Guy Smith must win Petit Le Mans to have chance of snatching Driver’s title

American Le Mans finale is not “mission impossible” for defending champion

Defending champion Guy Smith starts the American Le Mans Series finale on Saturday (20 Oct) knowing that victory is vital for the Yorkshireman to retaining the Driver’s championship “crown”.

Guy Smith

Photo by: Richard Sloop

A victory for Welton-based Smith in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans race is crucial to have any realistic chance of winning the Driver’s title for a second consecutive year.

“All we can do is go flat out for a victory – but even then the destiny of the title is out of our hands as it depends on the result Klaus and Lucas post,” commented Guy philosophically.

“I have never managed to win outright at Petit but have posted second and third place finishes and would obviously love to climb the top step but whatever,I always have fun at Petit.

Smith and Dyson will be joined by Northern Ireland’s Steven Kane in their Lola B12/60 Mazda Coupé for the Petit race staged around the undulating 12-corner, 2.54-mile Road Atlanta.

Smith gets his second taste of Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). The Lola B12/60 Mazda Coupé runs a system based on a high-speed, lightweight flywheel that is incorporated into the car’s bell housing and stores braking energy for later use under acceleration that was run for the first time in the last race at Virginia.

Guy added: “I really love the circuit. It was the first place I ever drove a sportscar 12 years ago. It features great corners and long straights and always makes for great racing.”

The 2012 season marks Guy’s eighth year with Dyson Racing and has scored 60 top-five placings in that time,

The 15th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda is scheduled to begin at 1630 (UK time) on Saturday. (ends)

Source: Guy Smith