ALMS: Simon Pagenaud et Gil de Ferran win again

From the American Le Mans Series

Simon Pagenaud and Gil de Ferran won again in the American Le Mans Series, their third straight on the year, in the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on Saturday.

Pagenaud crossed the finish line in his Acura ARX-02a 43.776 seconds ahead of David Brabham, who appeared to be on his way to a second straight Lime Rock victory with Patrón Highcroft Racing teammate Scott Sharp. A punctured tire with 13 minutes left ended those hopes.

In LMP2, Butch Leitzinger and Marino Franchitti broke a four-race victory streak for Lowe's Fernandez Racing and Acura in the class.

Fernandez and Diaz placed second in class Saturday. Gunnar van der Steur and Adam Pecorari placed third at the first race for the team since St. Petersburg last year.

Jörg Bergmeister won in GT2 for the fourth straight year as he and Patrick Long extended their class victory streak to four races. They won by a lap over Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer - the reigning Le Mans class winners - in their Ferrari F430 GT.

Long made what turned out to be the winning pass barely a half-hour in. The two cars ran nose-to-tail from the start and also mixed it up with BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team's two BMW M3s as well.

The Lizard car also gained nearly a full lap on the wave-by during the race's lone caution period. BMW Rahal Letterman Racing's Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand placed third in class with their BMW M3, the pairing's first podium of the year.

Bob Faieta and Wesley Hoaglund won the Challenge class in their Gruppe Orange Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry. They appeared headed for a runner-up finish before the leading Snow Racing Porsche suffered a failed starter on its last stop.

ORBIT Racing's Ed Brown and Bill Sweedler were second in class, with a second Gruppe Orange entry of Nick Parker and Donald Pickering in third.

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The race is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, August 8.

American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, Lime Rock Park, Saturday's results:
1. (1) Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Acura ARX-02a (1, P1), 184.
2. (2) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-02a (2, P1), 184.
3. (6) Johnny Mowlem, England; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Ginetta-Zytek 09HS (3, P1), 177.
4. (4) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Lola B09 86 Mazda (1, P2), 172.
5. (10) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (1, GT2), 167.
6. (8) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Lola B06/10 AER (4, P1), 166.
7. (3) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 166.
8. (9) Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Ferrari F430 GT (2, GT2), 166.
9. (12) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E92 M3 (3, GT2), 166.
10. (11) Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 165.
11. (15) Johannes Stuck, Austria; Richard Westbrook, England; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5, GT2), 163.
12. (16) Ian James, England; Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (6, GT2), 163.
13. (18) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT2), 159.
14. (17) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (8, GT2), 158.
15. (23) Adam Pecorari, Aston, PA; Gunnar Van der Steur, Chesapeake City, MD; Radical SR9 AER (3, P2), 157.
etc.