Laguna Seca

Sebring

Qualifying

SEBRING, FL, March 18, 2004 -- James Weaver drove the #16 Dyson Racing Thetford / Norcold Lola to third in qualifying for tomorrow's Mobil1 12 Hours of Sebring. Chris Dyson put the #20 sister car in 7th, as defending race champion Audi took the front row.
"Everything's good," said Weaver following the 25-minute session. "The car's well-balanced and ready to race. I'm pleased with our position on the grid. We ran with our exact race setup, and I'm confident that we'll be able to run a race pace all day that will put us in good position to win this race."
That's the goal for Weaver and the whole Dyson team. While one of Weaver's co-drivers, Andy Wallace, has twice won the race overall, the team's best overall finish has been second -- twice. One of those runner-up finishes was Sebring's all-time closest racing finish, in 1999, when in the last 90 minutes of the race Weaver chased down the leading BMW prototype and missed victory by less than ten seconds. In 1997 the team was second by a margin of less than a minute.
Butch Leitzinger joins Weaver and Wallace in the #16 car, while Didier de Radigues and two-time Le Mans 24-hour winner Jan Lammers will co-drive with Dyson. De Radigues co-drove with Dyson last year when they took this same Lola to the LMP675 class win here. This year the two top classes have been combined into a single one.
"We qualified both cars with their race setups," said team manager Randall Kelsey. "We made the decision when we got here that we weren't going pound around all week and wear the cars out. James was quickest in the second session on Wednesday, so we knew that we had enough speed. We've done a minimum number of laps, and concentrated on getting a good race setup."
A decision was also made early in the week, after evaluating a new alternator setup, to go instead with the well-proven alternator half of last year's "starternator" unit. To insure reliability, a separate conventional starter motor unit was installed during the off-season. "We've done everything we can to ensure a steady run on Saturday," said Dyson. "Qualifying with our race setup, I was expecting we'd be about where we are, and I think we've got an excellent car for the race. The (handling) balance is good; I think we can go hard all day."

Duncan Dayton Report

They've been here testing for several days, and Thursday afternoon Field put the car solidly in the 44-car field by qualifying fifth in the top class, called P1 this year, with a lap in 1:51.288 for an average speed of 119.689 mph.
There are a dozen cars in that class this year, and Dayton said the team qualified "right where we should be.
"With the rules changes this year, it will be like a victory for us if we can finish fifth on Saturday," he explained. "It's not like a couple of years ago, when we were going for the class victory."
Dayton, Field and Michael Durand won their class here in 2002.
The 52nd edition of this 12-hour enduro on the bumpy, 3.7-mile road course is the season opener for the American Le Mans Series, the first of nine events on the 2004 schedule. It attracts approximately 100,000 people, both race fans and partyers anxious to celebrate just about anything.
SPEED will cover the event live from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. Eastern time Saturday.
Although it could change, the driver rotation for the #37 is expected to be Field, Dayton and Connor. Both Dayton and Connor are suffering from bad colds, but they're forging ahead anyway and hoping that they'll feel better before the race starts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

The team tested here last Friday and Saturday and this Monday. They missed Tuesday due to rain, but they've been hard at work on their set-up yesterday and this morning too. There is a night practice session tonight and more practice Friday in preparation for Saturday's big race.
Dayton got a big scare during one of the practice sessions earlier this week. As he entered turn one, which is a 140-mph turn, the steering wheel didn't respond because the car's right front rocker arm had broken.
"That got my attention," said Dayton, who luckily got out of that one unscathed.
In addition to being in the P1 class this year instead of LMP 675, the car doesn't have a starternator, a combination of a starter and an alternator which caused the team many headaches last year.
The car is back to being painted the familiar Intersport red and blue and doesn't have the bright green portion that affectionately earned the car the nickname "The Junkyard Dog" last year.
Any other changes?
"We have a paddle shift this year now too," Dayton explained. "Over the winter we also changed the front geometry on the car to get rid of the understeer. That's working a lot better now, although the steering input is very heavy. We don't have any power steering in the car now, but by the next race we will."
Prior to its testing last week at Sebring the team also tested at Road Atlanta recently. Dayton didn't participate in that test because he was attending the Formula 1 race in Australia then. It rained and snowed at that test so the team's engineers didn't get everything they wanted to get accomplished, but they've been working hard to make up for that here at Sebring.
This will be Dayton's fifth time competing in Sebring's most famous event. He finished second in the LMP 675 class here last year, won that class here in 2002, finished fifth in the LMP 900 class and overall in 2001, and finished 10th in the top class in his first appearance in this event in 1999.

Taurus Report

The CITGO Lola will start from 15th place on the grid after Justin qualified it on Thursday severely hampered with the gearbox stuck in 5th gear. But the team is confident it will quickly move up the leader board with Justin at the wheel. The Sheffield driver, the former FIA F3000 Champion, has a great reputation for over-taking.
In the Friday morning session, after the team had worked successfully to repair the gearbox, former Jaguar F1 driver Justin Wilson lapped in 1min 53.124s -- fourth fastest time - bested by only the three Audis. Wilson recorded the time on new tires on what was only a three lap run. Phil Andrews and Milka Duno also took turns behind the wheel for this final practice session leading to the big race on Saturday.
Team Director Ian Dawson explained, "We haven't run this chassis before and it's taken a while to sort it out so it's comparable with the car we raced in the FIA Sportscar series last year. In the process we were hampered by a gearbox problem in qualifying, followed by a broken transmission flange in night practice. Now however we are happy we are back on target."
Said Wilson of his quick lap, "I got a clean lap without too much traffic and was able to show what the car can do. I am looking forward to the race. Two years ago I had a great time here and really enjoyed the driving."
Milka Duno added, "I would have liked to have driven some more laps, but now I know that the car is well set-up and I really felt the car handled very well in the final session. Sebring is definitely one of the world's toughest races and I feel that we are well-prepared."

Results

Race Report

Dyson Racing race report

Sebring, FL, March 20, 2004 -- The American Le Mans Series season-opening Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring proved a disappointing race for Dyson Racing. Hopes for the team's first-ever overall win in America's most prestigious sportscar race were dashed when first the #20 Thetford / Norcold Lola suffered an engine failure in the fourth hour of the race, and its sister car experienced a variety of small but ultimately costly problems that dropped it from contention in the race which was won for the fifth consecutive year by Audi.
"Racing is about winning, and today we didn't," said team-owner Rob Dyson. "Now we have 364 days to think about how to win this race next year. The good news is that the cars proved to be fundamentally strong, and we have three months until the next race on the schedule to address the small details that gave us trouble today. I'm optimistic about our chances for a successful season."
The #20 car, driven by Chris Dyson, Didier de Radigues and Jan Lammers was running in a strong fourth place with Dyson behind the wheel when the engine suddenly and dramatically lost power and the car coasted to a halt out on the course. "I was pretty sure it was dead," Dyson recalled. "But Rob got on the headset and reminded us to look at all the possibilities that we could fix by the side of the track. That was the right thing to do."
Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done to get the car going again, as the engine had suffered an internal problem. "It's a shame because the car was running so well," Dyson continued. "We were just cruising."

The other Thetford / Norcold entry, the #16 Dyson Racing Lola driven by James Weaver, Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace, salvaged a fifth-place LMP1-class finish (sixth overall) after a rash of minor problems. The car ran laps quick enough to earn a podium finish, but an alternator lead that suffered debris damage, an exhaust pipe that came adrift and a series of no less than six (fortunately minor) pit fires -- attributed to a problem with the dry sump oil tank -- cost the car most of the 27 laps it finished behind the overall winner. In the last hours of the race the #16 car was matching lap times of the winning Audi, but was too far behind to be a factor.
"I got tired of coming into the pits so often," Weaver bantered with team manager Randall Kelsey. "The crew was getting tired of seeing you there," countered Kelsey.
"Actually, as difficult as this day was, we now have established important benchmarks for what needs to be done," Kelsey observed. "And I expect that by the time we get to (the next race at) Mid-Ohio in June, we'll have addressed all of the problems we saw today. None of them are major in nature."

Duncan Dayton race report

SEBRING, Fla., March 20 - The Intersport Racing Lola Judd #37 was sixth overall and fifth in the top class with just an hour and a half left in Saturday's Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, but an engine misfire caused it to drop to 17th overall and eighth in the top class at the finish of the 52nd annual enduro at Sebring International Raceway.
The car, driven by Duncan Dayton, Jon Field and Larry Connor and sponsored by Banana Joe's, Goodyear and Highcroft Racing, experienced a host of challenges in this once-around-the-clock event. The team overcame many of the problems, however, and almost finished the race.
Field, of Dublin, Ohio, started fifth in the 44-car field in one of a dozen cars in the top class, LMP1. The team ran in sixth, seventh or eighth place overall (and fifth, sixth or seventh in class) for most of the afternoon and evening. It looked poised to finish sixth overall and fifth in class, but the engine misfire forced the car to remain on pit road for many laps at the end, causing the entry to plummet down the standings.
Still, the Dublin, Ohio-based team and its drivers performed admirably.
The three drivers all did single stints to start the race, with the rotation being Field followed by North Salem, N.Y.'s Dayton and then Connor, of Centerville, Ohio. Field did another single stint after that and then Dayton did a double stint. Connor followed with a single before Field and Dayton did two more doubles, and Connor was in the car at the end.
After his first stint Dayton reported that the car's paddle-shift system wasn't working at all. Manual shifting coupled with no power steering caused all three drivers to get blisters on their hands. It also made it very difficult to judge the car's speed on pit road, and the team received more than one penalty for speeding as it entered and exited the pits.
Just as frustrating was the poor radio contact between the car and the pit crew. That system worked either poorly or not at all for the entire race.
Dayton was in the car when it developed an electrical problem that was solved by changing the alternator, and in that process the paddle shift system was also fixed. The steering wheel was cocked about 30 degrees off center during that stint, which almost caused Dayton to crash on pit road, but later the crew made adjustments that solved that problem.
Dayton's last double stint had a little bit of everything. The paddle shift system started to fail again, and then Butch Leitzinger punted him in the rear. That caused a flat left-rear tire, which Dayton pitted to have changed at 8:30 p.m.
Twenty minutes later he was back in the pits to change another shredded tire. "I think he damaged the undertray too, and that caused the second flat tire," he explained.
Around that point the engine picked up the misfire that eventually caused the entry to retire.
"I've never worked so hard in my life for such slow lap times," Dayton said after his final stint. "It's so frustrating when you can't push. We had a lot of challenges in this one."
Three Audis took the top three spots at the end, with Pierre Kaffer, Frank Biela and Alan McNish the winning drivers.
A third of the Intersport Racing drivers in this race did end up on the podium, as the Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40 Judd of Clint Field, William Binnie and Rick Sutherland finished third in the LMP2 class. The team's third entry, a Riley and Scott MkIII C Elan driven by Mike Durand, Chad Block and George Forgeois, dropped out early.

Jason Workmann race report

Atlanta, GA: For Jason Workman, a "DNF" (Did Not Finish) is a relatively rare occurrence, perhaps unusually so. In 2003, Workman scored points in all but one event of the season, coincidentally Sebring, which brought him within reach of the LMP2 Championship throughout the year. He was the only driver who achieved this record of consistency and reliability. However, his "Teen Arrive Alive" Lola Nissan B2K/40 failed to finish the 52nd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 20, when co-driver Bobby Sak had contact and went off track breaking the gearbox. This ended the race for the M3 Motorsports/American Spirit Racing entry, made all the more frustrating because it occurred while the car was in the lead (LMP2).
"It is a huge disappointment," said Workman. "We struggled with some problems earlier in the week, including an engine malfunction, and finally seemed to be on the right track toward a good finish to start the season. I think that we would have won LMP2 rather comfortably had we been able to continue to the checkered flag. The car felt very strong."
Workman qualified the Lola Nissan 5th in LMP2 (17th overall) with a qualifying time of 2:04.076, while running on only 5 cylinders due to an electrical engine management problem However, with the endurance factor of a 12-hour race to make up the difference in qualifying, Workman and his co-drivers, Scott Bradley and Bobby Sak were confident they could maintain a solid pace to keep them in the hunt for the LMP2 win.
"Jason drove his heart out in qualifying," noted car owner, Alex Graas. "His performance was simply outstanding given the engine problem we had during qualifying. He provided us the best grid position possible under the circumstances."
A new engine was secured and installed overnight by the crew headed by veteran Tony Dowe. Workman started the race and worked his way steadily into 2nd (in LMP2) before handing controls over to Scott Bradley who improved the position to 1st and was increasing his lead when he turned the car over to Sak for his stint behind the wheel. Regrettably, it was at this stage, four hours into the race, when the promising race came to an abrupt and premature end.
"The schedule break before the next race (Mid-Ohio) will give us time to re-group," said Workman. "We will come back stronger and more determined than ever. Sebring was a disappointment last year too, but we managed to adjust and campaign for the rest of the season successfully with five podium finishes."

Taurus race report

The CITGO Racing/Taurus Sports #15 Lola B2K/10/Judd LMP 1, to be piloted by Milka Duno, Justin Wilson and Phil Andrews, started 15th on the grid overall with F1 star Wilson behind the wheel.
In the very first lap of the race Justin took the car from 15th to 7th.
Justin brought the car in for the first pit of the day at lap 24 where a fuel rig difficulty required him to return again two laps later. At lap 52, 1 hour and 44 minutes into the race, Justin handed the car over to teammate Phil in the 6th position overall.
"I really enjoyed the opening laps and the battle with Jon Field and Chris Dyson," smiled Justin. "I then began to pick up a bit of oversteer which made for really hard work and gave me a few blisters on my hands."
Phil carried on in great fashion until, on lap 69, a tire went down and he did a great job bringing the car back in for new tires and fuel. On lap 84, with a yellow flag caution in force, Phil handed the car to Milka in the 10th position overall.
"I was very happy in the car, but for it becoming very physical to drive," said Phil. "The track is very dirty. I don't know how I picked up the tire puncture, but I was pleased that I was able to bring it back into the pits without any damage."
At 3 hours and 22 minutes into the race Milka got in for her first stint behind the wheel. After an event-free 65-minute stint which saw Milka's lap times impressively drop, she passed the car to Justin by very wisely taking advantage of yellow-flag conditions.
"I was happy to find some more speed in the car," said Milka. "But here's no question that this is a very physical race indeed."
Justin took the wheel for the second time and when the flag changed to green he began a stellar push lapping in the low 1:53's and bringing the car up to 6th before handing off to Phil after 54 minutes in the car.
"The car feels very strong now," said Justin. " I had one scary moment avoiding a couple of Porsche's and thought we were going to have a real problem, but it ended up just being some tire pick-up from debris on the track."
Picking up the seat again at lap 147, Phil started his second stint and a short 10 laps later brought the car in for an unscheduled stop due to his feeling a very bad vibration that was ultimately attributed once again to the tires picking up substantial debris on the track.

4:30pm EST, 6 hours into the 12 hour endurance classic, Phil is holding on to 6th place overall. Milka is scheduled soon for her second stint.
"I'm anxious to get behind the wheel again," said Milka. "This is a very good race -- a very tough race -- and we're doing very well so far.

10:30am EST. Milka, along with teammates Justin and Phil, were challenging for the 5th position overall when the gearbox of their CITGO #15 Lola B2K/10/Judd LMP 1's gearbox gave way with absolutely no warning. Phil was in the car and had just passed the start/finish line in 6th position overall when the gearbox failed -- leaving both him and the car stranded on the course with no drive to the rear wheels. Phil steered the car off the track and into a safe position. The hard-charging valiant efforts of all three pilots and the skilled crew had kept the CITGO Racing/Taurus Sports car in the mid-range of the top ten for the entire 10 hours and were well on their way to most certainly a top ten finish -- perhaps even a top five.
The CITGO #15 Lola B2K/10/Judd LMP 1, with Justin in the cockpit, started the race 15th and in only one lap took the car to 7th. Hour after hour each driver took their turns behind the wheel, then took another turn, turn after turn. Always charging -- and with no driver errors -- they consistently kept the car in the top ten. Not such an easy task considering all the variables - and a compliment to how effectively the drivers gelled not only with each other, but with the crew as well. "First, I'd like to thank CITGO for providing this wonderful opportunity to compete in what is known worldwide as one of the toughest sports car endurance races ever," said Milka. "It is a very tough test of the best that racing has to offer -- the world's best drivers and teams competing together with the best sports cars technology available -- on a very challenging and unforgiving race track. CITGO provided us with everything we needed to compete -- and I and my teammates and crew are very grateful. We did our best, every minute of the race to deliver a good result for CITGO. "In particular I want to say how sorry I feel for the crew; they worked so hard all through the week and deserved to have something to celebrate. Justin and Phil were perfect teammates, they were so open with me, and they shared everything. This was such a tough race; all three of us drivers have aches and bruises. But I loved the race and the experience."
Team boss Ian Dawson added, "It was good while it lasted, I'm so disappointed for everyone because we were so close - yet so far. We don't know exactly what broke yet but something snapped inside the gearbox. But I was pleased with how the drivers worked together, although they were new to each other. I must say Milka was very professional and I hope we may work together again in the future." When the checkered flag waved at the 12-hour mark, the CITGO #15 Lola B2K/10/Judd LMP1 finished the day classified in 22nd place overall and 9th in class.

Mid Ohio

Starting Lineup

Friday qualifying report ( motorsport.com )

LEXINGTON, OH, June 26, 2004 -- Bouncing back from a broken clutch line in practice, James Weaver first watched Dyson Racing teammate Andy Wallace set the early pace in qualifying for Sunday's American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio, and then saw Audi's Marco Werner displace Wallace from the top of the time charts. With just five minutes left in the session, the veteran sportscar driver cranked off a blazing lap to take the pole.
"The car was fast right off the truck," Weaver said after climbing from the #16 blue-and-white Thetford / Norcold prototype sportscar that he'll share with Butch Leitzinger in the 2-hour, 45-minute race tomorrow. "And Goodyear gave us a stonking tire," Weaver continued, using a British slang term that is best translated into American English as "excellent."
High-Speed Chess
Weaver explained that he'd watched the times being set by both Wallace and Werner before making his move. "We learned from our testing here a few weeks ago that with the work done on the track since last year, the surface is now quite abrasive, and in qualifying you don't want to do any more laps than you have to.
"Our best time here in testing a few weeks ago was a 1:12.3, so with the warmer weather I thought that anything below 12.5 would be pretty good," Weaver continued. "So, when Andy did a 12.3 and then Marco did a 12.1, I thought that was pretty spectacular motoring."
Spectacular motoring indeed; Weaver then blasted out a 12.1 of his own, actually 1:12.123, a slim 6/100ths of a second better compared with Werner's best in the Audi, 1:12.184, but good enough for the pole.
"I think that you can look at how close the times of the top three cars are, and see why we're expecting a very close and exciting race tomorrow," added Wallace, who will be sharing the #20 Thetford / Norcold Lola with Chris Dyson.
Focus On Testing
Team-owner Rob Dyson pointed out the advantage of not sending the team cars to France earlier this month for the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. "This is a nice confirmation of everything we've done in the three months since Sebring. We benefited from staying home and testing. We're a smaller team, and we only have so many people and so many resources. It enabled us to work on the cars and work with Goodyear, assisting them in the development of a really good roster of tires."

Duncan Dayton qualifying report

LEXINGTON, Ohio, June 26 - Duncan Dayton of North Salem, N.Y. and his teammate, Intersport Racing team owner Jon Field of Dublin, Ohio, will have to come from 27th and last place on the starting grid Sunday in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The popular pair has faced numerous problems since practice opened here on Friday with their car, which is sponsored by Marquis Financial Services, Goodyear, Highcroft Racing and Banana Joe's.
Dayton spun in the first practice session on Friday, damaging the Lola B160 Judd's rear end.
Problems with the car's gearbox and differential cropped up on Saturday, and the #37 entry was one of four which failed to post a qualifying speed.
Another Intersport Racing car, the 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winning Lola #30, qualified eighth overall and second in the P2 division. Robin Liddell will join Clint Field in that car tomorrow.

Miracle qualifying report

Lexington, Ohio (June 26, 2004) Qualifying commenced today for the second event in the 2004 Season for IMSA's American LeMans Series. The Series is visiting the esteemed Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend.
With a test day (Friday) under the belt, general practice began this morning at 9:30 am. Miracle Motorsports, now partnered with Yokohama Motorsports/ADVAN, posted some of the quickest times in the morning practice session. Miracle Motorsports/Yokohama/ADVAN's #10 Nissan powered Lola LMP2 car, posted a fast time of 1.21.587, with Ian James (Orlando, FL) piloting the entry.

Qualifying sessions for the LMP 2 class took place at 2:55 PM today. Coming off of a recent Class Victory at the Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring, the #10 entry was thrilled to post a time of 1:20.465, an average speed of over 101 miles per hour. "We are very excited that this quick time has placed us in 3rd place in our class for the starting grid," states John Macaluso (Winter Haven, FL), team owner and driver. "Being is this position puts us in contention for another possible victory, and a great shot at the Championship contention so early in the season. James Gue (Cumming, GA) has joined us for the next few events and we are very glad to have him on board. He brings a great deal of enthusiasm to the team and we look forward to a great weekend."

Results

Race report ( motorsport.com )

The win was the first as teammates for Lehto and Werner, co-drivers this season in the ADT Champion Racing Audi R8. They won by a lap over the Dyson Racing Lola EX257-AER/MG of Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace, which had led 35 laps early in the race.

Lehto, from Finland, gained the lead on an exchange of pit stops just over an hour into the timed event of two hours, 45 minutes, on the 2.25-mile road course. Werner, from Germany, had driven in the first hour but had been passed for the lead by Wallace. Wallace and Werner remained close as Wallace stayed in front for 35 laps.
Werner survived a collision with another car while trying to catch Wallace and the Audi sustained only minor damage.

After gaining the lead, Lehto built an advantage over Chris Dyson, who replaced Wallace during the only full-course caution of the event, and Dyson later spun and lost a lap while trying to make up the deficit. Lehto then maintained the advantage to the finish.

"Marco did a brilliant job is his stint and had a hard fight with Andy," said Lehto, who scored his 15th win in the ALMS. "It was very clever of the Dyson team to not go to Le Mans and instead stay here and prepare their cars. They will obviously be very competitive in the next few races."

"The car was good, as fast as the Audi," said Wallace. "But today was just not our day."

The pole-sitting Dyson Lola of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger, which had been expected to contend strongly for the win, lost an engine on the first lap of the race. The third position in the LMP1 class was taken by the Intersport Racing Lola B160-Judd of Jon Field and Duncan Dayton.

INTERSPORT WINS AT LE MANS AND THEN MID-OHIO
Clint Field and the Intersport Racing Team, based in nearby Dublin, Ohio, wanted to do well at their home track after winning the LMP2 class two weeks ago at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Their wish came true as Field and co-driver Robin Liddell won the class at Mid-Ohio.

"I want to thank Pirelli (Tire) for bringing Robin to the team for this race because he's a great driver," said the 21-year-old Field. "It feels great to win at home. The car was prepared perfectly. I am very happy with the result."
The car that had been the fastest in the class and had started on the pole, the Team Bucknum Racing Pilbeam MP91, fell to the same fate as did the Dyson Lola as it lost its engine on the first lap. Drivers Jeff Bucknum, Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman didn't have the chance to repeat their Mid-Ohio win from 2002.
"Its just too bad," said Field of the retirement of the Bucknum car. "Jeff Bucknum is a great driver and he would have kept the car up there. We could have been challenging to him this weekend but that's the way it turned out."

Finishing second in class was the Race Car Company Lola-Millington of Ryan Eversley and Andy Lally, while third was the Lola-Nissan of James Gue and Ian James.

Dyson Racing race report

LEXINGTON, OH, June 27, 2004 - The Thetford / Norcold Lola of Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson led the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio, but in the end the Dyson Racing pair finished second behind the Audi R8 of Marco Werner and JJ Lehto. That second place finish for the team's #20 car salvaged a day that began badly when the pole-winning Dyson entry of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger suffered terminal engine problems as the field came down to take the green flag for the start of the race.

"It was a pity that Butch and James didn't get to be part of it, but we had a terrific race today with the Audi. I'm happy for the team," Wallace said following the race. "The car was very competitive and that showed that all the work we put in between the Sebring race and now was well justified."

Wallace gave major credit to Goodyear for supplying a tire that matched the competition. "Not only were the Goodyear tires very good, but they hung in there," he said. "Goodyear did a fantastic job."

The failure of the #16 car's engine before the race proper even began was a major disappointment, both to the Dyson team and to the fans who were looking for a three-way battle among the two Dyson cars and the Audi. Coming down for the start on the pole position, Leitzinger suddenly raised his arm to alert the field behind him that his car was slowing. "The oil pressure suddenly just dropped to zero," Leitzinger reported. "And the water temperature went up." The cockpit was filling up with smoke and Leitzinger could feel the engine beginning to seize as he pulled off onto the grass and the race began. An inspection of the powerplant following the race revealed that the oil pump drive had failed.

"These things happen in racing," said Weaver, Leitzinger's co-driver. "We regularly run the same engine for an entire race meet, and this one had performed flawlessly in all of our practice sessions as well as qualifying and then warm-ups this morning. And the #20 car's engine ran like a clock all weekend."

With Leitzinger failing to make the starting line, Werner's Audi grabbed the lead at the start of the race. But Wallace in the other Dyson entry dogged the Audi around the hill-and-dale road circuit. Coming into the track's signature Carousel corner, Wallace saw that Werner was going to be momentarily slowed by lapped traffic.

"I dropped back just a little bit, so that I wouldn't have to slow in the corner," Wallace said. "And then I got flat on the gas when Marco had to lift a little and I had enough momentum to get up alongside him on the pit straight. I was on the inside for the next corner, so I had him. After that I had to be very careful with lapped traffic, so that Marco didn't have a chance to return the favor."

Wallace held the lead for 35 laps, but only by a narrow margin, and the Audi, now piloted by JJ Lehto, got back into the lead during an exchange of pit stops. Trailing Lehto by a few seconds, Dyson kept the pressure on until the Lola's rear wheels locked up under braking for Mid-Ohio's tricky up-and-downhill turn.

"JJ was going flat out, and so was I," Dyson said. "Under braking, the rear tires just locked for an instant, but that was enough for the back end to start moving around, and the left rear tire got up onto the curb, and away we went. The car spun and we lost a lap getting going again. It's a shame, but in a situation like that, you've got to keep pressing the leader. I just didn't have anything left in hand. I'm glad we didn't damage the car and we just pushed hard until the end."

Duncan Dayton race report

LEXINGTON, Ohio, June 27 - The perseverance of Duncan Dayton, Jon Field and the rest of the people connected with Intersport Racing's Lola B160 Judd #37 was rewarded Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by a third-place finish in the top class, P1, in the American Le Mans Series' second event of the season.

After starting in last place, 23rd, since he didn't record a qualifying time due to mechanical problems, Field, of Dublin, Ohio, blasted through the field at the start. Knowing that the polesitting Dyson Lola #16 had stopped with an oil pump or engine problem at the start, the Intersport team knew it had a chance for a good showing despite its problems earlier in the weekend. Field did his part. He was already in 17th by lap two, and by lap four he was ninth. By the fifth lap he was in seventh, right behind his son Clint, who eventually won the P2 class with co-driver Robin Liddell.

The elder Field advanced to sixth on the next lap in the #37, which is sponsored by Marquis Financial Services, Goodyear, Highcroft Racing and Banana Joe's. He was fifth by lap eight. He passed Ron Fellows for fourth on lap nine, and then whizzed by Oliver Gavin for third on lap 11.
Although things couldn't have been going better at that point, a hint of the trouble that lie ahead came instants later on lap 12 when Field radioed to the Intersport crew that he was having a problem with the car's gearbox. Although the Dyson Lola #20 which eventually finished second was only one minute ahead, Field's stirring assault was over when he radioed in that he only had first and second gear. The team went back to the garage for repairs at 1:20 p.m., and 50 minutes later Dayton got in the car and put in back on track on lap 54, back in last place.
The gearbox problem was still an issue, unfortunately. Dayton quickly radioed in that he only had third, fourth and sixth gears. The crew told him to just tough it out and try to finish.

When Anthony Lazzaro's Ferrari lost its engine Dayton moved into 22nd place. He pitted for fuel only around lap 107 and then received a stop-and-go penalty for speeding on pit lane because the limiter that helps with that task only works in one of the gears he was missing. "When you shift, you never know what gear you're going to get," Dayton reported around that point.

Still, keeping underway often counts for a great deal in endurance sports car racing. Despite all the problems the team still finished third in the top class, P1, when the Audi of J.J. Lehto and Marco Werner took the checkered flag on lap 124 in the two-hour-and-45-minute race, which was broadcast live on CBS.

"We don't know for sure, but it's possible that the gearbox problem may have been a throwback to an accident we had at Le Mans," Dayton explained while waiting for the repairs to be made in the garage area. "It's a part that doesn't usually fail. It may have looked OK visually, but there may have been a stress fracture in it from the Le Mans accident, and it just finally let go now. We don't know that for sure though. We broke the lay shaft, and they had to replace the gear stack.

"Actually running so slow was hard," he added later in victory lane. "I had third, fifth and sixth gear at the end, and sometimes fourth. By going so slow I was picking up a lot of rubber on the tires, so it was hard to get a good drive going. I just had to hang on mostly. I was giving everybody a ridiculous amount of room in the turns. But it was a good result for the team," he concluded. "Everyone worked very hard."

Miracle race report

Lexington, OH (June 27, 2004) Miracle Motorsports, with drivers Ian James, and James Gue, piloted the #10 Lola Nissan LMP2 entry to a third place victory in the LMP2 class in Round 2 of the American LeMans Series from Mid-Ohio SportsCar course.
Recently signing a yearlong contract with Yokohama Tires, Miracle Motorsports was pleased to bring home the podium finish. Early into the event, around lap 40, Ian James (Orlando, FL) was piloting through the carousel when he was hit by another competitor. Damages resulted in removing a part of the wing that was crucial to the downforce in the car. Unfortunately, laps times then increased by 12-15 seconds per lap.

James Gue of Cumming, GA then entered the #10 entry on lap 70. "James did a spectacular job, as did Ian, babying the car as necessary in order to maintain position, and not let the 4th place car catch up," stated John Macaluso, team owner and additional driver of the Nissan powered Lola. "Ending up with a 3rd place podium finish is very satisfying given the circumstances."

Lime Rock

Starting Lineup

Friday qualifying report ( motorsport.com )

Lakeville, CT - James Weaver relied on years of experience on the tricky Lime Rock Park circuit to win the pole Saturday for Monday's American Le Mans Series New England Grand Prix sports car race.
The English driver won the New Century Mortgage FastQual Award by turning a lap of 47.962 seconds (115.592 mph) on the 1.54-mile track, fastest of the 27 cars that will start the two-hour, 45-minute timed event. Weaver and Butch Leitzinger of State College, Penn., will co-drive a Lola EX257-AER/MG Prototype fielded by Dyson Racing, a team located less than an hour from Lime Rock in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

JJ Lehto qualified second in the ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 at 48.134. Lehto and co-driver Marco Werner won last weekend's ALMS race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace qualified third in another Dyson Lola.
"The car has been good all weekend," said Weaver, who also won the pole for the Mid-Ohio event but was eliminated by a mechanical problem on the first lap of the race. "We've tested a lot in the last few months and the car was competitive straight out of the truck. We were watching JJ (Lehto) qualify and he was absolutely wringing that car's neck, so we didn't know if he had anything left. We were still quick even at the end of qualifying. The Audis are tough to beat because they have all the bases covered but we think we have a few things left in our back pocket for the race."

"We had a little bit of a hectic morning because we had a leak on the radiator and spent some time fixing that," said Lehto. "We changed the car a lot after the first practice yesterday and we kind of liked it in a way but then there were some other things we didn't like so we went back to set-ups. Qualifying was the maximum effort for us. I was able to do a couple of similar lap times but I couldn't gain or improve so I thought I would come in and save the tires."

BUCKNUM ON LMP2 POLE AGAIN

Jeff Bucknum won his second consecutive LMP2 class pole in the Team Bucknum Racing Pilbeam MP91, posting a lap time of 51.701 in the car he will share with Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman. Last week at Mid-Ohio, he also won the pole but his car's ignition system failed on the first lap of the race. "It was very frustrating at the moment, I didn't know what to tell the crew," he said about the failure at Mid-Ohio. "It turned out to be a failure in the ignition switch on the dash. I could turn the starter motor, but it was as if I'd turned the switch off.

"For the season, the (LMP2) class has come to us," he said. "We were chasing the MG Lolas for the past two years but now they were moved up a class and we've done a lot of work to make the cars faster. We hope that our good luck is ahead of us and we'll have a lot of good finishes."
The Race Car Company's Lola B2K/40-Millington of Andy Lally and Ryan Eversley qualified second in the class for smaller, less-powerful Prototypes, while third in class was the Intersport Lola-Judd of Clint Field and Mike Durand.

"Because we have to start the race on the same tires we qualified on, I didn't want to be flailing around out there," said Weaver, who set his quick time early in the qualifying session. "I waited to see if the Audi could match the time, but he couldn't. If JJ had raised the bar, I think we could have responded."

It marked the seventh time in as many sportscar prototype races at Lime Rock that Weaver has captured the pole. He and teammate Butch Leitzinger have won the past three Lime Rock sportscar prototype races here aboard Dyson cars. Chris Dyson posted a strong last minute effort to take third on the grid. "This was the first time I'd driven the car here on new tires and light fuel loads. I came in and the crew bled some air from the tires. That gave us better grip and particularly better traction coming out of the chicane.
"We've been focusing on race setup all weekend," Dyson continued. "I think we'll have a good racecar, but this is going to be the toughest race we'll have all season, mentally if not physically. Lime Rock is a very 'busy' track to begin with, let alone adding in the factor of having mixed classes with widely varying speeds."

Not that he intends to concede the lead to anyone else, but Weaver notes that dealing with lapped cars is generally easier if you're in second place and shadowing the race leader. "You can size up the situation as the leader comes up on traffic, and react accordingly. Of course sometimes he'll let the leader through and then shut the door on you, but that's a minor problem."

Team owner Rob Dyson identifies a third important factor beyond pure speed and the vagaries of traffic that will play a role in the outcome of Monday's race. "Pit stops could decide the outcome of the race on Monday. Lap times at Lime Rock are so short (50 second laps are the expected race pace) and the rules make refueling so slow, that if you stop during green flag conditions and the other guy gets a yellow, you'll lose a lap."

During the race a car that pits first under green flag conditions risks losing a lap until its competitor also pits on the green. If the yellow flag comes out before that, the first car has a big problem. But that factor may actually play to the Dyson team's advantage, as the Lola gets better fuel mileage than the Audi. "We do get a bit better fuel mileage than the Audi," Weaver noted. "So we should be pitting after they do."

Intersport qualifying report

Field's best lap around the 1.54-mile road course, good for both fourth overall and in the P1 class, was run at 49.413 seconds for an average speed of 112.197 mph. James Weaver won the pole with a 47.962-second lap, or 115.592 mph.
"We're right where we thought we'd be," said Dayton. "The car is pretty good; hopefully we'll be able to have a good run on Monday."
Clint Field qualified third in the P2 class and tenth overall in the 27-car field with a 53.267-second lap, or 104.079 mph. He and Mike Durand are representing the Intersport team in that division here with the team's Lola B2K/40 Judd #30.

Results

Race report ( motorsport.com )

Marco Werner sprinted in the final five minutes of green-flag racing at Lime Rock Park to score the victory for Champion Racing's Audi R8 over the #16 Lola-AER of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger. The inaugural race for the American Le Mans Series at the scenic 1.54-mile, eight-turn circuit proved to have one of the best finishes so far this year.

"I think everything went fine," commented race winner Werner. "It was an excellent race. JJ did a great job in the beginning. It was key that he stayed out on the slick tires during the rain. Also, the strategy for the pit stops was excellent. That's why we won the race."

Werner and Lehto held a 15-second lead in the Audi R8 before a final full-course caution was called, after Gunnar Van der Steur dove under the tire barrier in his #19 Lola-Nissan with only 17 minutes left in the race.

"We were concerned that Dyson was really quick," said Lehto. "It's their home track and they know how to race here. At the end it was a really good race. This was our first time here. It was nice to take it. I was so nervous at the end -- I didn't know who was going to win."
The pace car allowed Leitzinger to catch up to the Audi, but with several GT class competitors separating the two when the green flag waved, and only five minutes left, there was little the Dyson Racing entry could do.

Leitzinger gave it all he had in the final sprint, but lost to Werner by a mere 1.4 seconds, having to settle for second in the end. The #20 Dyson team car, with Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson, finished third.
"We got out of sequence which was in our favor for a while," Leitzinger commented. "We made little dents, but it wasn't quick enough. The #38 got caught in horrible traffic and from then I could judge his progress. But with that last yellow lasting a long time, we just didn't have enough time to get it done."

Polesitter Weaver had taken the lead at the start; however, when rain began to fall, after just five minutes of racing, the team pitted for rain tires and lost the lead.

On the other hand, Lehto chose to remain on slicks, as did Dyson in the #20 Lola. When the skies quickly cleared up, the rain tires proved to be fruitless and Weaver had to pit again to change back to slicks. The #16 then went on a charge to regain positions. When Lehto finally pitted at the 50-minute mark under green after a full-course yellow, Weaver regained the lead.

Weaver was able to stay out longer due to the earlier two pit stops; Werner and Wallace were second and third at the midway point. Weaver then pitted turning the reins of the Lola over to Leitzinger.

At the same time Werner received a stop-and-go penalty, closing the gap between the Audi and the #20 Dyson. But then fate struck at Dyson Racing: they had to make a change on the #20 transmission, losing two laps.

Dyson explained, "Unfortunately the problem seemed to be in the pits which probably cost both the cars a one-two finish. We lost the paddle (shifter) mid way through the race, so we had to switch back to the sequential manual shifter. We lost two laps having to do that, which cost us in the end."

On the other hand, the P2 class was decimated in the course of the race, with three of the five starters attempting to excavate the tire barriers. It wasn't quite a case of "last man standing," but in the end it was enough for Ian James to stay on the track and cross the finish line to take the victory in the P2 class.

"The key is being consistent and never deviating from that," James reflected after the podium. "Of course it was tough, and the car was not hugely quick in the straights, so all the overtaking of the GT cars was under braking in the corners." James Gue and James both earned their first career wins in their #10 Miracle Motorsports Lola Nissan, an easy-looking eight laps clear of Andy Lally's and Ryan Eversley's #13 Lola-Millington. Eversley, too, went off course

Dyson Racing race report

"Because we have to start the race on the same tires we qualified on, I didn't want to be flailing around out there," said Weaver, who set his quick time early in the qualifying session. "I waited to see if the Audi could match the time, but he couldn't. If JJ had raised the bar, I think we could have responded."

It marked the seventh time in as many sportscar prototype races at Lime Rock that Weaver has captured the pole. He and teammate Butch Leitzinger have won the past three Lime Rock sportscar prototype races here aboard Dyson cars.

Chris Dyson posted a strong last minute effort to take third on the grid. "This was the first time I'd driven the car here on new tires and light fuel loads. I came in and the crew bled some air from the tires. That gave us better grip and particularly better traction coming out of the chicane.

"We've been focusing on race setup all weekend," Dyson continued. "I think we'll have a good racecar, but this is going to be the toughest race we'll have all season, mentally if not physically. Lime Rock is a very 'busy' track to begin with, let alone adding in the factor of having mixed classes with widely varying speeds."

Not that he intends to concede the lead to anyone else, but Weaver notes that dealing with lapped cars is generally easier if you're in second place and shadowing the race leader. "You can size up the situation as the leader comes up on traffic, and react accordingly. Of course sometimes he'll let the leader through and then shut the door on you, but that's a minor problem."

Team owner Rob Dyson identifies a third important factor beyond pure speed and the vagaries of traffic that will play a role in the outcome of Monday's race. "Pit stops could decide the outcome of the race on Monday. Lap times at Lime Rock are so short (50 second laps are the expected race pace) and the rules make refueling so slow, that if you stop during green flag conditions and the other guy gets a yellow, you'll lose a lap."

During the race a car that pits first under green flag conditions risks losing a lap until its competitor also pits on the green. If the yellow flag comes out before that, the first car has a big problem. But that factor may actually play to the Dyson team's advantage, as the Lola gets better fuel mileage than the Audi. "We do get a bit better fuel mileage than the Audi," Weaver noted. "So we should be pitting after they do."

Intersport race report

On lap one Dayton immediately passed the car that eventually finished third for that position, but raindrops started to fall as the green flag dropped.

Those drops turned into a heavier rain, and Dayton spun on his Goodyear slicks between West Bend and the downhill portion of the 1.54-mile road course on lap two. Luckily he didn't hit anything, but he had to wait until the rest of the 27-car field filed by before he could rejoin it at the rear.

He came in for rain tires on lap six and then the weather improved. He was already back up to tenth overall when the Intersport crew brought Dayton in again for slicks on lap 15. That put him back to 17th, but he steadily marched through the field yet again and he ran most of the rest of his stint in seventh place overall, three laps down.

Around lap 50 he noticed some issues with the car's gearbox. First he lost the paddle shifter, and then he lost various gears even manually. He did his best to hang on with only third gear before the crew called him in to make repairs on the leader's lap 75.

After further examination they decided to race again another day. Field never got to drive during the race, and the entry finished fourth in class and 24th overall with 72 laps complete.

Clint Field and Mike Durand also had problems. The younger Field started the race in the team's LMP2 entry, the Intersport Lola B2K/40 Judd #30 sponsored by Marquis Financial Services and Pirelli. He was leading the class by lap eight. Durand got in the car on lap 44, but his race came to a violent halt when a suspension piece broke and sent him into various walls on lap 61. Luckily he escaped unhurt. That entry ended up fifth in LMP2 and 25th overall with 55 laps complete.

Dayton: "All I knew was that all I had was third gear. The guys brought me in to look at it and discovered that the shifter cable had melted.
"We've gone through the whole gearbox so many times, and to have one little piece fail is so aggravating.

Miracle race report

After qualifying 4th in the LMP2 class, the Lola powered Nissan fought a hard battle to take over first place. Starting the race in the #10 was Ian James (Orlando, FL), Ian handed over control of the car after approximately the one hour and ten minute mark, to James Gue of Cumming, GA.

John Macaluso (Winter Haven, FL) did several laps in practice, but chose to let the boys finish out the race. "They were doing so well and were in such a groove, I opted out of a driver change so that the pace that they were running wouldn't be interrupted by an additional pit stop," stated John. "We are very pleased with the way the car was handling, and luckily the weather decided to cooperate after the initial sprinkle of rain at the beginning of the race. The #10 Miracle Motorsports/Yokohama/ADVAN entry wishes to thank Benihana Restaurants for signing on as a cosponsor for this event as well."

"I am once again thrilled to have Ian and James on board. They are a tremendous team that works so well together. We look forward to the week off, and then heading out to Sonoma for Round 4 of the ALMS series," Macaluso said.

Sears Point

Starting Lineup

Friday qualifying report ( motorsport.com )

Werner, driving the ADT Champion Racing Audi R8, was one of three class pole winners to break existing records on the 2.53-mile road racing circuit, which has been repaved since last year's ALMS event. The German driver turned a lap of 1:22.320, bettering the old record of 1:22.615 set in 2002 by Tom Kristensen.

Werner will co-drive in the two-hour, 45-minute sports car race with JJ Lehto of Finland as the two seek their third consecutive ALMS win this season. Werner's lap was only .079 second faster than the Dyson Racing Lola EX257-AER/MG of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger, winner of last year's event after passing Werner in the last five minutes.

"It is very close but we are in front," said Werner, who won his first pole of the season. "That makes me very happy. The new track surface is good for us and it's not so bumpy like some other tracks. We have better grip and its all working for us."

The other Dyson Racing entry of Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace qualified third overall and in the LMP1 class with a time of 1:25.712.

CLINT FIELD WINS FIRST ALMS POLE

Young Clint Field continued his outstanding season in the LMP2 class for smaller, less-powerful Prototypes by qualifying on the class pole in the Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40-Judd.

Field, who won the P2 class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the ALMS event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, turned a lap of 1:28.952 in the car he will share with his father, Jon, and Robin Liddell of Scotland.

Jon Field was added to the driver lineup after his LMP1 car was withdrawn from the race due to a cracked tub. The elder Field had two off-track excursions during practice while getting used to the car but the car suffered no damage.

"As you know, the #37 had a problem with the tub, so my dad switched over to our car which is a lot more 'rolly-polly' and not as rigid which takes some getting used to," said Field. "That's all he was doing; getting used to the car. It's definitely a good feeling to win the pole. In the last couple of races we weren't too far behind the #56 Bucknum Racing car, but to get ahead of them this weekend is a great thing."

The Bucknum Pilbeam MP91-Nissan of Jeff Bucknum, Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman qualified second, with the Miracle Motorsports Lola-Nissan of Ian James and James Gue third

"I just didn't get quite the lap I needed," Leitzinger admitted. "I think it was in the car, but I didn't quite get it. I just missed it by a tiny bit in couple of places, but that adds up."

ALMS officials experimented this weekend with a variation on single-car qualifying, limiting each car to a pair of warm-up laps, followed by two timed laps. The Dyson team found that its tires required two and a half laps to come to full operating temperature, which meant that effectively only the second qualifying lap would count. Coming through the Infineon track's high-speed kink on the second lap, the tail on Leitzinger's car slid out slightly ("I had a little wiggle," he reported later), and the lost time cost him the pole.

Despite missing the pole by an iota, Leitzinger is optimistic about the team's chances in tomorrow's race. ALMS rules require that a car start the race on the same tires it used for qualifying. "These Goodyears will be very good race tires," he said. "I think we'll have an exciting race, just like Lime Rock."

Two weeks ago at Lime Rock, Conn., Leitzinger roared back from a lap down to close to within 1.4 seconds of the race-winning Audi of Werner and JJ Lehto.

Sunday's pre-race warm-up session may be the key to the race performance of the #20 Dyson of Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson, according to Team Manager Randall Kelsey. "We've had handling issues with that car all weekend, plus a problem with the ECU this morning so we never did get a full practice session. And I think not being able to do a qualifying simulation during the last practice session hurt our qualifying effort with that car."

Results

Race report ( motorsport.com )

Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace finished second in the Dyson Racing Lola EX257-AER/MG, just over a minute behind the winners in the two-hour, 45-minute timed event on the 2.53-mile road racing circuit.

Butch Leitzinger, driving a team Lola to the Dyson/Wallace car, raced Werner hard for the lead in the first 30 minutes of the race but was eliminated from contention when his crew had to repair damage from a small fire that occurred on Leitzinger's first pit stop. The car lost four laps but Leitzinger and co-driver James Weaver rallied to finish third.

"It was a very difficult race," said Werner. "Butch made it hard for me and pushed me very much. I was able to get a break in traffic and build a bit of a lead and then they had their problem."

"We had an electrical misfire that dropped us back," said Leitzinger. "We were waiting for a yellow and we got one. We changed all the electrical (boxes) on the car and lost four laps. The car caught fire at the same time. Not a day to write home about."

Lehto drove the last half of the race in the Audi and was able to maintain a comfortable lead on the Dyson/Wallace car to the finish. "It's always good to win three in a row," said Lehto. "Can it be any better? It's good for the championship. We got the maximum points again and you know we had a really good race. We didn't have any mechanical problems like number 16 (Dyson) had unfortunately they were pushing really hard in the beginning and we thought we were going to have a hard time with them. They had the problem and we were just controlling the race after that."

FIELD, LIDDELL WIN AGAIN IN LMP2 Robin Liddell joined the father-son duo of Jon and Clint Field to win the LMP2 class in the Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40-Judd. It was the second win this season in the ALMS for Liddell and Clint Field, who also won earlier in the year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Jon Field joined the team as a third driver after his LMP1 car was withdrawn from the race on Saturday due to a cracked tub.

"Hopefully we can keep him (Liddell) for awhile," said Clint Field. "Robin came in at Mid-Ohio and did a great job. We're glad to have him back and that he can keep it up at Portland. We had one of the better cars today. The Pirellis were great and helped us as the track got more and more slippery as the day went on."

Ian James and James Gue finished second in the Miracle Motorsports Lola B2K/40-Nissan, followed by the Team Bucknum Racing Pilbeam MP91-Nissan of Jeff Bucknum, Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman.

Dyson Racing race report

"We just weren't quick enough for them today," said Wallace, as he climbed from his car following the event. All four of the Dyson drivers noted that they experienced significant understeer during the course of the race.

Early in the race Leitzinger's Lola was able to match the pace of Werner's pole-winning Audi, trailing him by just a few seconds for the first 30 minutes of the two-hour, forty-five-minute race. "Butch put quite a lot of pressure on me," Werner said. "He was very good under braking."

The #16's bid for victory ended when the engine developed an intermittent misfire. The problem was solved by replacing the engine control unit and the set of four ignition coils. But by then Leitzinger had dropped four laps off the pace and returned to the track in 19th place. With Dyson and Wallace's #20 troubled by understeer and unable to mount a serious challenge to the Audi, most of the excitement remaining in the race came from Leitzinger and Weaver's charge through the field, making up one of the lost laps and finally finishing third overall.

"In practice and qualifying our cars were very competitive, and we were pretty optimistic about our chances," said Chris Dyson. "But during the race the track was actually quite slippery for us. Of course everyone was running on the same pavement. We just didn't seem to get the most out of our cars this today."

Miracle race report

After qualifying 3rd in the LMP2 class, the Lola powered Nissan maintained consistent lap times good enough to bring the entry to a well-deserved 2nd place class victory. Starting the race in the #10 was Ian James (Orlando, FL), Ian handed over control of the car after approximately the one and a half-hour mark, to James Gue of Cumming, GA, who finished out the remainder of the 2:45 event.

John Macaluso, team owner/driver, did the practice session on Saturday and was slated to do the 8 am warm up session Sunday morning, but due to the massive wreck and fire of Dale Earnhardt, Jr's #8 Corvette, that morning session was cut down to 10 minutes. (see www.americanlemans.com for details on that incident.)

"We really have a good car, great crew and driving force. Yokohama/ADVAN signed on as sponsors shortly after the Sebring 12-Hour event, and we are pleased to have a hand in delivering good things to them.  They have been very supportive of our effort, and deserve this as much as we do," stated Macaluso (Winter Haven, FL).  "We are currently in the points lead for the Championship, and hope to maintain that lead throughout the remainder of the season,"

Portland

Starting Lineup

"I'm thrilled to bits," said Wallace of his second career pole position in the American Le Mans Series. "When you just miss in qualifying it doesn't count. When you're quick in practice it doesn't count. But this counts. I'm thrilled for the crew of the #20 car; they've worked so hard and until now we just hadn't quite gotten it done in qualifying."

Fans watching on television could see Wallace hanging the tail of his oversteering car out during his quick laps. "That's the only way to go really fast," Wallace noted. He explained that with an understeering car, one with the front tires sliding as the car negotiates a corner, all a driver can do is wait it out before mashing the throttle. "With the rear end sliding a little, you can get on the throttle right away, and that's how you go fast."

This is the Dyson team's third pole position in four races, but the first for the #20 car that Wallace shares with Chris Dyson. The #16 car took the pole at Mid-Ohio last month and over the July 4th weekend at Lime Rock, CT with James Weaver at the wheel.

Wallace and teammate Butch Leitzinger traded fast times during the session before Wallace finally set the fast time, a bare 7/100ths of a second quicker than Leitzinger's #16 Lola. "We both lowered (our times) again," Leitzinger said. "I'm really happy. I thought that we'd have a better race car than qualifying car here at Portland, and I do think we'll have a very good, consistent race car. It should be an excellent race Sunday. Champion (the Audi team) always has an excellent car on race day."

Wallace thanked the crew of the #16 car for helping him post his fast time in the #20 car. "Just before qualifying started, they gave us a bit of information that definitely helped us. Both teams share all of our information with one another. That's one of the things that makes the Dyson team different from a lot of others.

Wallace also gave credit to Goodyear for tires that stood up to the heat and kept on giving. "The Goodyear engineers worked so hard to get the tires to work better in extreme heat, and I think it's showing today."

Ambient temperatures 15 degrees cooler are forecast for Sunday, and Wallace, noting that "the life of a left-front tire around this track isn't a happy one," suggested that in accordance with ALMS rules that permit the substitution of one tire between qualifying and the start of the race, he may substitute a faster but less durable tire on his car's left-front corner if the temperature drops sufficiently. Leitzinger, on the other hand, doesn't think that even a substantial drop in air temperature will mean much of a change for race conditions. "The track temperature won't change that much, so the tires won't know it's that much different."

"I'm looking forward to the start of the race," said Chris Dyson, who is scheduled to do the first shift in the #20 car on Sunday. "Our friends at Thetford/Norcold are bringing a number of their key customers in the Northwest to the race, and we want to put on a good show for them."

Results

Race report ( motorsport.com )

Their ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 spun twice after contact with other cars and was penalized once for contact during the two-hour, 45-minute sports car race event on the 1.944-mile track, all during Lehto's stint behind the wheel. However, the two Lola cars from Dyson Racing that had battled the Audi through the entire race each experienced problems in the last hour of the event and fell from contention. There were eight lead changes among the three cars and the Champion team earned Michelin Tires its 50th overall race win in ALMS history.

"I am never going to forget this race," said Lehto. "It was just one of those races. Lots of hits and spins, this is like nothing I've ever experienced before. It was a lot of hard work. I think it's the first time in my whole racing experience that so much has happened in one race."

"(Watching) was very difficult," said Werner, who drove the last 50 minutes. "I nearly had a heart attack. My heart rate was probably higher than (Lehto's). It was very fun watching, it was the best race I've ever seen."

James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger finished second, 1:08.446 behind, in one of the Dyson Lola EX257-AER/MG machines. For much of the first hour of the race, Lehto battled back-and-forth with Chris Dyson, driving the Lola that co-driver Andy Wallace had qualified on the pole. Dyson led 54 laps, many of them with Lehto behind him trying to pass. The car ultimately finished 12 laps down after losing time in the pits with a mechanical problem.

"It was such great fun," said Dyson. "It was a good clean fight. JJ had the edge. But remember, catching up and getting passed are two different things. I hope everyone enjoyed watching."

"It was pretty hairy, and some serious competition," said Leitzinger. "I had at least three contacts with other cars. I think it was just everyone racing hard. There were no cheap shots. I just talked to JJ and we were laughing about it. I think we realized it was just racing."

Lehto and Werner became the first drivers in ALMS history to score four consecutive overall wins. The race marked the return of professional sports car racing to PIR for the first time since 2001.

INTERSPORT WINS LMP2 CLASS FOR THIRD TIME
Clint Field, Jon Field and Robin Liddell won the LMP2 class in the Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40-Judd, the third win of the season for the team in five ALMS races, and the second consecutive. It was also the third time that the team has won with Liddell joining Clint Field.
Mechanical problems slowed the Miracle Motorsports Lola-Nissan of John Macaluso, James Gue and Ian James and the car finished second in class, 17 laps behind. The Team Bucknum Racing Pilbeam MP91-Nissan of Jeff Bucknum, Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman was third in class.

"The level this Intersport team is running is quite high," said Liddell. "We had an issue with the battery which seems to be the only thing we have to work out. Reliability on the whole, is incredible. And that's a credit to the team and to Jon (Field, team owner). We have a great package here. We're always fast. If we keep it on the track, and away from others, we can win."The track is very narrow in places," he said. "That causes problems with people getting impatient. We were having a great battle at the time our battery had problems. We lost three or four laps, but as it happened, the Miracle car had problems too, and it turned out lucky to us. And that's what everyone wants to see, great battles with great cars."

Dyson Racing race report

PORTLAND, OR, July 25, 2004 -- A sharp drop in ambient temperatures erased the tire-performance advantage that Dyson Racing's pair of Thetford / Norcold Lolas enjoyed during qualifying for the Portland Grand Prix, but Chris Dyson's blazing-hot performance during the first half of the two-hour, 45-minute race was the highlight of the American Le Mans Series season so far. In the end, the Dyson entries finished second (Butch Leitzinger and James Weaver) and third (Dyson and Andy Wallace) behind the Champion Audi R8 of JJ Lehto and Marco Werner.

But the high point of the race was a thrilling first-half duel between Dyson in the #20 car and Lehto, who started the Audi. "I'm going to remember this race for a long, long time," Lehto said after the event's conclusion. For the spectators he said "this is the best race they' ve seen for a long time."

And it probably was. Dyson took the lead following the first round of pit stops, thanks to the decision to fuel the car but not put on a new set of Goodyear tires. Dyson and Lehto then went at it hammer and tongs for more than half of the race. Lehto was quick enough to close the gap on the pole-winning Thetford / Norcold car, but not fast enough to pass. For nearly an hour, the veteran Lehto put incredible pressure on the 26-year-old junior member of the Dyson team, but Dyson refused to make a mistake. At least twice Lehto got the white Audi alongside the Lola, but he couldn't get past. Finally, it was Lehto, tapped by a Corvette the two leaders had just passed, who spun.

Still, Lehto fought back to the rear deck of Dyson's car. A couple of laps before the second round of pit stops, Dyson finally was balked in traffic and Lehto made a pass stick.

After he'd turned the car over to Wallace, Dyson admitted that in the cooler temperatures on race day (down 15 degrees from Friday and Saturday's 100-degree heat), "we were probably a little conservative on our tire choice, and maybe that was what gave them a slightly faster car. It was such great fun. This was a good clean fight. JJ had the edge, but catching up and passing are two different things. We came here today to win, and we weren't going down without a fight."

Unfortunately, during the next pit stop to refuel, change tires and put Wallace in for the last stint, the engine refused to re-fire, costing the team ten seconds. And then the car was further slowed by an electrical problem.

Leitzinger and Weaver had a less dramatic run, but were not without their problems. In the opening laps, Leitzinger had his own hard battle with Lehto, which finally ended when Lehto, according to ALMS officials, forced Leitzinger off the road. The time necessary to restart cost the #16 its chance at victory.

Miracle race report

After not posting a qualifying time due to motor problems in Saturday's practice session, the Lola powered Nissan maintained consistent lap times until the shifter lever broke while James Gue (Athens, GA) was closing in on what looked like another class victory for the #10 entry. Ian James (Orlando, FL) had magnificently worked the car through the field from the last position on the starting grid, turning over the controls to Gue after about an hour and 20 minutes. Forty-two minutes into Gue's stint is when the shift lever failed. Not able to completely repair the shifter, John Macaluso (Winter Haven, FL), team owner and driver, got into the car with ONLY 4th gear, babying the Nissan to the finish line. Macaluso, celebrating his birthday, was thrilled to have the second place victory.

"We are more than happy to bring home this well-earned trophy this weekend. The crew and drivers have worked so hard, and our sponsors have been very supportive," states Macaluso. "We really want to thank Yokohama/ADVAN, Red Line Oil, and Benihana for the help this season. We hope that we have put on a good show for them all."

Mosport

Starting Lineup

BOWMANVILLE, ONT, August 7, 2004 0x2022 James Weaver said he was playing it cool in qualifying today for Sunday's American Le Mans Series Toronto Grand Prix of Mosport. He still won the pole with his Dyson Racing Thetford / Nocold Lola by almost half a second over the Audi R8 driver Marco Werner. This marked Weaver's tenth pole-winning effort for Dyson Racing in ALMS competition, the fourth pole for the Dyson team in the past five races and Weaver's third.

"Yes, it's good to be on the pole, and yes, I'm optimistic about our chances tomorrow," Weaver said following his run. "But we've been 'optimistic' for several races now. In addition to having good speed, we'll have to have good fuel economy and good reliability too."

Chris Dyson qualified the other Thetford / Norcold Lola in third place, and will line up for tomorrow's race directly behind Weaver. Team owner Rob Dyson credited the successful qualifying effort to the team's long and successful experience at the legendary Canadian track. "We know the track pretty well," he said. "We've tested here and won here."

Weaver actually wasn't happy with the decision of ALMS officials to implement an experimental qualifying system this weekend, which saw cars spaced on the track four at a time for two-lap efforts. In Weaver's opinion the procedure, which forces drivers to make an all-out effort on tires that aren't fully up to operating temperatures, added risk without providing a better show for the fans.

"I wasn't going to drive the car any harder than it wanted to go," Weaver said. "There was more in the car. If we'd have had a third lap, it would have gone another 3/10ths faster."

Results

Race report ( motorsport.com )

The two co-drove the Dyson Racing MG Lola EX257-AER to a 16.319-second win over the Champion Racing Audi R8 of JJ Lehto and Marco Werner. Lehto and Werner were trying to win for the fifth consecutive time in ALMS competition this season, while Weaver and Leitzinger won for the first time since July of 2003 at Sonoma, Calif.

The Audi team gambled by not changing tires on its final pit stop, putting Lehto ahead of Leitzinger by nearly 30 seconds with 45 minutes remaining in the timed event of two hours and 45 minutes. But 10 minutes later, with Leitzinger slicing seconds off the lead every lap, Lehto slid off the track in the fifth turn of the 10-turn, 2.459-mile road course due to a flat tire, handing the lead back to Leitzinger for the final time.

"I was very concerned when they did the fuel-only stop," said Leitzinger. "I was hearing the split times and I was catching up with JJ, but it was far from sure. Then I saw him in the barrier and breathed a sigh of relief. This win was awfully satisfying."

"It was absolutely perfect," said Weaver. "I couldn't make a racing car do better than that. We have a lot of miles at Mosport and it paid off handsomely."

"The tire just blew up," said Lehto. "Fortunately it was in a place where I could get back to the pits. We had a good race going and it was a lot of fun today, but I wish we hadn't lost that tire at the end."

The other Dyson Racing Lola finished third overall and in the LMP1 class, driven by Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace. LIDDELL PERFECT IN LMP2 CLASS
Robin Liddell has teamed with Clint Field four times this season in the Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40-Judd, and each time the team has won the LMP2 class. The Mosport victory was the third straight for the duo.

Ian James, John Macaluso and James Gue finished second in the Miracle Motorsports Lola-Nissan.

"It's great, we have the best package at the moment," said Liddell. "It would be nice to have more cars, management seems to be doing the right thing by allowing for that. There are cars out there which should improve the feeling of the competition. Hopefully later on, the fans will be able to enjoy some more competition with more cars in class. We as a team need to be ready though to step up to the challenge. We're lucky, we've been fortunate, but the team has given us a chance to run flawless. We just need to stay out there and gain points to build for the championship. Ian James is out there gaining points so we have to just keep working out at." Dyson Racing race report.

Dyson race report

"We busted our asses to get here," said team owner Rob Dyson as the team celebrated in the winners' circle. "James and Butch did just what they needed to do. The crew did a great job, and Goodyear and (engine supplier) AER did a great job. With the exception of Sebring (the season-opening event) we've been running up front at every race. "The guys at Champion are very tough. They do a great job, day in and day out. Winning means the most when you beat a worthy opponent." The second Dyson Racing entry, the #20 Thetford / Norcold Lola driven by Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace, finished third. "We lost some time in the first stint, mainly because of some understeer. In retrospect, we may have been bit conservative with the ride height on our car."

Fastest all weekend, the #16 Dyson car led handily from the drop of the green flag, with Weaver extending his lead seemingly at will. Weaver's torrid pace -- he also set the race's fastest lap -- apparently forced the Audi team to gamble on not changing to fresh tires on their second pit stop. ALMS rules forbid the pit crew from working on the car while it is being refueled. By foregoing a tire change Lehto, who had been several seconds behind the leading Dyson car, was able to emerge from the pits 18 seconds ahead of Leitzinger, now at the wheel of the #16 Dyson entry.

"That was a gutsy call," Leitzinger said later. "At first I was a little bit concerned when they told me the Audi had left the pit, and I was only about half way around the track." Leitzinger radioed back to the pit, just to make sure that the Audi had not changed tires.

"I think they might come to regret that decision," Chris Dyson said at the time, noting that Leitzinger, on fresh Goodyear tires, was taking big chunks out of the Audi's lead.

Soon enough Lehto skidded off the course and into a tire barrier. Lehto was able to extricate the car, and limped back around the course for fresh tires. But by then the issue was decided and Leitzinger was able to ease his pace by about a second a lap, keeping the second-place Audi a safe distance behind as he continued his high-speed cruise to the checkered flag.

Back On Track The Dyson team's victory marked the first time in over a year that the Audi R8 has been defeated in ALMS competition. And that last loss was at the hands of the Dyson team as well, when Leitzinger and Weaver took the checkered flag at Sonoma, California, in July, 2003. Since then there have been several times the Dyson team seemed poised for victory -- it's drivers have won the pole four times this season, including Mosport -- but until today fortune did not favor the team on race day. Twice minor mechanical problems cost the team victory, and other opportunities were lost to the vagaries of the weather.

"You can never get enough of this," Rob Dyson said, as he shook hands around the winner's circle. "I hope that this will be the first of more wins this season."

Road America

Starting Lineup

ELKHART LAKE, WI, August 21, 2004 -- If Butch Leitzinger was thinking about crashing after leading last year's American Le Mans Series race at Road America, he didn't let it slow him one iota in qualifying for this year's race. Driving the same Dyson Racing Thetford / Norcold Lola that he and James Weaver used two weeks ago to win the ALMS race at Canada's Mosport track, the 35-year-old Pennsylvanian instead set a new track record in time trials for tomorrow's Elkhart Lake 500.

"The car's been fantastic," Leitzinger said after climbing from the car. He then expressed his enthusiasm for the classic four-mile road circuit. "It's really a great track."

This marked the fifth time in seven races this year that a Dyson car has won the pole, and the second time that the blue-and-white Thetford / Norcold Lolas have swept the front row.

Letizinger's time, 1:51.893 (130.25 mph), beat that of his Dyson Racing teammate, Andy Wallace, by more than six-tenths of a second, and the team's toughest competitor, the Champion Audi R8 of JJ Lehto and Marco Werner, by another seven-tenths. The time was set midway through the 20 minute qualifying session, just before the field was brought into the pits while track workers cleared debris from the back straightaway's high-speed kink.

Did Leitzinger know he was on a particularly quick lap when he set the pole-winning time? "No, I didn't," he said, noting that most drivers within a tenth or so of what their time will be on a given lap even before they see it come up on the car's dash. "This is a strange place that way. It's so long, and so much a momentum track, that it's hard to get within a second (of the time) in your head."

Leitzinger also credited teammate Weaver with setting up the car in practice this morning.

"We had problems yesterday, and we hardly got any time at all," Leitzinger noted, referring to engine problems that reduced their on-track time to four laps. "James did a great job this morning on the set-up. He gave me a pole-winning car; I'd have been in trouble if I hadn't," he said with a grin.

Leitzinger predicted a very close race on Sunday. "We seem to go faster in qualifying, but the Audi just goes the same pace in the race that they qualify. I think it's going to be a very interesting race.

Miracle qualifying report

August 21, 2004 (Elkhart Lake, WI) With the newest addition to the Miracle Motorsports family, the #10 Courage entry edged out the #30 Intersport Lola by a three tenths of a second in today's qualifying for the Road America 500 from Elkhart Lake, WI.

After an incident in morning practice did not allow for any times to be posted, Ian James (Orlando, FL) piloted the #10 entry to an impressive 1.58:8, an average speed of 122.6 mph, around the 4.048 mile track. The #30 Lola of Clint Field was close behind with a 1.59:1.

Following a short distance behind, will be the team car to the #10, the #11 Miracle Motorsports entry. The Miracle Motorsports/Yokohama/ADVAN Lola/AER car will start from 3rd position, qualified by Mike Borkowski, at a 2.09:2. Team owner/driver, John Macaluso (Winter Haven, FL) will co-pilot the #11 entry this weekend.

"Now THAT was fun!" stated Ian James over the radio as he brought the #10 Courage down pit lane post-qualifying. James Gue (Athens, GA) will join Ian in the driver's seat in the Courage this weekend. "This car is great," stated team owner, Macaluso, earlier in the weekend. "The boys are going to love this car!".

Results

Race report ( motorsport.com )

Werner earned his second consecutive co-drivers' championship, the first driver to win two championships in the P1 class. Lehto received his first ALMS drivers' title and moved to the top of the career overall race wins in the record book with 15 victories. Werner was pumped as he took the checker flag. The German came over to run in the ALMS in 2003 as a rookie in the series when he won his first title. "This is really nice win the championship; especially to share it with Marco (Werner)," expressed Lehto. "I have been working hard with Champion Racing and after competing against Marco last year, it is good to have him driver with the team. It is a pleasure to work with Marco" "This is unbelievable," expressed Werner as he climbed out of the Audi R8. "It was a great day for us (Champion Racing) and to win with JJ (Lehto), it makes it nice." Audi still has to lock up the team title; however, Dyson Racing is breathing down their necks. Unfortunately for the Dyson team, both cars suffered engine problems and retired during the two-hour and forty-five minute endurance race.

The start of the race on a cloudy cool windy day at the Road America scenic 4.048-mile road circuit surrounded by trees with long straightaways and elevation changes was anything but easy for several teams, including the race winners. Butch Leitzinger took the early lead from his pole position in the #16 Dyson Lola/AER. Chris Dyson was second followed by the #38 Champion Racing Audi and the #37 Intersport Racing with Jon Field driving the first stint. Lehto drove the first portion of the event and immediately was off the track while challenging Chris Dyson when Lehto's Audi was bumped from behind as he and Dyson were cleanly racing side-to-side and nose-to-tail for the second position.

"It's always hectic the first couple of corner," explained Lehto. "I got hit in the back and knew it would take a little bit of work to get back on-track. I took it calm, I just waited to get going again."

Lehto was able to return but several positions down; by the end of the third lap, he was in fouth overall. "I was pushing," continued the Finn. "The car felt good so I just went for it."

Leitzinger had built up a lead on the rest of the field. Field dived under Dyson in Turn 5 to take second and Lehto snuck in behind him, dropping Dyson to fourth. Only minutes later, Lehto was hit by David Saleens (#50 Panoz Esperante). The GT-class Panoz lost a part of the wing. "I am sorry for the contact with JJ (Lehto)," said Saleens later. Life did not get easier for Lehto when Field spun at Turn 5 and Lehto had to avoid the spinning Lola.

By the end of his stint, Lehto handed the lead over to his co-driver; by then both Dyson Lola's had retired. Werner stepped into the cockpit of a newly rebuilt Audi. "We just rebuilt the car the night before - the guys did that is - not me. I'm just the driver," Lehto said.

Dyson Racing's first problem showed up just past the first hour when Chris Dyson pitted and the team fixed a broken exhaust mount. Late the team would retire the #20 Lola. Leitzinger lost the lead in the pits when the #16 would not restart. The team found a crack header and retired. At the same time, the #20 crew was repairing the electrical system after they found a broken waste gate had caused the Lola to overheat and had melted wires.

"The car was running fine," commented Leitzinger. "We're not sure what could have caused the cracked header. It's a shame." At the same time, the Dyson team had to retire the #20 as they found the same problem.
Werner had an easy stint except for the wind; mainly in the Carousel. "I just had to bring it home and save fuel," commented the German. "The drive for me was not busy at all."

Field and Duncan Dayton finished second in P1. "Jon (Field) had a great opening stint," said Dayton. "It was right up to JJ's behind and in fact had a little contact. The car was great. I did my job, kept it going, and kept it out of trouble."
The P2 class winner was the #10 Miracle Motorsports with their new Courage/AER. The team was very pleased with victory today. Help came from their main competitor, the Intersport Racing P2 team.

"At the start, I managed to stay ahead of the #30 car but always saw them in my mirrors," expressed Ian James. "And then, they disappeared."
Clint Field went off at Turn 5 with a broken throttle cable. Field limped the #30 Intersport Racing Lola up the hill where it stalled as he tried to go into the back door shortcut. The team was excluded from the event.

The #11 Miracle Motorsport Lola Nissan/AER finished second; a one-two finish for the team's first attempt at entering two cars. "We do not plan to race both cars again," explained team owner and co-driver of the #11. "Bucknum has been struggling so they will lease the Lola from us for the final two races."
John Macaluso continued, "For motor racing, this was a great day. We had a one-two finish. What a great day for Miracle."

The entire team is indeed talking miracles as they had just received the car this week, after the Le Mans Endurance Series race in England at Silverstone. To top it off, Hurricane Charley hit their shop. "The car was perfect," commented James. "I can't believe it just came from England and here we are."

Co-driver, James Gue added, "The was a huge opportunity for me, the car is awesome."

Dyson Racing race report

ELKHART LAKE, WI, August 22, 2004 -- Butch Leitzinger's pole-winning Thetford / Norcold Lola led handily for the first hour of the Road America 500. But then what looked to be shaping up as a classic American Le Mans Series battle between Dyson Racing and the Champion Audi of JJ Lehto and Marco Werner petered out early when both Dyson entries dropped out of the race with broken exhaust headers.

"We have to take the whole engine out of the car to replace the exhaust system," said team owner Rob Dyson. "The race would have been over before we could have gotten the cars back on the track."

The AER engines in the Dyson Lolas are turbocharged, so any break in the exhaust system in front of the turbo causes a severe loss of power.

The exact cause of the problem has yet to be determined, but according to Dyson the two leading candidates are mechanical interference between the suspension's lower control arm when the fuel tank is full and the car is running at low ride height, or pressure pulses from newly developed pit lane speed control software. "We'll have to go over the data that we've downloaded from the cars to make a final determination. This is really disappointing, because our cars were so strong here."

Indeed, the #16 Dyson car of Leitzinger and James Weaver, winner of the most recent ALMS race at Mosport, Canada, had dominated practice and qualifying, setting the fast time in each session. And the second Dyson entry, piloted by Chris Dyson and Andy Wallace, filled out the front row of the race. "Unfortunately, they give out the winner's trophy at the end of the race," Chris Dyson noted.

It was Dyson's car that was first felled by the exhaust malady, though Dyson was already fighting severe handling problems, caused when the #20 Thetford / Norcold car was hit by another car and suffered a broken rear anti-roll bar. "After that, it had so much understeer that it was just a pig."

Dyson soldiered on in the ill-handling car, but 25 minutes into the race the engine lost turbo boost and he pitted. Initial examination revealed a broken flange on the turbo pop-off valve, and the team quickly repaired that problem. Unfortunately, there was also a break further up the system, and that one was terminal.

At the front of the field, Leitzinger led the Audi by several seconds despite experiencing handling problems of his own. "The car was not handling all that well," Leitzinger said. "It was understeering going in (to the corner) and oversteering coming out. It was pretty uncomfortable."

The team was prepared to make adjustments in tire pressure, which Leitzinger was confident would have dealt with the problem. But after the refueling and tire change was complete, the car stalled twice as Leitzinger attempted to leave the pits. "I don't know what that was about," Leitznger called out on the radio. By the end of pit lane he did. The exhaust header on the #16 car was broken, too. The next lap it was retired.

Duncan Dayton race report

Sharing the Intersport Racing Lola B162 Judd No. 37, they finished one lap behind JJ Lehto and Marco Werner's ADT Champion Audi R8 in the 80-lap contest.

The No. 37 is sponsored by Marquis Financial Services, Goodyear, Highcroft Racing, Center Staging and Roulabtte.com.

Field, of Dublin, Ohio, started the two-hour-and-45-minute race and there were fireworks almost immediately, as he unintentionally bumped into the back of the eventual winner and caused him to spin during the always-hectic start.

Field moved into second by passing Chris Dyson 14 minutes into the race in turn five. Butch Leitzinger was leading in the other Dyson entry at the time. Field spun in turn five 5 minutes later but quickly regrouped to press on. Field turned the car over to Dayton, of North Salem, N.Y., 47 minutes into the contest when the team made its first pit stop for fuel. Lehto took over the lead from Leitzinger after that round of pit stops and was never again headed, and Dayton was still firmly in second place at the one-hour mark.

Both Dyson entries eventually dropped out with engine problems, so Dayton's job was to keep running as consistently as possible and have no incidents. He pitted for fresh Goodyears and fuel an hour and a half into the event and stayed in the car until he pitted again with 39 minutes left to let Field bring it home the rest of the way.

The Corvette of Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta finished third and won the GTS class, making Dayton and and Field the only Americans among the overall podium finishers in this international event. Lehto is from Finland and Werner is from Switzerland, while Gavin is from Great Britain and Beretta is from Monaco.

"Jon had a great opening stint, running as high as second," Dayton said while waiting for the victory lane celebration to begin. "He was consistently running with JJ and the Dyson cars. He had a little contact with JJ at the start, but the car was OK.

"When I got in the car I just tried to drive consistent laps. The car was easy to drive today, and basically we were just cruising along. We were a lap down to the Audi and we knew we couldn't catch it, so we just concentrated on finishing. "Gunnar [Jeannette] put me off once in the kink; I guess he just didn't see me. That was pretty scary. But that was the only incident I had. "The track was pretty greasy in five, and also on the last turn coming onto the frontstretch. The Saleen went off and dragged some stones onto the track, so it was slippery there. "The water temperature kept climbing up; we don't know why. We had to keep short-shifting to keep it cool. "We are happy with second."

Miracle race report

Ian James and James Gue won the LMP2 class in the Miracle Motorsports Courage C65-AER, helping clinch the LMP2 class team title and putting a stamp of approval on team owner John Macaluso's decision to buy the French-built car last weekend.

James, who has led the class point standings since winning the season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and second-place Gue put more distance on their championship challengers with the victory. Clint Field and Robin Liddell, who had won three consecutive races, were running second when the Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40-Judd had a mechanical problem. The car was excluded from the final results after the team worked on the car away from its pit stall.

Macaluso and Mike Borkowski finished second in class in the Miracle team's Lola-Nissan, while the Team Bucknum Racing Pilbeam MP91-Nissan of Chris McMurry, Bryan Willman and Jeff Bucknum was third in class.

"This is a dream day for me," said Macaluso. "A one-two finish here especially is great. I ran my first pro race at this track in a Can-am car so long ago I don't want to think about it. Today was just great. It just doesn't get any better than this. It was a heck of a debut for the new Courage. The team championship cements our invitation to Le Mans which was our goal for the whole year. Next year we will be in France."

PLM – Road Atlanta

Starting Lineup

Friday qualifying report ( motorsport.com )

James Weaver flew around the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta road course on his final lap to grab the Petit Le Mans pole from Nicolas Minassian by 0.285 seconds. The British gentleman's fast time in the #16 Dyson Racing was 1:12.136 for a speed of 126.762 miles per hour.

"I'm a big fan of our original qualifying format," expressed the soft-spoken Weaver. "I think the two-lap format is stupid." Weaver was referring to the 20-minute qualifying sessions that has been the norm for the American Le Mans Series.

This year, the series tested at a few venues a new format: One-lap out, one flying lap and then the cool-down lap. The idea was only a few cars would be on the track at any given time; the cars were released at a set interval time. They would be released slowest to fastest building excitement. The norm for qualifying as been splitting the field into two groups: GT/GTS classes and the P1/P2 classes. "It's pure qualifying," continued Weaver. "I remember being a schoolboy watching of Villeneuve and the like qualifying at Silverstone going back and forth changing positions lap after lap.

"That's the way I was raised with qualifying. Like today, I found a hole in traffic and got two clear laps in and at the end, had the pole." The Creation Autosportif team was pleased with Minassian's time, placing them second on the grid in their debut ALMS race. After competing in the Le Mans Endurance Series in Europe, the team ventured to the U.S. to run in the Petit Le Mans 10 hours or 1,000 miles endurance event.

"It was a pretty good lap," commented Minassian. "This track takes a lot out of the car but I think it would have been possible to go quicker. "I'm a little bit disappointed because pole position is always sweet, you know, but the front row is a great job. We are not far at all from the people who have been doing this forever and we are going to give them our best shot tomorrow."

Missing the front row by a mere 0.135 seconds was Pierre Kaffer in his Road Atlanta debut. The young racer will share the cockpit with veteran Johnny Herbert in the #2 Champion Racing Audi.

"I enjoyed qualifying and although it is a little frustrating to have been pushed back to the second row right at the end we are in good shape," said Kaffer "We've got a good setup on the Champion Audi which allows us to make consistent times. I love the circuit - it's like a little Nordschleife, the original Nurburgring circuit in my native Germany."

Kaffer was only 0.423 seconds faster than the team's usual #38 Audi. Newly crowned co-champions in the LMP1 class, JJ Lehto and Marco Werner, will start fourth. The competition between the P1s will be close in Saturday's race.

When asked about the competition, Weaver simply said: "No question as far as I am concerned, we are the car to beat." Like Weaver, Clint Field soared around the circuit on a final charge to grab the LMP2 pole for his Intersport Racing team by the wink of an eye. Field stoled the pole from Ian James by 0.017 seconds.

"Before the red flag, the car was not very good," explained Field on his sudden burst of speed near the end of qualifying. "But after we made some changes and the track was green, it felt better. The track was a bit slippery."

The red flag came out during qualifying when Michael Lewis went off into the tire wall at Turn 2, the driver was uninjured but the Autocon Motorsports Riley & Scott suffered damage and was in an unsafe location. "The damage was minor," said co-driver Melanie Paterson. "It will be fixed and we will be out for morning warmup. We (Lewis, Tomy Drissi and Paterson) are looking forward to the race."

With five P2s entered, the competition for the Petit in the class should be good. Unfortunately, the #7 entry from the stables of Marshall Cooke Racing may not start the race after a major shunt in morning practice. Rich Grupp went off at the esses and straight into the concrete wall. Grupp was transported to the hospital for a possible vertebrae injury. Reports indicate the local Georgia driver will be okay but the team may have to withdraw the car due to massive damage, although they will be working overnight to repair the car.

Ian James, recent winner at Road America, along with co-drivers John Macaluso and James Gue will start second in P2 in the #10 Miracle Motorsports Courage. Andy Lally placed the #13 Marshall Cooke Racing Lola third.

When asked about the race, Field only said, "Reliability wise, I think we can do the whole race."

GA, September 24, 2004 - If anyone hasn't been paying attention so far this season, James Weaver demonstrated why he's rated the fastest driver in the American Le Mans Series, taking his fifth pole - and the Dyson Racing team's sixth - of the season. And it came in dramatic fashion, on the very last lap of qualifying for Saturday's seventh annual running of the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

"We were dead lucky to get a fast lap right at the end," Weaver admitted. The Dyson Racing team had changed transmissions on both of its Thetford / Norcold Lolas prior to the qualifying session, so as to minimize the mileage on the cars' drivetrains prior to the start of tomorrow's endurance test. That meant that the first five minutes of the 20-minute session were given over to doing a single "installation" lap out of the pits and then back in, followed by an inspection of the transmission's plumbing to make sure that nothing was leaking. A red flag halted all on-track activity for several minutes while a car was hauled out of one of the track's gravel safety traps, and then heavy traffic baulked a couple of Weaver's attempts to set a quick time.

Meanwhile, the pair of Audi R8s of Marco Werner and Pierre Kaffer and the Reynard-Zytek of Nicolas Minassian traded fast time as the seconds on the qualifying countdown clock ticked away. Weaver's blazing final 1:12.136 knocked Minassian of the pole by a margin of nearly thee-tenths of a second.

Observers who weren't watching closely might have been surprised to see one of the blue-and-white Dyson cars on the pole today, despite the team's record of five poles in the seven races run so far this season. After setting the 1st and 2nd fastest times in the opening practice session on Thursday, the highest a Dyson car was on the time sheets in the next three sessions was third.

"I told them to go easy on the cars," said team-owner Rob Dyson. "This race is going to run for ten hours, and if you can't run that long, you can't win. Our cars have been fast all year, but at this race we're focusing on reliability. I didn't want to run the cars any harder than we needed to."

"If it weren't for the transmission and the time it took us to get the tire temperatures and pressures right, we would have been in the 'elevens'," Weaver confided on his way to the pole-winner's press conference. "I think this shows what a stunningly good sportscar the Lola is. In terms of sheer speed, I think we've raised the bar. What Dyson Racing has done as a privateer team is pretty remarkable, taking on Audi with pieces that you can buy off the shelf."

Not that Weaver and his teammates are taking anything for granted. "The Audi R8 may be the best sportscar ever built," Weaver allowed. "It is dead reliable. And while we may be faster here in qualifying, they'll be plenty fast in the race."

Weaver will be joined in the #16 Thetford / Norcold Lola by Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace, while Chris Dyson will be paired in the #20 car with his Sebring 12-hour and Le Mans 24-hour co-driver, Jan Lammers. The #20 car qualified 6th in the 34-car field after suffering gear-selection problems early in the session. "I think we might have been in the top four otherwise," said Lammers, who drove the car during the qualifying session.

Last year the #16 Dyson car, with Weaver aboard led from the start, but only lasted six laps. "We're looking to run the whole race this year, with both cars," Rob Dyson said. "If we do that, we'll have a good result."

Milka Duno qualifying report

September 24, 2004 - CITGO Racing's Milka Duno and their Petit Le Mans effort will start on the P2 class pole and 7th overall for the start of tomorrow's 10-hour endurance race. The Petit Le Mans is round 8 of the 2004 American Le Mans Series and is run on Road Atlanta's 2.54-mile, 11-turn circuit in Braselton, GA.

Milka is competing with teammates Clint Field and Robin Liddell in Intersport Racing's CITGO-branded #30 Lola B2K/40 P2 Le Mans Prototype. In this afternoon's qualifying session Clint placed the car on the pole in the very last lap of the session with a time of 1:17.225.

The car has performed very well throughout the three practice sessions on Thursday and the practice session on Friday morning. In three of the practice sessions the team was fastest in class, in one they were second-fastest. The practice and qualifying times demonstrate a consistency that will serve the threesome well -- especially in an endurance race. The Intersport squad runs with a Judd engine that has proven for them very reliable and consistent -- two much-needed key elements for success on Saturday. There will be a final 30-minute warm-up session tomorrow morning before the race.

"The car is running very well this week and I feel we are in good place for the race tomorrow," said Milka. "All three of us drove in each of the practice sessions and Clint took on qualifying -- with great results! Clint and Robin have been having a great season so far and I hope I can help them continue their good fortune. I'm really enjoying driving with them -- and the crew are simply awesome. What's really special is having the opportunity to compete here and seeing the CITGO logo on this car and in this race. CITGO is really dedicated to mounting a great racing effort and the fact that they are here is a testimony to that commitment. I'm very lucky to have such a great sponsor."

Results

Race report ( motorsport.com )

JJ Lehto and Marco Werner survived a grueling sports car endurance race to win the American Le Mans Series Chevy presents Petit Le Mans Saturday at Road Atlanta. The drivers of the ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 helped Audi clinch its fifth consecutive manufacturer's championship and earned a first team title for Champion. The team also had a sweep of the top two as Johnny Herbert and Pierre Kaffer finished second in another Champion Audi.

Popular Corvette Racing drivers Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell became champions again, clinching the GTS class driving title for the second straight year by finishing second in the GTS class.

And driving championship battles in both the LMP2 and GT classes remained alive as the series heads to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., for the season finale Oct. 14-16.

LMP1 ACTION FIERCE IN EARLY HOURS
The first hours of the 1,000-mile contest featured a hot contest involving five Prototypes in the LMP1 class, with the Dyson Racing Lola B01/60-AER of James Weaver leading much of the early going after starting on the pole.

The two Champion Audis mixed it up with the Creation Autosportif DBA-Zytek of Nicolas Minassian and Jamie Campbell-Walter and the two Dyson Lolas, the other driven by Chris Dyson and Jan Lammers. Also running strongly in the early going was the Intersport Racing Lola B01/60-Judd of Jon Field, Duncan Dayton and Mike Durand.

But one by one, several of the contenders encountered problems, including the Weaver car, which became stuck in fifth gear and then spent time behind the wall for repairs. The Creation machine retired with engine failure, and the Dyson-Lammers car fell several laps behind.

That left the race for the overall win to the two Audis, and the cars traded the lead several times before the Herbert-Kaffer car slid off course and was briefly stuck in a gravel trap in turn 10 with just under two hours left.

"It was a great race for us," said Werner. "We had a lot more competition than the other races. We had a very strong start in the beginning. It was very fun, the car was very good for me in traffic which I think was the secret to winning. We had that little bit of trouble with the louver in the front which affects the downforce. One big moment with Jan Lammers pushing me into the grass, but it was ok cause it was good competition, a good fight. It was no problem."

"We planned to have the weak louvers because the harder they are the more rubber they catch," said Lehto. "When they break it changed the dynamic slightly. We planned on them breaking, but not so early. We started the set-up with a little bit of oversteer so it could end up with just a bit of oversteer. But we had very long and hard stints so it shows the Audi held up. We had a lot of close calls and close competition. That is how it should be."

INTERSPORT WINS LMP2, REMAINS TITLE CONTENDER
The LMP2 championship race remained alive in both the driver and team category as Intersport Racing drivers Clint Field, Robin Liddell and Milka Duno took a class win in the Petit Le Mans and leader Miracle Motorsports scored no points due to mechanical failures that sidelined both of its cars.

Field and Liddell won for the fifth time this season in Intersport's Lola B2K/40-Judd and closed to within 21 points of class driver points leader Ian James. James tried valiantly to repair the Miracle Courage C65-AER after it stopped on course due to an electrical problem, and managed to "bump" start the car to drive it back to the pits, but the team retired the car after finding the problem to be terminal for the race.

James Gue and John Macaluso co-drove with James and had the Courage in the lead for much of the race before it retired after only 128 laps. "We had a reliable car, it's the strong point," said Field. "Robin and Milka did great jobs, but reliability was on our sides. We were pushed in the beginning. The car keeps running and running."

"It was a great win and I'm extremely happy for myself and the team," said Liddell. "Road America was disappointing after we were disqualified. We've kept the championship alive. The LMP2 cars can be light and problematic, our car was faultless. The engine didn't miss a beat, we were double-stinting tires. There was a better field in P2 than all season, its too bad they weren't right there at the end.

"We were pretty conservative," he said. "The nature of this track makes lapping difficult. I was using the car's ability to get through traffic while driving conservatively. I had a close call near the finish, there was a Porsche who didn't see me, it was close, but he didn't touch me. Sometimes its difficult to be too careful."

Andy Lally, Ryan Eversley and Spencer Pumpelly finished second in the LMP2 class in the Marshall Cooke Racing Lola B2K/40-Millington, the only other P2 car running at the finish.

Dyson Racing race report

BRASELTON, GA, September 2, 2004 -- The Thetford / Norcold #16 Lola of Chris Dyson and Jan Lammers had the sheer speed to win the 1000-mile Petit Le Mans round of the American Le Mans Series at Road Atlanta, but not quite the reliability of the vaunted Audi R8s. Several laps lost to a broken starter motor put paid to the pair's hopes for victory. After setting the race's second-fastest lap, they finished third behind the pair of Champion Audi R8s.

"It was pretty disappointing to have such a minor problem cost us a shot at winning," said Dyson following the race. "Jan did a terrific job, and the car was certainly fast enough when we were out on the track. Toward the end, we had a little problem with our paddle-shifter, so we backed off our pace a little to save the transmission. There was no way we were going to win at that point anyway. I have to hand it to the Champion team; their Audis ran like trains all day. Congratulations to them on taking the manufacturers championship for Audi. They deserve it."

The team's other entry, driven by James Weaver, Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace was also fast enough to win, but lost 34 laps when it suffered from a minor mechanical problem -- and then a major error in judgment on the part of a lapped competitor. The trio finished 9th overall and 4th in the LMP1 class.

"Well, I guess this is a better result than we had last year," said team-owner Rob Dyson, referring to the 2003 running of this classic American endurance race. That race saw the #16 car drop out after leading the first six laps, and the #20 entry lose several laps to mechanical problems and then a spin and subsequent stall. "But I can tell you that it's pretty disappointing to come this close and then lose. Our team and our partners at Goodyear and Advanced Engine Research have done so much to develop the Lola over the past year. That both of our cars should run for ten hours with only very minor mechanical problems is quite encouraging."

Pole-winner Weaver led the first hour of the race handily, but then pitted when the steering-wheel mounted paddle-shift system malfunctioned. Hooking up the conventional shifter cost six laps and -- with the Audis running without any mechanical problems -- any realistic chance of winning the race. But the coupe de grace was administered shortly thereafter, with Leitzinger behind the wheel, when an amateur driver in a Lamborghini drove into the side of the #16 car, smashing a radiator. The stop to repair that damage took 28 laps, and the #16's climb from the back of the 34-car field to a top-ten finish provided a great deal of interest to the reported 66,000 fans who lined the Road Atlanta circuit.

"The car really was excellent all day," Weaver noted. "If it weren't for the laps we lost in the pits, we'd have been right there."

Milka Duno race report

September 25, 2004 - CITGO Racing's Milka Duno and her teammates Clint Field and Robin Liddell scored the P2 Class win at today's Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA, and finished an impressive 6th overall out of a total of 35 cars starting the race.

With the race running its full 1,000 mile distance, Intersport Racing's CITGO-branded #30 Lola B2K/40 P2 Le Mans Prototype took the checkered flag and the P2 class victory after 9 hours and 35 minutes of competition.

Normally there are several race-action items to report - especially in a race that is almost 10 hours long - but the drivers, team and car dominated the class and performed flawlessly. No spins, no off-course excursions, no minor problems.

This is the second win in a week for Milka and CITGO Racing. Last Sunday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Milka and regular teammate Andy Wallace earned an overall win in their #2 CITGO sponsored Daytona Prototype car at the Rolex Sports Car Series Miami 250. This week Milka has successfully taken on a different challenge by competing in an open cockpit Le Mans Prototype sports car.

"What a great race, great team and great drivers," beamed Milka. "We had good practices all week and we got the class pole too, but even with all that you still need to have everything and everybody working really well together - and you have to have luck too! It is a very long race and it is so competitive - there is no room whatsoever for any mistakes. I can't say enough about my co-drivers and the crew. This is a very important race and to win here is really wonderful. I'm glad we we're able to win for CITGO because they deserve it for all their commitment and support."

Laguna Seca - October 16

Starting Lineup

Friday qualifying report

Monterey, CA - Creation Autosportif and its DBA-Zytek Prototype race car surprised the American Le Mans Series regulars Friday by winning the overall pole for Saturday's four-hour Audi Sports Car Championships event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Frenchman Nicolas Minassian turned the 2.238-mile road racing circuit at 1:15.893 to win the overall pole in only his second ALMS race. He will co-drive with Jamie Campbell-Walter in the ALMS season finale, which will be a day-night event that starts at 4 p.m. (PDT).

Audi R8s from ADT Champion Racing were second and third, with the #38 of JJ Lehto and Marco Werner second at 1:16.111, followed by the 1:16.255 of Johnny Herbert and Pierre Kaffer. The two Lolas of Dyson Racing were fourth and fifth.

Creation Autosportif team manager Ian Bickerton, when talking about the team's two-race trip to America, had predicted a pole and a race win at Laguna Seca for the team.

"He (Bickerton) was very optimistic," said Minassian. "But I think our chances are really good. The team has done a great job the last two races. I was sad going out last race in Atlanta. I liked pushing hard today. The car has spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel and a lot of time in development. When Creation took over the car, it's been a lot of testing and set-up.

"The race will be tough," he said. "We know the Audis will be consistent. They have buttons to get out of the pit where I have to do worry about the clutch, gas, and brake. I will need a 10-second lead to be successful in the pits.".

"I'm satisfied with where we qualified today," said Lehto. "Everyone, especially the top five cars, are really close. We knew the Creation team would be strong and in fact we expected the Dyson cars to do better than they did. The set-up we have is good. Now we just need to keep concentrating on the tires.".

"I made a mistake on one lap in qualifying and then had traffic on another but I'm content with third place," said Herbert. "This will be my fourth race at Laguna with Champion Audi and I'm still searching for my first win - I've never won a race in California but I'm still dreaming. On Thursday I was feeling really unwell - Sushi in San Francisco the previous night - but I'm getting better with each day.".

JAMES LEADS WAY WITH COURAGE IN LMP2
Ian James, who only needs to score a handful of points in the race to win the LMP2 class title, won the class pole with a lap of 1:19.315 in the Miracle Motorsports Courage C65-AER that he will share with James Gue and John Macaluso.

"This Courage is getting better every race," said James. "I know we are getting the best Yokohama has to offer because our tires are coming with Delta Airline tags straight from Japan.

"I try not to think about the championship, but with everyone saying things to me, it's hard not to. I know everyone keeps telling me all I have to do is finish, but that's not always easy to do. The start will be difficult, I know the Corvettes will go barreling by but I'll just pick them off later in the race.".

The Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40-Judd of Clint Field, Robin Liddell and Rick Sutherland was second at 1:21.183, while third was the Miracle Motorsports/Team Bucknum Racing Lola B2K/40-AER of Jeff Bucknum, Chris McMurry and Bryan Willman at 1:23.412.

Field and Liddell can win the LMP2 driving title if they win the race and James scores no points.

Dyson Racing qualifying report

MONTEREY, CA, October 16, 2004 - Qualifying for tomorrow's Audi Sports Car Championships at Laguna Seca proved disappointing for Dyson Racing, whose pair of Thetford / Norcold Lolas had taken pole position in six of the eight races run to date in the 2004 American Le Mans series. Accustomed to the first row of the grid, they could muster speeds today sufficient only for the fourth and fifth place starting positions. Pole position was taken Zytek of Nicolas Minassian, followed by the pair of Audi R8s of JJ Lehto and Johnny Herbert.

With what team owner Rob Dyson described as a heroic effort, Butch Leitzinger put the Dyson #16 car into the fourth spot on the grid half a second behind Minassian. Andy Wallace was a further seven-tenths behind with the #20 Dyson entry.

"The balance was pretty good," Leitzinger reported after pulling into the pits at the conclusion of the 20-minute qualifying session. But in the end, neither Leitzinger nor Wallace was able to match the team's usual qualifying pace. "There was really nothing wrong with the cars that we could fix," reported Team Manager Randall Kelsey. "The engines ran strong. We just aren't going fast enough.".

Wallace and Leitzinger both pulled into the pits with several minutes left in the session. "I couldn't go any faster," said Wallace over the radio. "That was a perfect lap; there's no way this car will go any faster.".

"Clearly we aren't going to win tomorrow on sheer speed," Dyson said. "But then races are seldom won on speed alone. We're going to run the smartest, best race we can, and see where we come out. It'll be a tough task, but our team will give it everything we've got.".

Results

Race report, titles won

Bernhard, James Win Driving Titles as Herbert, Kaffer Win American Le Mans at Laguna Seca.
Monterey, CA - Timo Bernhard and Ian James earned American Le Mans Series driving championships Saturday as Johnny Herbert and Pierre Kaffer won the season-ending Audi Sports Car Championships event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The four-hour timed race started at 4 p.m. (PDT) and finished in both darkness and rain as a shower moved across the raceway in the last 30 minutes of the event. The race marked the first time in the long history of Laguna Seca that a race had run into darkness.
Bernhard secured the GT class driving title as he and co-driver Jorg Bergmeister finished second in class in the Alex Job Racing Porsche, while James secured the LMP2 title as he and James Gue finished third in class in the Miracle Motorsports Courage C65-AER.

Herbert and Kaffer scored the overall race win in the ADT Champion Racing Audi R8, taking the lead in the closing stages of the event from the other Champion entry driven by Marco Werner and JJ Lehto. They won by 56.832 seconds over Lehto and Herbert, already the 2004 ALMS LMP1 champions.
"Winning is a great feeling," said Herbert. "I remember a couple of years ago here we lost by seconds. I'm glad we got one in a stealthy way. We had a very difficult start. My uniform zipper wouldn't go up on the grid so I had to start the race with it open. Then Chris Dyson got into me and I was in the sand. We had to battle back to the front. I think the tire compound we chose was the right one.".

"Things got really, really, tricky when the rain came out," said Kaffer. "I have never had to race in these kinds of conditions before. It was very difficult. This is a great feeling winning the first and last race of the season. It is my dream to drive here in America.".
Butch Leitzinger and James Weaver finished third in the Dyson Racing Lola B01/60-AER.
 
JAMES WINS TITLE IN TRYING DAY
Ian James had enough of a lead in the LMP2 class driver standings that he would have to have a total disaster of a day to lose the title to Clint Field and Robin Liddell. Despite some problems during the race, the Miracle Motorsports Courage C65-AER completed enough of the race to score points and give James the class driving title.
"I'm just so happy to win the championship," said James. "I love this series, I love these cars. I'd love to come back next year. This is the greatest show in motorsports. It was a great opportunity to do this with the American Le Mans Series.".
Field and Liddell, with third driver Rick Sutherland, scored the race win in the Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40-Judd, the sixth win of the season for Field and Liddell. They set a series record for the most LMP2 class wins in a single season, surpassing Didier de Radigues' five-win season in 2001.
"It was really fun driving around here in the fading light," said Liddell. "Driving in the dark was really cool. It was great to win the race, but disappointing to dominate the season by winning six of the nine races and not win the championship. Winning a championship is very difficult.".
"Our Lola is not the most current car in the class, but the total package of car, drivers, Pirelli tires, etc., is all very solid and that's how you win races," said Field. "The Pirellis really worked great in the wet. A class win at Le Mans. Six ALMS wins. Winning the IMSA Cup. It was an incredible season.".
Chris McMurry, Bryan Willman and Jeff Bucknum finished second in class in the Miracle team's Lola B2K/40-AER, while James and Gue finished third. Gue finished the race in a sand trap in turn five after being hit from behind by another car.

Dyson Racing race report

Rob Dyson summed up his team's fortunes at the American Le Mans Series 2004 season-ending Audi Sports Car Championships at the Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca when he noted that this weekend "we were just slightly off the pace. Our pit stops were excellent; as good or better than all year. James (Weaver) did lead the race for a few laps, but overall we just weren't quite quick enough this weekend.".
Fourth and fifth place qualifying spots suggested that the Dyson team's pair of Thetford / Norcold Lolas weren't going to win the race on pure speed this weekend. "We needed to have the race come back to us," said team driver Chris Dyson. "And it didn't happen. Hats off to the guys at Champion; their Audis were fast and reliable all weekend. They deserved to finish first and second. But I'm pleased that James and Butch (Leitzinger) were able to keep them honest all day.".

And into the night, as well. Driving the last stint, when the challenge of the expected darkness was augmented with rain, Leitzinger drove some very fast laps. "Butch did a terrific job," Rob Dyson said. "He was really flying at the end.".
Though two laps down on the pair of leading Audi R8s, Leitzinger's lap times were quicker on the slick track than the Audis'. Much to his surprise, Leitzinger admitted. "It's hard to believe, actually," he said, standing by the cockpit of the #16 Dyson Lola at the conclusion of the race. "But it's so hard to gauge in the wet. The visibility was very poor; the roostertails (from the cars ahead) were hanging in the air. It was very hard to see. It really wasn't very pleasant.".

The team's #20 Thetford / Norcold Lola had a short day. Chris Dyson ran strongly at the beginning of the race, but two laps after turning the car over to teammate Andy Wallace the engine let go. "It just went bang," Wallace said. "I'm not sure what happened. Back in the garage they couldn't get the spark plug out of one of the cylinders, so that's not good. It's sad, really, because our engines have been quite reliable all year long.".