Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin were leading the Petit Le Mans
race when the red flag was given to the field due to a thunderstorm
located over the metropolitan Atlanta area, including the Road Atlanta
2.540 mile road course. The American Le Mans Series officials did not
call the 1,000 mile or 10 hour race at that time with four hours and 49
minutes completed while all were hoping that the rain would clear out
but the weather cells on radar showed the slow movement of the latest
storm to hit the state of Georgia in the past week.
"We (Peugeot) won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and now we have won the Petit
Le Mans five hours," smiled Montagny. "It was more Mini-Le Mans than
Petit Le Mans. Would have liked to race more but it was too dangerous
to drive. It's an easy track in the dry, if its raining we can try to
make changes and go fast, but today when it was really raining it was
just too difficult and not too safe. I think if we had a full time we
really would have battled it out with the Audis. We traveled thousands
of miles to race here, so sure we'd love to race a full race but we also
enjoy the race. Sure, at 300 kph and you hit the water and you just keep
going. Its not so much fun."
Montagny and Sarrazin finished second overall at Le Mans to their team
car so today's victory was special especially Sarrazin taking his first
overall win in the American series.
"I was very happy. The team did a very good job for the strategy," said
Sarrazin. "We started in the wet and it was difficult. We started with
a dry set-up and I had a problem with my rear. We were very far behind.
But in the dry we could push very hard and make up time. When it rained
it was hard to keep temperature in the tires so it can be hard to keep
the car going straight. The mechanics here have won Le Mans, so they are
very good and they know what they can do. We are improving all the time,
in the race and the test. I think we show that. And the drivers we are
always giving the maximum just like our crew does."
The prestigious event on the ALMS calendar has always garnered entries
from Europe and Asia and is one of the major sportscar races. In its
12th running, the event ended far short of 1000 miles. Today's red
flag was the first time in 108 races that it has been used to bring
the competition to a stop. Before the red flag, the race officials had
the safety car on track with a caution due to the hydro-planning from
the rapid flooding on the track causing several cars to spin both on-
and off-track. Some were still on slicks and some of them had already
switched to wet tires.
The No. 08 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP driven by Montagny and Sarrazin had
completed 184 laps with a gap of 2.011 seconds over their Team Peugeot
Sport sister car just prior to the five hour mark. The clock continued
to run under the stoppage while the cars sat covered in pit lane. Due to
possible lightning strikes, the drivers were allowed out of their cars
to seek shelter in their team paddock area.
Even though the series kept monitoring the radar and thought they would
have a break to clear off the track now dirty with the Georgia clay
swirling onto the racing surface, the storm cells were moving slowly.
The clock continued to run and at 8:05pm, IMSA officials called the race
displaying the checkered flag.
The clock continued to run and at 8:05pm, IMSA officials called the race
displaying the checkered flag. Officially, the race ended with eight
hours and 45 minutes in the books. Thus, full points were awarded to the
drivers and teams.
Second overall and for the LMP1 class was Pedro Lamy and pole winner
Nicolas Minassian in the No. 07 Peugeot. That gave the team a double
sweep for the Petit event: Front row in qualifying and one, two in
the race. Not did they best Audi for the first time on American soil,
today's victory was a first for the French manufacturer in any type of
sportscar racing in the USA.
Leading up to the sudden rain storm, Audi drivers Allan McNish and
Rinaldo Capello were dominating the race in part due to McNish's
brilliant start where he moved into the lead on the opening lap in Turn
2 but on the fifth restart, Chris McMurry slammed hard into the tire
wall at Turn 1 which brought out the sixth caution. It was the longest
caution, consuming 25 minutes, but it did set up the change in leaders.
During the caution, McNish had one headlight out on his Audi R15 TDi.
McNish appeared to be making adjustments from inside the car to get both
back running in order to avoid the probable black flag ordering him into
the pits for the Audi Sport team to fix the headlight and then a rare
move by the Scotsman saw him spin off but he did return to the action,
unfortunately for Audi in third position, 3.465 seconds adrift of the
winning team.
"Obviously the end -- having the race stopped due to bad weather --
was very frustrating because we were in such a strong position at the
beginning. We had a good and drivable car," said McNish. "I was able
to pull quite a gap which was slashed by the yellows. I lost the lead
because of a spin behind the Safety Car when the track had very little
grip due to the drizzle. We would have had another shot on it when
the red flag came out. We still had 650 miles or so of a 1,000-mile
race to run. It was sad for everybody but the track conditions made it
impossible to continue."
The No. 1 Audi of Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr finished fourth, one lap
down from the overall leaders.
"Except for the result, we can draw a positive conclusion. We wanted to
use the race to gain experience with the R15 TDI, and we have seen that
the car has the basic performance. That was very important for us. We've
always been faster or at least on the same level as our competitors in
the rain, on a drying track and in dry conditions," said head of Audi
Motorsport, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "Unfortunately, Allan (McNish) spun
behind the Safety Car. When the heavier rain started, we brought our
cars back into good positions with good strategic decisions. But then
the red flag came out. The fact that the race was not re-started was a
shame for us but absolutely right for safety reasons."
Peugeot and Audi were running the event, more for preparation for the
2010 French classic, than for championship points as neither team runs
the full season in the ALMS. Both Acura P1s are searching for this
year's crown and both had several unexpected problems over the three
days of practice, qualifying and the race. The two prototypes run the
usual petrol and not diesel engines so they accepted that they would be
behind the eight-ball for the Petit race. What was unexpected was the
rebuilding of a complete car before the race and one team having to deal
with rear- and front-end repairs during the race.
Highcroft Racing did an amazing job on their rebuilt of their Acura
ARX-02a after a crash during the second practice on Thursday. Team
driver David Brabham had to start today's endurance event from pit lane.
Yet start they did and in the end they were holding sixth in the P1
class and overall.
Scott Sharp was second in the car before third driver Dario Franchitti
was getting ready for his stint. The Duncan Dayton owned team now heads
to the season finale with the class lead over the de Ferran Motorsports
team's Acura ARX-02a. Simon Pagenaud and Gil de Ferran were joined by
Scott Dixon for the Petit event, the trio finished ninth in class.
Highcroft Racing owner Dayton reflected on the job of his crew and his
drivers: "My guys did a great job and I am very proud that their efforts
have made Patron Highcroft Racing into a highly respected race team.
Ever since we first became a part of the Acura program, we have worked
night and day to provide value for them. We were the little team from
Connecticut up against the big names.
"My guys share my extreme passion for the sport. We love what we do and
we know we must do all we can to provide value for our partners and
sponsors. They don't take no for an answer. We have worked incredibly
hard to hold this championship lead throughout the year and were going
to do whatever it took to ensure we came away with points today,"
continued Dayton. "To actually extend our lead in the championship is a
bonus. But the job isn't done, we will be very focused in the final race
at Laguna Seca to ensure we complete the task we set to do at the start
of the year."
LMP2 had one of their usual prototypes running this weekend as
"unclassified" due to the approved testing of a new fuel blend with
sponsor BP. Dyson Racing's No. 16 Mazda Lola B09 86 was not running for
points due to the testing of the three blends: gasoline, ethanol and
biobutanol. Guy Smith and Cris Dyson ended seventh overall but more
importantly will be the outcome of the post-race testing results.
The team's No. 20 Mazda powered car was running for points even though
the Fernandez Racing Acura team has wrapped up the P2 title. Dyson made
the switch to the Mazda-powered Lolas this season and at Lime Rock
Park, Marino Franchitti and Butch Leitzinger earned the team's first
win of the season. Since then, both cars have been striving to catch the
Fernandez team and at least close out the 2009 season with a strong
showing.
Franchitti earned the P2 pole on Friday and tonight, Leitzinger and Ben
Devlin stood alongside the Scot on the top step of the podium with the
Petit Le Mans victory. Devlin was the last racer in the car and the one
that had to deal with the heavy rains. "These were some of the hardest
conditions I have run in my sportscar career," stated Devlin. "Marino
and Butch did a great job and hats off to Chris and Guy for the great
drive they put in."
Franchitti started the race and said, "There were so many different
conditions in the first two hours of the race and the car was fantastic
in all of them. There was a point in the race where we passed Audis and
Peugeots."
Leitzinger spoke for the team on the importance of the victory at the
Petit event: "This is a great win for the team. I have been to all
twelve Petit Le Mans, and the year on year increase in the significance
of this race has been great to see. Sebring, the Indy 500, and Le Mans
- you walk in the gate and you can feel the buzz - and this race has
attained that status in a short period of time."
Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz may have won the drivers' title (at
Mosport) but they are were not resting on their laurels but today's race
started with early power steering issues affected Diaz stint and repairs
had to made in the team's garage. They did bring their Acura ARX.01b
home in second and secured the team championship plus handed Acura the
manufacturer title.
"You never want to finish a race like this for the fans, and especially
for everyone in this area with all the recent rain and flooding. I feel
bad for everyone that may be having problems right now with flooding,
and the fans that came here to see us. Nevertheless, we are happy about
clinching the team and manufacturer's championships, and I have to
say thanks to our great partners at Lowe's, Acura and Michelin," said
Fernandez.
Third in P2 went to Greg Pickett, Klaus Graf and Sascha Maassen in the
Porsche RS Spyder for Team CytoSport.
LMGT2 class winners from Risi Competizione were all smiles even with the
rain. The season finale will settle the championships thanks to good
teamwork including the dive into the pits during the long caution for
McMurry's crash to take on wet tires. Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer were
pleased to have Mika Salo return to the cockpit especially when he was
in the team's Ferrari F430 GT and made the call for the wets due to rain
already on the back side of the track.
Kaffer said "... the track was drying more and more during my stint and
the car was pretty good during the race. It was exciting to drive and I
think the GT class was again very exciting for the spectators. We had
great battles and I want to thank the whole team who did a great job
to help us get where we were, and my team mates. I can always learn
something from Mika -- he might not have done such a long stint but he
made the most important call of the day."
Melo had the first stint with a still damp track from the morning rain.
"It was kind of a strange race but I think we had a competitive car.
I was a bit conservative at the beginning as the track was wet and I
didn't want to take any risks. The car was comfortable in both wet and
dry conditions," he said. "I need to say thank you to Pierre who did a
very good job for the 3rd and 4th stints and to Mika, who I think drove
for only seven laps -- five behind the safety car [laughs]! Thank you to
the whole crew and for the strategy, everyone has been phenomenal."
Salo may not have spent much time in the Ferrari during the race but the
usual good nature attitude of the Finn showed in his comment: "I might
not have been in the car very much but if you go around for 4 hours in
6th or 5th position and then I'm in the car for half an hour and I went
from 6th to the lead, then I think you can take what you want from that!
"It's only the third race I've done this year and it's a great
atmosphere; everyone is working so hard and is so serious and
professional about their racing. I've got two team mates who I can trust
and who don't go off and destroy the car -- apart from Jaime sometimes
[said with a big smile and to much laughter in the media room] -- and
it's such a pleasure always to drive for the Risi team."
The Risi team's rival for the GT2 championship is Flying Lizard
Motorsports who finished fifth.
BMW Rahal Letterman Racing's duo of Dirk Mueller and Tommy Milner placed
second in the No. 92 BMW M3 E92 with help this weekend from Jorg Muller.
Third was taken by Dirk Werner and Wolf Henzler in the Porsche 911 GT3
RSR for Farnbacher Loles Racing.
October 10th is the date for the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna
Seca.
