David Brabham and Jan Magnussen
came from a lap behind Saturday to win the wild American Le Mans Series
debut race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Co-driving a Panoz LMP1-RS in the two-hour, 45-minute sports car
endurance race, the eventual winners fell a lap behind in the first hour of
the race as the Audi R8 driven by Tom Kristensen dominated the event. The
complexion of the race changed, though, under a caution period for a stalled
car 90 minutes into the event.
Magnussen, who had taken over for Brabham in the Panoz, was able to
unlap himself from the lead Audi on the resulting restart, and another
caution occurred a few minutes later when Joel Field spun and tapped the
wall on the frontstretch of the 2.258-mile circuit. As the field was slowing
to pack up behind the safety car, Kristensen passed the safety car, which
resulted in the Audi having to serve a stop-and-go penalty after racing
resumed.
Magnussen had passed the other cars on the lead lap and took the
lead when the Audi pitted for the penalty. He led the rest of the way to an
11.338-second win over Rinaldo Capello, who took over for Kristensen for the
final stint. The win was the second in the last three ALMS races for Brabham
and Magnussen.
"We won this race in the pits," said Magnussen. "The Audi was
faster, but the caution after I got back on the lead lap was a good break
for us. Then, when they told me I was in the lead, it was a surprise to me."
"Everybody on the team did a great job today," said Brabham. "We
have to beat the Audi because they have such a great team. At the beginning
of the season, we never thought we'd be sitting here with two wins."
James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger finished third in a Riley & Scott
MkIIIC-Lincoln, with the Audi of Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro fourth, the
last car on the lead lap.
Didier de Radigues and Bruno Lambert survived an early spin and a
one-lap penalty for pitting when the pits were closed to win the LMP 675
class for smaller Prototypes in a Reynard 01Q-Judd. De Radigues, who won for
the fourth consecutive race, tangled with fellow LMP 675 driver Claudia
Huertgen on the first lap and spun, falling to the rear of the field.
"At the start, my competitor got around me into the corner," he said. "She
hit the front of my car and I spun on cold tires. I had to wait until
everyone got past me before I could get back on the circuit."
The Chevrolet Corvette C5-R of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell won the GTS
class for the fifth time in six ALMS races this season. During Fellows'
stint at the start of the race, the car had handling problems and ran third
behind the polesitting Saleen S7R of Franz Konrad, as well as the team
Corvette driven by Kelly Collins. The Saleen faded and lost a lap later, and
the Corvette team made some adjustments that gave O'Connell a car fast
enough to take the lead and win the class.
"We made some changes to the sway bar before the race that didn't work,"
said Fellows. "I tried to make some changes, but they were all wrong, too.
The car was slipping and sliding. Under our stop, the team made some
changes, and then Johnny ran great."
The GT class was won by the BMW M3 of JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller,
their third win in the last four races. After starting second in class,
Lehto took the lead from polesitter Sascha Maassen quickly, and the car
essentially led the rest of the race.
"If you look at JJ's stint, the six top cars in the class were all
quite competitive," said Muller. "The cars do equal times, just a tenth up
and down all the time. JJ's advantage was that he knows the Prototypes and
he just got better through traffic. Sometimes the other cars were a second
slower, but he just lost a few tenths, and that's what opened up a gap."
The series will have a weekend off before the Sept. 9 event at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.
LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Finish of Saturday's American Le Mans Series
sports car endurance race at 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with
starting position in parentheses, drivers, hometown or country, type car,
laps completed, reason out, if any, winning time and margin of victory:
1. (2) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; David Brabham, Australia; Panoz LMP1-RS, 116, 2:45:42.490, 11.338 seconds.
2. (1) Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi R8, 116.
3. (7) James Weaver, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, Penn.; Riley & Scott MkIIIC-Lincoln, 116.
4. (3) Frank Biela, Germany; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Audi R8, 116.
5. (4) Andy Wallace, England; Johnny Herbert, England; Audi R8, 115.
6. (5) Franck Lagorce, France; Klaus Graf, Germany; Panoz LMP1-RS, 115.
7. (9) Wayne Taylor, Altamonte Springs, Fla.; Max Angelelli, Italy; Cadillac LMP 01, 114.
8. (6) Emmanuel Collard, England; Christophe Tinseau, France; Cadillac LMP 01, 113.
9. (10) Didier de Radigues, Belgium; Bruno Lambert, Belgium; Reynard 01Q-Judd, 109.
10. (14) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga.; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 109.
11. (15) Kelly Collins, Corona del Mar, Calif.; Andy Pilgrim, Aventura, Calif.; Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 109.
12. (12) Claudia Huertgen, Germany; Steven Knight, Castle Rock, Col.; Lola B2K-Nissan, 108.
13. (11) Franz Konrad, Germany; Terry Borcheller, Phoenix; Saleen S7R, 108.
14. (17) JJ Lehto, Finland; Jorg Muller, Germany; BMW M3 GTR, 107.
15. (20) Fredrik Ekblom, Sweden; Dirk Muller, Germany; BMW M3 GTR, 107.
16. (21) Randy Pobst, Melbourne, Fla.; Christian Menzel, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 106.
17. (22) Peter Cunningham, West Bend, Wis.; Niclas Jonsson, Sweden; BMW M3 GTR, 106.
18. (19) Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla.; David Donohue, Malvern, Penn.; Dodge Viper GTS-R, 106.
19. (23) Johnny Mowlem, England; Mike Fitzgerald, Phoenix; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 104.
20. (16) Sascha Maassen, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 102.
21. (18) Hans Stuck, Austria; Boris Said, Carlsbad, Calif.; BMW M3 GTR, 100.
22. (25) Tony Burgess, Canada; Philip Collin, Lincolnshire, Ill.; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 99.
23. (27) Mark Neuhaus, Sun Valley, Id.; Randy Wars, Mexico; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 97.
24. (28) Kye Wankum, Canada; Joe Foster, Atlanta; Porsche 911 GT3 R, 74, gearbox.
25. (26) Joe Ellis, Dayton, Ohio; Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, Wis.; Dodge Viper GTS-R, 52.
26. (8) Jon Field, Dublin, Ohio; Joel Field, Marion, Ohio; Clint Field, Dublin, Ohio; Lola B2K 10B-Judd, 41, accident.
27. (24) Jimmy Adams, Suffolk, Va.; Joe Blacker, Ellicott City, Md.; Pilbeam MP84-Nissan, 26, overheating.
28. (13) John Graham, Canada; Milka Duno, Venezuela; Reynard 01Q-Judd, 6, electrical.
Created and Designed by John Favata
