By American Le Mans Series
David Brabham did it again. Another late-race pass meant victory in the American Le Mans Series, this time a historic first overall victory for Acura and Patrón Highcroft Racing.
Brabham passed Penske Racing's Timo Bernhard with 90 seconds left Saturday to win the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix with Scott Sharp at Lime Rock Park.
Brabham and Bernhard ran 1-2 for the last 50 minutes of the race, one that saw Brabham qualify on the overall pole position. The Patrón Highcroft Acura ran the final 1:26 on one tank of fuel and a set of Michelin tires and coasted to the finish line in an attempt to save precious drops of fuel.
Bernhard ended second with Dumas in their Porsche RS Spyder. The other Penske entry of Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long finished third. Traffic played a role throughout the race and the end was no different."I'm so exhausted. I really had to work hard out there," Brabham saidafter the race.
There was doubt early on in the Patrón Highcroft pit. Sharp collided with fellow Acura pilot Simon Pagenaud in the opening stint. The car had cosmetic damage but nothing more.
Audi Sport North America's Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr won their fourth straight LMP1 round in their Audi R10 TDI. The pairing ran fourth overall and finished just off the lead lap.
On a track that did not agree with Audi's big, powerful V12 diesel, the two had a shot for the overall victory late in the race. After falling behind early, Werner gained a lap back and was making up time even as the race ended. This despite a penalty early in the race on the Audi crew and minor 'offs' by both drivers.
Intersport Racing's Jon Field, Clint Field and Richard Berry scored their second runner-up finish of the season. Emanuele Pirro and Dindo Capello were third in class. Capello was involved in a crash an hour into the race that resulted in nearly 45 minutes lost in the paddock to repair the prototype.
Corvette Racing's Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen won in GT1, coming from nearly a full lap back to beat the hard-luck duo of Corvette mates Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin. The duo won for the fourth time in five races and third time in a row. Each was victorious at Lime Rock for the first time.
Beretta eventually had to park his Corvette when the gearbox lost oil. As a result, O'Connell and Magnussen are 12 points up on their teammates for the class championship.
Wolf Henzler and Jörg Bergmeister took their second straight GT2 victory and third of the season for Flying Lizard Motorsports and Porsche. Henzler got around teammate Johannes van Overbeek with 37 minutes remaining after Farnbacher Loles Racing's Dirk Werner slammed into van Overbeek's side on a restart. The collision sent van Overbeek off track and Henzler into first place where he stayed for the remainder.
The Lizard Porsche crossed the finish line a lap ahead of class pole-winner Werner and teammate Richard Westbrook. Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo and Mika Salo third in their first race since winning the class championship at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Henzler and Bergmeister increased their lead in the class championship to 11 points over Tafel Racing's Dirk Mueller and Dominik Farnbacher after the duo made a last minute stop for fuel and finished fourth. That's where Bergmeister and Henzler started after a subpar qualifying session Friday.
The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge, scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 19 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
David Brabham did it again. Another late-race pass meant victory in the American Le Mans Series, this time a historic first overall victory for Acura and Patrón Highcroft Racing.
Brabham passed Penske Racing's Timo Bernhard with 90 seconds left Saturday to win the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix with Scott Sharp at Lime Rock Park.
Brabham and Bernhard ran 1-2 for the last 50 minutes of the race, one that saw Brabham qualify on the overall pole position. The Patrón Highcroft Acura ran the final 1:26 on one tank of fuel and a set of Michelin tires and coasted to the finish line in an attempt to save precious drops of fuel.
Bernhard ended second with Dumas in their Porsche RS Spyder. The other Penske entry of Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long finished third. Traffic played a role throughout the race and the end was no different."I'm so exhausted. I really had to work hard out there," Brabham saidafter the race.
There was doubt early on in the Patrón Highcroft pit. Sharp collided with fellow Acura pilot Simon Pagenaud in the opening stint. The car had cosmetic damage but nothing more.
Audi Sport North America's Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr won their fourth straight LMP1 round in their Audi R10 TDI. The pairing ran fourth overall and finished just off the lead lap.
On a track that did not agree with Audi's big, powerful V12 diesel, the two had a shot for the overall victory late in the race. After falling behind early, Werner gained a lap back and was making up time even as the race ended. This despite a penalty early in the race on the Audi crew and minor 'offs' by both drivers.
Intersport Racing's Jon Field, Clint Field and Richard Berry scored their second runner-up finish of the season. Emanuele Pirro and Dindo Capello were third in class. Capello was involved in a crash an hour into the race that resulted in nearly 45 minutes lost in the paddock to repair the prototype.
Corvette Racing's Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen won in GT1, coming from nearly a full lap back to beat the hard-luck duo of Corvette mates Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin. The duo won for the fourth time in five races and third time in a row. Each was victorious at Lime Rock for the first time.
Beretta eventually had to park his Corvette when the gearbox lost oil. As a result, O'Connell and Magnussen are 12 points up on their teammates for the class championship.
Wolf Henzler and Jörg Bergmeister took their second straight GT2 victory and third of the season for Flying Lizard Motorsports and Porsche. Henzler got around teammate Johannes van Overbeek with 37 minutes remaining after Farnbacher Loles Racing's Dirk Werner slammed into van Overbeek's side on a restart. The collision sent van Overbeek off track and Henzler into first place where he stayed for the remainder.
The Lizard Porsche crossed the finish line a lap ahead of class pole-winner Werner and teammate Richard Westbrook. Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo and Mika Salo third in their first race since winning the class championship at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Henzler and Bergmeister increased their lead in the class championship to 11 points over Tafel Racing's Dirk Mueller and Dominik Farnbacher after the duo made a last minute stop for fuel and finished fourth. That's where Bergmeister and Henzler started after a subpar qualifying session Friday.
The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge, scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 19 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.