MacNeil and Bleekemolen take momentum to Road America

TAVARES, Fla. - Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen are taking the winning momentum from Mosport to the American Le Mans Series Orion Energy Systems 245 to run at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Aug. 9-11.

Following their win two weeks ago in Canada, Bleekemolen (Monte Carlo) and MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill) are tied for first place in GTC driver points with 77. The duo head to Road America as the defending race winners in the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche.

The team took the opportunity to test at the four-mile, 14-turn natural terrain road course located an hour north of Milwaukee.

"Our test went really well," MacNeil said. "We played with set-up and focused on monitoring tire wear. The WeatherTech Porsche handles well at the beginning of the stint and at the end, so we have a well-balanced chassis for this weekend, which is important. We won this race last year and hope to do the same this year.

It will take 100% effort from Jeroen and I as well as the crew to repeat. The competition is tough this year, so we will have to be on top of our game. The goal is to win and extend our points lead. I really like Road America, my favorite part of the track is the kink because it really challenges you to go faster through there every lap."

Bleekemolen is undefeated at Road America.

"Road America is definitely one of the best tracks in North America and actually one of the best tracks in the world," Bleekemolen said. "It's a long lap, which has some nice fast corners. On one side you don't want much downforce to be quick on all the long straights, but on the other side you need it to be fast in all the quick corners.

So it's a compromise. We should already have a great starting point from last year. I love going there. I have always managed to win at Road America. Since 2010 I have won three times. Hopefully I can keep that up. It will be a hard challenge this year as there are so many great teams and drivers out in GTC.

Still I believe we have a good chance. Our team has done a great job coming back from the Lime Rock crash to have a perfect weekend at Mosport. Hopefully we can stay in top form, but we'll have to fight hard for it again."

Alex Job, team owner, has the team prepared.

"We took the opportunity test at Road America after Mosport." Job said. "The points battle in GTC is very tight and we will need every advantage as we head into the last third of the season. We won the race at Road America last year, but we are taking nothing for granted. Cooper and Jeroen are doing a great job behind the wheel and our crew is motivated as well. We are looking forward to a good weekend."

The American Le Mans Series Orion Energy Systems event will be broadcast on Aug. 11 at 3:00 pm EDT on ABC with live qualifying streaming on ESPN3.com on Aug. 10 starting at 10:30 a.m.

Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in sports car racing with 70 wins (since 1995); including two Rolex 24 GT Class wins in 1999 and 2013. This record is supported by 48 pole positions and 106 podium finishes. The team has won four championships (GTC 2012, GT in 2004, 2003 and 2002) complimented by their two GT class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts nine Sebring 12-hour wins.

The ALMS GTC category is specific to one of the most popular factory produced racing cars in the world, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Developed for Porsche's one-make series around the world, the new version of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is based on the road-going 911 GT3 RS. The power unit featured in the new 911 GT3 Cup is largely identical to the production engine of the 911 GT3 RS with the same output of 450 bhp and the same maximum engine speed of 8,500 rpm.

Alex Job Racing