Brumos Racing forced to retire early at Lime Rock finale

Jacksonville, FL: Brumos Racing had their fair share of good luck in 2011 with a thrilling championship win, but 2012 seemed to balance the scales, as bad luck derailed a promising run at Lime Rock. Going into the finale, the Brumos crew was ready to do anything necessary to claim an elusive win.

Andrew Davis maximized the chances for the Brumos #59 Porsche 911 GT3, qualifying in 2nd place. He was off to a strong start in the opening laps of the race, but after completing the first pit stop Davis was caught in heavy traffic when another GT car spun in front of him. With nowhere to go, he hit the barrier and sustained damage both front and rear. Davis was able to get the car back to the garage as the crew stood by, hoping to get back on track as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, irreparable damage to the radiator delivered a fatal blow to the team’s hopes as the #59 was forced to retire, finishing in 15th place.

The disappointment was doubly felt by Leh Keen, who missed his turn behind the wheel. “It was a tough way to end the season,” he said. “We came into this race wanting that win. We had a good car and Andrew did a great job putting us on the front row for qualifying. There was just a lot of carnage from the beginning. A car we were competing against for position in the standings went off on the first lap. Then, another of the cars we were up against was involved in that three-car incident along with us, and was retired. We were looking at a possible shot for a top three in the championship, but unfortunately, weren’t able to get back on track despite the best efforts of the guys. We hate that our season had to end like this, but that’s how racing goes – the fact that it had to happen in our last race of the season is especially disappointing. But we will keep our chins up and think about the successful races we had this year, focus on the positives, and look forward to what’s ahead.”

Andrew Davis overcame several challenges throughout the weekend to get the Brumos #59 up front, but there was nothing he could have done to prevent the impact of the car spinning into him. He explained, “Coming into Lime Rock, we had everything on the table because we wanted to get that win. It was a tough weekend with weather conditions and we were short on practice time, but we made the most of it. I was happy to qualify on the front row, but I knew the race would be a fight. It started out that way, but I was able to run with the top three. We got shuffled back with the pit stop and there was heavy traffic, then the #51 spun in front of me and knocked me into the barrier. We hoped to end the year on a high note, so to be in the garage while the race was still going on was really disappointing. But as a team, we have to hold our heads high. Our degree of success last year in our first season was amazing, and although we weren’t able to duplicate those results this year we had a great run. We had multiple podiums and were strong all year, and I am proud of our entire team. Their hard work and dedication kept us competitive. We’ll fight back, as Brumos always does, and look forward to what next season may bring.”

Andrew Davis and Leh Keen closed out the year 5th in the Driver standings as Brumos ended 6th in the Team Championship. The team earned 4 podiums and pole position for the Rolex 24, finishing all but two races in the top ten, with six of those in the top five.

Source: Brumos Racing